Can hear all but inputs on mbox 2 pro

[DonChicoGuapele]

I have a system I've rebuilt over the years:
939 dual sata 2 uli chipset, 2.4ghz athlon xp 64, 4gb Kingston ram (laughable as xp only supports 2 before sp2), realtek '97 drivers
Ativa, Memorex dvd rw drives, 1 x AGP 8X/4X 1.5V slot, 3 x PCI slots, PCI Express X16 slot, PCI Express X1 slot

The mbox 2 pro runs great and sounds excellent with the exception of one thing, I cannot hear mic/line/aux inputs with any setting I've tried. I'm in the process of learning pro tools as I've been working with Acid Pro 6.0 and a few other programs years before this came along. I have all the volumes up at 12 o' clock and 1 o'clock respectively, powered up, and ready to go. I have an older NT1 condenser Mic which I can run direct into the mbox inputs or through my mixer and signal processors back in through the RCA's or line inputs, however you want it. I can't hear jack through my headphones.

I am fully capable with most all hardware and software, but getting a vocalist to hear themselves with the track they are recording is impossible thus far, so it's like walking a line in the dark... I have a behringer u control which I bought just to screw with the setup and when switching settings to record and playback from this cheap lil' $30 device, I can hear vocals fine. So... alas I have a problem with the mbox which I'm either overlooking or don't know about. Any help?

[albee1952]

Have you learned about using the MIX knob yet?

[DonChicoGuapele]

Not to be funny, but I have the 6 standard knobs "2 headphone 1 monitor 1 aux 2 input" and all of which are turned up. I can hear everything but inputs through the headphones or monitoring. If there's something else, let me know. Obviously I'm missing something.

[albee1952]

DOH! I just re-read and see you have the Mbox PRO which doesn't use the MIX knob so, sorry for not paying attention. To hear inputs, they need to be routed to EITHER an audio track(set in record-ready OR with Input Only monitoring), or route the inputs to aux tracks(obviously this won't record audio but its a way to listen to something like an external synth driven by a midi track in protools). Have you selected your inputs?(no offense is intended. when I see less than 10 posts, I figure you might be new to all this).

[Top Jimmy]

What you're missing is that Pro Tools must be open and inputs must be routed to outputs within Pro Tools for you to get signal through.

[DonChicoGuapele]

aaaaaah, I am new to pro tools...more than that I'm new to digidesign. I'm accustomed to stage mixes (I've done live sound...that's eeeeeeeasy compared to DAW's), and in the past I've had a machine connected with your typical comp sound card (sound blaster aud 2, bleh). So, they react differently, I'm surprised that I have to route sound in order to hear it in headphones for a vocalist to record tho...I'll try that. I'm thankful for all advice tho, seriously. I would really like to know, which models simply have a mix knob? I'm trying to make this simple as possible. I'm only recording 1-2 vocalists at once. I'm doing all the production.

[albee1952]

My 2 cents only, but I would call the Mbox 2 Pro the best quality/simplicity for the lowest price. The cheaper USB Mboxes have the MIX knob but don't think for a moment that they are more simple as really they are more complex(just try to punch in a vocal on those USB versions). Your firewire interface will allow you to record at a lower buffer with a powerful enough computer or small enough session, which will make overdubs and punch-ins much easier(and you can use an aux send on your track to give the singer some "grease"). You can also set the buffer high for stability and run in Low Latency Mode(Options tab at the bottom). This makes latency a non-issue (but you give up the ability to use plugins and aux sends on your record-enabled track). Once you get past the learning curve, it gets much easier. I have been working it for 4 years and I still learn new tricks all the time. Go here
http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?...N&bPrintOnly=1
and watch the videos relating to Pro Tools and LE(the right column is the main category select), then hit youtube and search for "protools" to see more videos and tutorials.

[DonChicoGuapele]

Thanks. You guys are lifesavers. I was a bit frustrated with all of that. I'm hoping to get it going within the next day or two doing what I've been doing all this time. I'm still using Acid Pro for beats, but I definitely want to use all this software and tools that Digidesign has. I appreciate it. Definitely.