I have an original Mbox in addition to a Digi002 Rack and a Digi001. I may get around to selling the Digi001, once I am convinced Firewire can work as well as a PCI interface for multitrack recording of a live band. I will keep the Digi002 around to record the bands I play in live.

Of all of these tools, for recording my songwriter demos and projects, I think I have grown to love the Mbox the most because of the simplicity and portability it brings when using it with my ibook. As close to a Portastudio as I can get in the digital world and still have Pro Tools.

I am learning slowly how to make better recordings with mic technique. At one point of my gear lust fever, I bought an FMR RNP, convinced that it would be the magic answer to all of my audio engineering shortcomings. I can hear a very slight difference between the RNP and my other preamps, an Audio Buddy, Behringer ADA8000 and the preamps in the Digi products. There is a HUGE difference in the way a SM57 through the RNP sounds on my voice. It is a great signal chain for my voice, other than the Ps popping. On the other mics though, SM81, SM7b, Beta52, Sennheiser 504, not so much a difference if any......... and I can't even say definitively that the RNP sounds better on all of the mics on different sources like acoustic guitar and upright bass. It just sounds slightly different. Sometimes it seems more 3D to me, other times it sounds less 3D than one of the cheaper preamps. I know it has more gain and more headroom than the Digi preamps, but as impressive as that is in theory, I don't HEAR it. I think my Pbass plugged directly into the Mbox sounds just as good as the bass plugged directly into the RNP. Same thing with X/Y SM81s on my Martin. Are my 52 year old ears just shot?

Then, I have heard that the difference doesn't show up until you stack multiple tracks up recorded with the same preamp. So, I did that, although I think I only recorded vocal, acoustic guitar and bass, maybe 4 total tracks for each preamp. I then grouped them in PT so I could solo the groups by preamp type. Again, I sometimes hear a slight difference, but it is never a "AH HA!" kind of difference. Maybe I need to stack more tracks up.......

I want to record some semblance of a singer/songwriter CD, mostly acoustic instrumentation, probably no more than 8 - 14 tracks per song. I will take a stab at mixing it, but I will probably pay a real engineer to mix it.

The shortest, simplest signal path for everything when I am recording 1 to 2 tracks at a time is to just go directly into the Mbox. I can take the Mbox and a couple of mics to rooms that sound good and run completely on battery power for an hour or two. It would just be easier to take the Mbox, ibook and guitar. Hauling the Digi002 is more of a pain and I am at the mercy of the availability and quality of grounding of the AC supplies in the space I go to record in.

Steven, I found several threads where you talked favorably about the Mbox and several where you also talked favorably about the RNP. If I track the whole project using the Mbox preamps, am I crippling the sound in a way that will make a more experienced audio engineer cringe when they have to mix it?

Thanks,
bilco

The original MBox pres have gotten to be fairly reviled these days. No personal experience of them, so I can't say. The pres in all Digi LE series hardware seems to have detractors, though, so it might be part of general Digi hatred. (These folks will mod your 001 or 002, but not your MBox: http://www.blacklionaudio.com/index.html -- lots and lots of fans of the mods as making the Digi gear perform at a higher level.)

One thing I'd as is how you're running the RNP for your comparisons? Signal flow and gain staging can make a big difference. One thing that surprises me is that the SM7 doesn't mate better with the RNP than the others--that's another mic that really shines with a better mic pre.

Really hard to say what's going on, but I do have to say I'm a bit surprised by your results. It might have nothing to do with your ears but be about how your gear is set up or some bottleneck in audio quality at some point in the chain.

Bear

Thanks for the reply Bear. I was surprised about the SM7 too. The difference on the SM57 is pretty amazing, but I just don't hear anything close to that kind of difference on the SM7. I will have to try it again now that I have the Digi002. The tests I did were the RNP into the Digi001 line inputs vs. the Mbox. Maybe the Digi002 line inputs will be a step up from the Digi001. The Digi002 has a hardwired switch to select +4 or -10. The Digi001 line level is changed in the software. The converters in the Digi002 should be better, at least in theory.............

Thanks again,
bilco

Apples to apples is more likely to happen with the RNP into the MBox's line inputs if they are amenable--I think. I don't know the box, its ins and outs, or what levels they are. But if that works, that minimizes variables. Using the 001 or 002 to get the RNP in likewise is best for comparing those onboard pres.

Bear

bilco,

I recommend making a pop filter for your popping Ps. I had the problem recording a male vocalist into a PL80 and the pop filter totally eliminated the pops.

Cut off the foot of some pantyhose. Stretch it over a circle 9 inches or so in diameter. I've used coat hangars and embroidery hoops. With the coat hangar version I attach it to an old mic clip so I can put it on a mic stand.

I've never had an mbox and most of my mics are less expensive then yours. I also use a cheaper preamp, M-Audio DMP2s. But I really hear the difference in almost everything. With acoustic guitar it's mostly more detail in the highs. A kind of a clarity thing.

Can't tell as much difference with vocals and guitar cabs. I am comparing to my Fostex VF160 preamps for the two low impedance inputs which are better than the preamps in cheap mixer boards.

So my experience, with different equipment and sources, is the opposite of yours. More help on acoustic guitar than on vocals. Still if you got a good vocal chain out of the deal you're doing great.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry