Deftune

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.

Introducing Pro Tools 8

Product Info

Pro Tools® 8, the next evolution of the widely-used music creation and audio production software. Completely updated with a new user interface, over 70 plug-ins and virtual instruments, fully-integrated MIDI and score editors, and an expanded array of editing features, the new Pro Tools 8 software (which includes Pro Tools|HD®, Pro Tools LE®, and Pro Tools M-Powered(TM)), provides everything users need to create, compose, score, record, mix, produce and broadcast all in one powerful application.

“Pro Tools 8 benefits from the valuable feedback we received from our dedicated Pro Tools creative community, along with Avid’s passion for creating great audio and video tools that move technology forward,” explains Dave Lebolt, Avid senior vice president and chief technology officer. “Our customers provide a comprehensive real-world knowledge base that we draw upon for inspiration and guidance. It’s a synergy of size and scope unique to Pro Tools in the world of audio. We are very excited to deliver the latest results of this partnership back to our customers in the form of Pro Tools 8.”

At first glance, the most noticeable new feature in Pro Tools 8 is its striking user interface, which has been stylishly enhanced with a more modern color palette, as well as higher-contrast text and graphics. This redesigned user interface frames a dramatically expanded set of creative tools and a host of features for music creators, editors, mixers, and post production professionals. All the key Pro Tools functions that users rely on are still right where they should be, but enhancements, such as dockable Editor windows and a configurable Edit window toolbar, make it easier to navigate than ever before.

For composers and musicians, Pro Tools 8 provides powerful functionality for streamlining the creative process, as well as a robust bundle of over 70 plug-ins and virtual instruments, which deliver the most versatile sonic palette ever available out-of-the-box for Pro Tools. New music creation features include:

– Fully integrated, dockable MIDI and Score Editor windows for greatly enhanced MIDI editing functionality and professional score editing and printing

– A sizable collection of music creation and sound-processing plug-ins, including 20 all-new AIR effects and five new virtual instruments — Mini Grand piano, Boom drum machine, DB-33 tonewheel organ, Vacuum tube-modeled synthesizer, and Xpand!2(TM) sample player

– High-quality amplifiers simulation thanks to Digidesign’s acclaimed new guitar amp emulator Eleven(TM) Free as well as Tech21 SansAmp® amplifier emulator by Bomb Factory®

– A large bundle of high-quality loops

For music and post production professionals, Pro Tools 8 offers:

– Revolutionary new Elastic Pitch makes it easy to transpose music in real time right in the Edit window

– 10 inserts per channel

– Enhanced controller integration with Digidesign® and M-Audio® control surfaces

– ICON integration enhancements that dramatically increase speed and efficiency

– HD QuickTime support on Mac OS X for dramatically increased versatility

Pro Tools|HD 8 enhances the extensive capabilities of Digidesign’s flagship Pro Tools|HD audio hardware, with support for the new Satellite Link option, which allows users to control up to five Pro Tools|HD systems as one. For the ultimate in post production efficiency, the Media Composer®-based Video Satellite option brings Avid® HD/SD video playback into the Pro Tools|HD audio workflow, while the Video Satellite LE option brings QuickTime HD/SD or Avid SD video playback into the Pro Tools|HD audio workflow, all without sacrificing audio track counts or processing power.

For project studio owners, Pro Tools LE 8 and Pro Tools M-Powered 8 have been expanded to support up to 48 simultaneous audio tracks. Adding the new Music Production Toolkit 2 or DV Toolkit(TM) 2 (Pro Tools LE only) gives users access to up to 64 audio tracks. And for serious Pro Tools LE users, the new Complete Production Toolkit (Pro Tools LE only) combines the content of both toolkits above, and offers up to 128 simultaneous audio tracks AND 7.1 surround mixing.

Pro Tools 8 software is expected to be available in late 2008 for Windows Vista- (32-bit Business or Ultimate), Windows XP-, and Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)-based Pro Tools|HD, Pro Tools LE, and Pro Tools M-Powered systems.

For More Info Check Out:

www.digidesign.com
www.avid.com