Mic Pres.

Looks better when your clients walk in.

Opinions are like a**holes, everyone has them and they all stink.

Look at you budget, look at your needs. Pay attention to all of the other things that you will need when you make the investment. Pro Tools works best when your projects reside on a separate drive from your PT software, so you'll need to add a drive to your system. How is your outboard gear? If you are going digital for the first time the noise from "budget" and even "pro-sumer" gear can drive you absolutely crazy. Your cables may also add noise that you were not previously aware of, so you may have to upgrade your cabling.

Also look at your audio monitoring and your electrical power.

I guess that what I am saying is that you should look at your system as a whole, not just "what do I want now." I used to work for "Big Name Music Store" as a salesman and department manager. My bosses thought that I was nuts with my sales technique, but my sales numbers and repeat customers over the long term were the best in the department for many years before I got disgusted with company policies and quit. Fully 1/3 of your budget goes to accessories if you are starting out, 1/4 if you are upgrading. You are going to have to make compromises or increase your budget. I've seen it a thousand times, even with commercial studios. People just fail to think about cables, racks, power conditioners, solid reliable monitoring, data backup, misc. software, room conditioning, etc.

I don't know your situation, so I hope you are not offended by all of the extraneous advice.

you can put mbox+powerbook in your bag, but not 002. a lot of people I know they have mbox+powerbook for mobile, and they have hd system at their studio. the good thing for this setup is you can move you project between location. :lol: :oops: :roll: :idea: :twisted: :x :?

Big difference between the 2 is that the 002R is a firewire device and the MBox is a USB 1.1. The MBox will only allow you to record two tracks (mono) or a stereo signal at one time, whereas the 002R will allow for 8 simultaneous tracks (8 mono, 4 Stereo). From memory I don't think the Mbox has ADAT lightpipe either. The ADAT lightpipe allows for the use oof new 8 channel pre-amps like the Presonus Digimax and Focusrite Octopre, and also the connection and transfer of 8 channels from ADAT.

So it really depends on your method of working. If 2 inputs are going to suffice then the MBox will do. If you can see yourself needing to record say a real drumkit then the extra inputs on the 002R are going to be real handy to have.

Good Luck,

PT Rocks

You are right, Blade, no lightpipe.

May not seem like much now, but wait until you decide that those pres on the Mbox aren't exactly stellar. Now a DigiMax LT is considerably closer to stellar and like Blade pointed out, can give you 8 nice pres w/limiters via lightpipe that you can route right into Pro Tools. (and if you are paying attention, that totals 16 ins)

My only reason for M-Box is portability and if you got the 002R, a rack and a laptop........well sh*t sounds like we're gettin' portable, baby!

PT doth rocketh