MotU Traveler worth the money?

Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 8:06 pm

I wasn't quite sure if I should post this here, or in the budget gear section (I'll use it for home recording, but it just quite isn't what i'd call budget anymore), so mods, feel free to move this there if you think that would be more appropriate.
Well, basically I just want to know your experiences with this firewire interface, as I am considering upgrading from my m-audio firewire audiophile which simply doesn't have enough inputs (and absolutely no microphone preamps, and I can't use my Mindprint EnVoice which is usually my bass preamp for everything, as it's only one preamp) plus the stupid unbalanced chinch inputs and outputs are really annoying. Of course if you have other interface suggestions, go ahead, but the price of the motu is already my absolute maximum, so they'll have to be either cheaper or equally priced. Also they should have individually switchable phantom power. (Well if you'd say that the motu absolutely ain't worth it, and there's nothing in that pricerange i might consider saving up a little longer and getting something like an rme fireface 800, though i'd prefer not to have to resort to that)
Oh, if it makes any difference i'm currently still a PC user (no money for a powerbook)

Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 7:35 am

I'm having a great time with my Traveler, I am recording my second CD with it , you can click on the link below to get to a profile page I have, and check out "Blues for nothin' a sample from the Motu Traveler.
http://bandmix.com/profile.php?id=24846

Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 10:42 am

The Motu you speak of is more for people on the go. If you are doing things from your home, look for an 8 channel interface. A good cheap one is the M-Audio Delta 1010, not the Lt version, but the actual interface. This one has solid converters, but lacks the preamps you want. If you need premaps, look in the direction of the PreSonus Firepod. This one has 8 preamps, that are actually very decent. If you buy this thing on ebay right now, you can get a boat full of goodies, and PreSonus has even extended their free gift of an HP-4 headphone amp. I use the Firepod with my PC, and it works just fine. I will recomend that you use another piece of software, because the cubase Le is just that....a piece. Just my 2 cents though.

Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 10:56 am

uhmm... the motu traveler is an 8 channel interface. (actually 20 if you count digital connections) out of which 4 have preamps. and the internal mixer is very useful for me as well. and last but not least, there's a reason i said i don't have the money for a powerbook and not for an imac or power mac. Wink

Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 1:54 pm

Yes I realize the Motu is an 8 channel four of which have pre's. I just was trying to offer a cheaper alternative, as you said the traveler was pretty much your max.

Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 1:59 pm

ah, i see, thanks, but i'm specifically looking for something mobile, and in that case the motu seems pretty much ideal. (and i'm not really a big fan of m-audio converters and i need the pres)

Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 3:25 pm

the only alternative to look at if you don't like M-Audio is the mobile I/O from Metric Halo, i personally do like there sound for the money you pay a lot.
and the software mixer which comes with them is rather nice, too.

Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 10:37 am

the traveller seems to be a great option for a good card on the move.. however, i've been eyeing the m-audio ozonic..

it provides me with a keyboard controller, firewire soundcard and a mic pre with direct headphone monitoring in a single unit.. i'm not looking for awesome sound quality in terms of recording audio.. essentially need something decent for sequencing and laying down some scratch tracks..

but does anyone feel that there's something better out there for this kind of a deal.

Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 1:59 pm

if you don't have a keyboard yet, and only need one mic pre, it should be pretty good. can't think of anything similar atm.

btw, i bought the motu and am very happy with it, it works great, doesn't seem to have a sound of it's own, all in all its really nice.

Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 4:37 pm

We use the traveler for our church recordings and it has been great.
I use Kristal to record a single 32-bit raw track from the console, as well as 3 16-bit tracks (raw console, band mix, finalizer through aes-ebu). It has every in/out imaginable and if you want more pre's, then just buy an 8 channel adat optical kit.
We've been using it for 6+ months. We power-cycle it before each use. There have been instances where it locked up during a recording. We've not had an issue with it after a power-cycle.
JJ

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