Building The Deftune Project Studio

Alright, so things have been a bit busy here the past week and for good reason. I’m working on building up a small project studio which is what I consider to be one of many corner stones for Deftune, LLC. You’ll be seeing a couple more changes here real soon and I’ll begin by sharing with you all my experiences in building the project studio which MAY give you some insight on what we’ll doing here in the near future. I might even slip and just tell you what’s up somewhere within this post so pay attention. I’m going to spread this project out into multiple posts so stay tuned.

All week I’ve been looking into getting my first studio control surface with an audio interface that would work with Pro Tools and offered multiple input and output options. What’s a control surface you ask? A control surface is basically a controller that you can use to control a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). Think of it as a gigantic mouse. A DAW is used to record a number of digital audio tracks utilizing a computer and an audio interface. An example of a DAW would be Pro Tools. I looked at several options and I chose the best products that would give me the best balance of quality and affordability.

Check Out The List

Digidesign 003

The 003 comes in 3 flavors:

Digi 003 Factory Firewire Audio Interface (with Pro Tools LE)

Digidesign Digi 003 Rack Pro Tools LE System

Digidesign Digi 003 Rack Factory Pro Tools LE System

Differences

The are a couple major differences between the 3. The 003 Factory and the 003 RACK are essentially the same except for one major difference. The 003 Factory has surface controls with full motorized faders. The 003 Factory and the 003 RACK has 4 pre-amps while the 003 RACK Factory model has 8 pre-amps but 1 less MIDI out. Integrated surface controls and additional inputs were a big deciding factor for me. You CAN however purchase the Digidesign Control 24 Pro Tools Control Surface or Digidesign Command 8 Control Surface surface controllers to use with the 003 RACK models but you’ll end up spending A LOT more. The Factory model 003s also come with $3000 worth of professional grade software plug-ins.

Similarities

- 18/18 Simultaneous ins/outs
- No Phono Pre-Amps
- 48V Phantom Power
- 8 Channel ADAT and 2 Channel S/PDIF
- BNC Word Clock
- 2 Head Phone Outs
- Firewire
- Internal Power Source
- Kensington Security Lock

Digidesign Comparison Chart

Other Options

I also checked out the M-Audio Project Mix I/O

M-Audio offers a product called the Project Mix I/o which is comparable to the Digidesign 003 Factory. It supports Pro-Tools M-Powered which almost identical to Pro Tools LE. One upside of the Project Mix is that it offers 8 pre-amps versus the 003’s 4. One area where the 003s trump the Project mix however is the quality of its pre-amps. The 003s have a much higher dynamic range giving you more output as well as better frequency response. This made it a really tough decision but with the Project Mix priced at about $1000 less it made me lean more towards choosing the Project Mix, especially after checking out Black Lion Audio’s Mod option which gives you HD recording quality as well as higher quality pre amps that are much better than a standard 003’s for less than $500! Sure the 003 Factory models do come with the $3000 plug in package but I already have access to better quality plug ins so that wasn’t much of a deal breaker for me. Also, with the extra inputs of the Project Mix I have the option to record an entire drum kit all at once if I needed to. The extra pre-amps was just something I felt I would need in the long run. Another great feature about the Project Mix is that it supports other DAWS besides Pro Tools such as Apple Logic Studio, which I use A LOT. Oh, and BTW, M-Audio AND Digidesign are owned by Avid.

Final Decision

With my mind set on the Project Mix and Black Lion Audio upgrade I shopped around on Ebay and I was able to find one for $880 with a $200 rebate. The Black Lion upgrade costs roughly $495. The only downside it’s a LONG process which can leave you waiting months for an appointment but from what I’ve heard it’s definitely worth it.

Total cost= $1,175

So, if you’re working on setting up your first studio and you want to keep your expenses low this is my recommendation. If you have questions about the Project Mix feel free to leave me a comment. Stay tuned for further updates on the Deftune Project Studio.

Up next on the horizon….DJ Mixers.