Lookin 4 input/advise on going DIGITAL, firewire audio inter

[MaXiMiLLioN]

i apologize for the longness of this.. but i'm jus tryin to get all my research on and make the best decision cuz $$ is tight and i aint' want to gamble it like that makin an uninformed choice....

but uh..

Greetings, all, just finishead reading up tweakheadz.com and got a lot of misinfo cleared up, also reading this book called Real World Digital Audio and yeah.. sooner or later I'ma have to go digital/computers...

I have a macbook PRO 17",

my current setup is this a GANG of records and an mpc 1000, i make the beats get em to a cd, and then use a zoom digital 1266 to record the vocals on 1 track and put the beat on another track, master that and burn to cd....so far so good but i want to get wit the new age and do the digital thing..

from the looks of it I need an audio interface to get my gear(and soon to get gear) talkin to each other... with the macbook, i'm go firewire... so a firewire interface is what i need..

the mbox 2 pro is a bit on the high end price wise... so thats off the radar..

I was ALL set on an Maudio Firewire 410... but after doing a lot research that for the price $$ might not be the best..

i have stumbled across the Alesis IO-14 and IO-26 from these forums..

was lookin for advise, input and feedback from yall on what I should consider getting and why...

in basics what i want to do is use my macbook to record the music.... and also in the future want to dabble with midi and keyboards along with my samples, chopped up in my macbook..

and second i need it to do the final product of recording music, my cousin's vocals to my music and making a finished product..


ALSO i want to have fun in this.. and wantin to do this for the whole learnin experience.. feel like i'm being left behind not jumpin on the whole computer thing..

well let me know what you all think..

found this great resource for comparison's..
http://www.tweakheadz.com/audio_interface_fw_comparison_chart.htm

but again lookin for real world experience plus actual opinions on what you all think.. so yall be doing this on the daily or at least for a minute..

aight cool, cool, mad excited to see what you al think and whatnot..

THANK YOU!!

oNe

 

[LDB]

u should get madd responses on this one. I see an Analog versus Digital train wreck coming.

I personally wouldn't drop analog all together. You can use both. I personally use Propellerheads Reason along with Pro Tools Digi001 and Acid Pro 6. Since you're kind of use to analog gear I think REASON would be the best choice for u. There sound modules look and mimic analog gear to a certain extent. Your MPC can be used in conjunction with most digital software programs. I have an MPC 2G but it's been collecting dust since I started messing with Reason a few years ago. I have an M-AUDIO KEYSTATION49e for a control surface that's been doing the job for me. Reason 3.0 is what's out right now but if u decide to go that route I'd wait a few months til 4.0 drops. It may be coming out around October. I'm beta testing it and it's going to take Propeller software to a new high.

Good luck with which ever direction u decide to go!

 

[samuelock]

Presonus Firebox...HANDS DOWN.

It has 24-bit/96kHz compatability, so you don't lose audio quality.
It has S/ PDIF IN/OUT so you can hook up your turntables and other digital outputs.
It has Midi In/Out for midi.

Even comes with Cubase LE. It's perfect for mobility, since it can be powered via firewire. The pre-amps are quite silent, and are reasonably sensitive.

Yea. I have one. It's awesome.

 

[thedreampolice]

Stick with M-audio if you ever want to run pro tools.

 

[MaXiMiLLioN]

Presonus Firebox...HANDS DOWN.

It has 24-bit/96kHz compatability, so you don't lose audio quality.
It has S/ PDIF IN/OUT so you can hook up your turntables and other digital outputs.
It has Midi In/Out for midi.

Even comes with Cubase LE. It's perfect for mobility, since it can be powered via firewire. The pre-amps are quite silent, and are reasonably sensitive.

Yea. I have one. It's awesome.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--PRSFIREBOX

i don't see that it has midi?

i just need something that gets my mpc to talk to my macbook and also to be able to use something to facilitate the recording of vocals via s/w v/s the curent s/w setup i use now...


i appreciate your response lil drama boi but d*m it dont' seem i'm gettin much feedback on this...

i guess i'ma jus cop the m audio joint as i dont' see much negatives on it..

oNe