Control 24 and Mbox Pre's and Converters?

[Archmart]

Hey Hey!

I need to know whether the actual Focusrite Mic Pre's in the Mbox are exactly the same as the ones in the Control 24 and if the Converters in the Mbox are the same as in the 192 I/O.

Basically, I'm trying to set up a voiceover session in a studio environment and then do further work in less perfect conditions, but with as close to the same setup as possible. I CAN setup my Mbox/Laptop system and use it in the studio, but if the Pre's and Converters are the same in the Control 24 and 192 I/O, I might as well use the HD system that already exists there.

Anyone out there know the details on those Pre's and Converters?

Thanks,
Archmart

[N-G-NEER]

Hi There is a major difference between the A/D/A convertors on the M-Box and and the 192 Just the price alone should tell you that. The pre's are not the pre's from the C-24 but are infact designed by Focusrite which is a Digidesign company for the M-Box to match certain Specs like power requirement so that it could be used with a laptop computer. You are looking at apples and Oranges. The pre's in the C-24 IMO are not great but they work the Pre's in the M-Box are a number of notches down on the food chain. Still if you like the sound from the M-Box use it. It's all a matter of taste.

[lsimy]

The MBox pre's are supposedly from the Focusrite Green Series (discontinued) and the Control|24's pre's are from the Focusrite Platinum Series. The Green Series is superior to the Platinum Series so the MBox pre's may actually perform better than the Control|24 pre's.

It's really hard to say exactly since that also depends on mics, environment, etc.

As for converters, I would imagine the 192's are far superior to the MBox as stated previously.

[Sean Halley]

N-Gen and others -

A couple of clarifications:

1. Focusrite LTD is an English company originally started by Rupert Neve after he sold Neve proper in the eighties. Digidesign is the FF distributor in North America - Focusrite is not owned by Digidesign. The two companies have done projects together, but they are not owned by the same folks.

2. The pre's in the Control 24 are indeed Focusrite preamps.

3. They are actually not exactly Green or Platinum series - they are a different design - so trying to compare them simply by a pre-existing box won't be all that accurate.

4. Yup - big difference between the 192 and the Mbox.

5. Steve Ferrone and Dave Weckl both use the C24 preamps on all of the drum recordings they do in their respective studios...

S..

[Spoonie June]

the 192's will smash the mbox!!!!! i just picked up a pair..FIRE!!

[fourthtunz]

N-Gen and others -

5. Steve Ferrone and Dave Weckl both use the C24 preamps on all of the drum recordings they do in their respective studios...

S..

Sean, I have thought about using them at some point to see how they actually sound but it's a pain to get behind my c24 cause of the desk they are in, anywhoo..
So Mr's ferrone and Weckl don't use compression when they track the kit?
Jeez if the c24's pres are that good I could sell abuncha stuff get back some serious bling
daniel

[Sean Halley]

I haven't personally seen Dave W.'s setup, but he has traditionally done a bunch of front-end processing, if I remember correctly (there are other guys we could ask for sure) - certainly he has done so live in the past. As far as Stephen goes, the C24's inputs are sent into Pro Tools and show up on Aux Returns first. Processing is applied in the plugin world, and then bussed to audio tracks. I think John uses a bit of Focusrite and URS EQ usually, and not much else.

The main thing is, for guys like Stephen (and my buddy Nate Morton) who play VERY consistently, there's not much need for a bunch of compression as it goes down anyway. If the kick and snare drum only vary a small amount from hit to hit, you only need to worry about compression on the way down if you're going for "a sound", and not so much for clip protection......I don't remember, but I think I used the Soft Limit on the 192's with Stephen for that, just in case...

Of course, once they're on disc, then you can squash the hell out of em'


S..