Command 8 & PRE

[Muziekschuur]

Hi all. Just got myself a new Protools artist license and I acquired a command 8 and a 003plus rack.

I was reading the manual. And I found the command 8 can control avid PRE. I was quite fascinated about that. And found them second hand really nicely priced (around 400/500 euro). If I get two of them. What HD hardware would they hook on to?

I could go with totally something else. But I just might, if this Pro tools suite and the 003plus really works well, consider a building me a HD set. with 16 pre's.

What equipment would you suggest. Can a HD native card be connected to 16 I/o ?

The idea of controlling the pre's gain from the command 8 is rather interesting. And since you use plugins for everything having clean pre's would only make sense to me.

[smurfyou]

You don't *need* HD hardware to use a Pre. They just have standard line outs on a DB25.

I'm not sure of the current status of the Pre control within PT. I think it used to require Ultimate? Maybe not anymore? It needs to be configured in PT for the Command 8 to control it. And I believe it's just gain control nothing else from the surface.

You might be out of luck with the 003R. Command 8 still works on 2022.12, just not in the Apple Silicon native mode. Fine on Intel Mac and Windows.

[Darryl Ramm]

HD hardware? Avid DigiLink/HD native systems are a complex ball of issues and cost that offer *no* advantages over high quality CoreAudio or ASIO based interfaces. Costs include you need a Pro Tools Ultimate license to run any DigiLink interface.

But as Will pointed out, you don't need HD hardware, or Ultimate to use Avid Pre remote preamps on recent versions of Pro Tools.

But why are you even thinking any of this? Its one thing to collect this stuff to maybe mirror what you have in an existing Pro Studio, or to say buy more used HD I/O to expand a HD Native system you already have, but starting over with this museum-ware... I would run, not walk, away.

The Avid Pre is not a highly regarded preamp. You can get just as good or better well priced ADAT preamps for example, some with remote control. Preamp remote control can be yet another useless thing to futz with... I'd probably prefer to just reach for the preamp, and I would not have it drive my purchase decisions.

There is just better sounding/higher performance/more feature rich stuff available. And presumably you are on Windows but even there this beyond end of support life stuff will stop working at some point.

[smurfyou]

Yeah if you want 8 preamps the Audient SP8 is really cheap. Have no idea how good it is but I'd bet it's no worse than a 15 year old Digi Pre.

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by smurfyou

Yeah if you want 8 preamps the Audient SP8 is really cheap. Have no idea how good it is but I'd bet it's no worse than a 15 year old Digi Pre.

Well said^^^. I also don't give a hoot about remote control and am perfectly happy to reach for a knob. The Command 8 is a decent control surface, BUT maybe not the best sounding monitor controller, so adding a decent one might be a good upgrade(look at the Presonus Monitor Station 2 or Audient Nero). As for preamps, you have 8 on the 003R+, so here are a few suggestions for adding 8 more via lightpipe:
1-best "budget" option: Behringer ADA8200(the red one) equal or better than the 003 preamps
2-Audient(depending on the price you can find)
3-best sound on drums: Midas XL48, hands down(and only slightly more $$ than the Audient)
While there are several other similar products(and I have used most), none of them beat the 3 above IMHO. I would skip the Avid/Digi Pre as its just not much better than the 003. Work on your mic collection and skills before worrying about much else(a good engineer will get solid recordings with modest gear. An inexperienced engineer can make the best gear sound bad)

2 more cents worth: I own the HDN card and 192's now(running 16 IO), and had the same in a commercial studio in Nashville for many years(running 64 IO) and am perfectly happy, but these days, I would not invest into that platform. Your 003 with a good lightpipe preamp should serve you for quite a while(I have years of experience on just that setup). When an upgrade is wise, I would look at RME first(great audio quality and the best drivers of all). Other options include the Audient EVO, Avid Carbon or Focusrite Clarett range(and any lightpipe preamp you get now will likely work with any future interface upgrade)

BTW, you could get to 18 inputs by adding a SPDIF preamp. The ART Digital MPA is a great "budget" option and the API A2D is more money(like $1500-1800) but is absolutly killer

[Muziekschuur]

Originally Posted by smurfyou

You don't *need* HD hardware to use a Pre. They just have standard line outs on a DB25.

I'm not sure of the current status of the Pre control within PT. I think it used to require Ultimate? Maybe not anymore? It needs to be configured in PT for the Command 8 to control it. And I believe it's just gain control nothing else from the surface.

You might be out of luck with the 003R. Command 8 still works on 2022.12, just not in the Apple Silicon native mode. Fine on Intel Mac and Windows.

Yes, I am on Mac Catalina. I bought a Mac book Pro and a Mac mini both of 2012 and I changed out memory and ssd's. I have the 003+ working flawlessly and the Command 8 works too.

Just dipping my toes into Pro tools . I was a beta tester for Cakwalk Sonar many years. But since I saw that command 8 controller and the new Pro tools I thought I could try it out. So far so good.

Fascinated by the 32 bit a/d conversion of the new MTRX/carbon/hdx hardware. But to me it is too new. And with adat addition not really convincing to me.

If my career ever lifts up again I might go the HDX route. But atm I am very happy to have a sing a song writer setup. The unix under Mac Osx Catalina is very very stable. I might say. That is a blessing.

I am missing my memorymoog plugin. I was really attached to that. And I miss a good Fender Rhodes. But that is all for later. First I gotta get my woodworking skills out of my bag pack.

Using kurzweil monitors atm. Together with two Apple monitors it is quite fancy for my needs. I also have a Korg Taktile. The chaos pad can be selected as a mouse. Maybe I can midi learn this for 5.1 movements in Pro tools. Once I upgraded to pro tools studio. But atm stereo is just fine.

Will be modifying my desk to accommodate two 4 unit high 19' racks and the command 8. And work from there. It is a sing a song/writer setup. And due to the ADAT and 8 outs I can progress towards 5.1 mixing as that is what I love to do. Will be searching for a old set of Logitech 640 surround speakers. These were once THX certified. And in a former life I owned the Alesis branded version of those.

If I remain in the sing a song writer cave thing I might, if I need more inputs be better off with a Midas Venice 16 and hook the busses on to the 003+ and be done with it.

The 003+ arrived yesterday. Second one I purchased. First one was lost in the mail. Who knows if it will ever arrive or if some mailman is now rocking it's own 003+. If the second one arrives I will be testing two of those in one setup.

I found a firewire800 to thunderbolt adapter and two firewire to firewire 800 cables in the box. So that should be an easy way to connect two units. I'm told it doesn't work many times over. It wasn't my intention to end up with two units. But we'll see.

Life is stranger then fiction we all know now I guess.

[Muziekschuur]

I have owned complex setups before. I will have to do some testing but to me that 003 preamp is really nice.

If I ever get into consulting again I will probably move towards another studio again. I have always liked 5.1 mixing. So maybe then and there I will look into things.

This is just my home studio stuff. The 003+ works. I like the command 8. And it's like muscle memory. To create a good song or record you need to gain a lot of muscle memory.

If I ever move towards a new Mac, those are crazy powerful. But for the silly songs I write I can do a lot with the power this setup provides me. It's babysteps from here on out. Maybe add a Poly D or something like that. And some Rhodes plugin.

If I add 8 preamps to 003+ I will probably get a Midas xl48. I like those preamps on drums. 16 preamps is way enough for me. If I ever get into classical I would invest into a DECCA Tree. That is an amazing way to capture a ensemble or orchestra.