Topic: Presonus FIREBOX

[Steve J]

Anyone got some info on the new Presonus FIREBOX (http://www.presonus.com/pdf/fireboxcut.pdf). Looks tempting...especially since I've seen it priced at $399.

[Tyler McGhee]

interesting!

[Thom Joad]

Saw over on the Oade  board that this is shipping.  Anyone have one yet?

http://www.presonus.com/firebox.html

[Steve J]

Most of the places I've checked say they won't be getting these in till after 2/15. Originally, I'd heard that they were to have been "on the shelves" by now. *sigh*

[Brian]

search gearslutz.com

some info over there

[thierryhenry]

This looks very cool indeed.

[bluegrass_brad]

For another $200 you can get the Presonus Firepod which has 8 mic inputs (1 rackspace). I've been looking at getting a couple of these and daisychaining them together for a small mobile 16 track recording unit to use with my Powerbook.

[Brian]

Brad,

if you have the cash, the RME fireface 8000 is awesome!  it's helps to your own outboard pre's though.  I currently run 2 motu828mkII's for my interface but would like to upgrade to teh RME or new Lynks model that has not been released yet in the future.  But for hte now the 828mkII's are working out very nice for me. but then again, outboard pre's are necessary.

I have not read great things about any of the presonus pre's other than that they can be modified by presonus to fit the sound you like.  you have to buck up though.

[bluegrass_brad]

I saw an article on the those mods and cant remember where right now.  My understanding was that you can replace the chip yourself as it is mounted in a socket and not soldered directly to the board itself. I looked at the fireface, but for less than the cost of 1 of those (lowest Ive found was $1,499) you could own two of the Firepods ($599) and have twice the inputs. I would be adding a frontend later (Like the Focusrite Octopre's which I have used in the past and liked alot, they also have A/D built in, and Dynamics) so the Pre's aren't as much of an issue for me. If I was rich I would just get a couple of Grace 801's and be done with it

[Brian]

word.....I actually own an OctaPre as well.  I like it for drums and bass.  The built in compressor is especially nice for sub-par bass signals.  The DI's are great for acoustic guitars in live recording situations as well.  Ple the adat out into my motu 828mkII is REAL nice.  the a/d's are not the best, but for drums and bass, it's just fine!  A lot of "audiophiles" talk a lot of crap on the octapre and all the latest focusrite stuff, but at it's price point,  It's definitely a solid unit IMO! but what do I know, i'm a n00b to the professional world

you are correct about the Presonus mods.  they are socket mounted and it can be done yourself.  I too have forgotten where to find the info but I'm sure a google search or 2 will help. A fellow engineer at school is pretty familiar with the mods.  I'll ask him next time I get the chance.

As for Grace 801's........dear lord, i wish!!!!  If I have 4 801's and 2 Apogee AD16x's I would be in location recording heaven

+T for the nice discussion.  If you ever decide on some multi-channel location recording career or still researching don't hesitate to PM me.  I've got a nice rig going right now but am always looking for new gear, upgrades, and people to bounce ideas off of

[bluegrass_brad]

For awhile I was using 2 focusrite Octopre's into an Alesis HD-24.  Recorded a few official releases for a band.  4 or 5 that were internet download only, and one that is in stores. I really like the HD-24 and will most likely get one of those as well. It's great for live recording.  I used one for almost two years to multi-track a couple of hundred shows and never had any problems.  +T for the good conversation as well. Im gonna try to find that article on switching the chips.  It works for the Presonus MP-20 two channel pre as well Im pretty sure.

[Brian]

yep, as well as the M80 - the 8-channel presonus pre.  I'm pretty positive all the presonus pre's are designed that way but i could be wrong.

joeshambro used to own an Alesis HD-24.  he recorded my band once with it.  It's really cool cause you can transfer straight to a pro-tools computer and the A/D's are pretty good.  You also don't have to worry about computer issues during the recording process which is always a plus.  Not a bad price either for it's capability.  Certainly a lot less than the G4 Powerbook I just dropped a small fortune for.

[mmmatt]

has anyone checked one of these out yet?

Matt

[nic]

I picked up a Firebox over the weekend.
currently its to be my main output from my Mac as the M-Audio FW Audiophile' midi ports were screwing with my DP install.

I like the way you can record 4 independant (2x mic/instrument, 2x line) and stereo spdif (rca or optical) channels...makes for a small portable 6 channel rig with the diital input.  it comes with Cubase LE (Mac AND Win) which is a good multitrack recording app.

havent tried the pres yet..I will at some point.

not bad for $199!

[poorlyconditioned]

I picked up a Firebox over the weekend.
currently its to be my main output from my Mac as the M-Audio FW Audiophile' midi ports were screwing with my DP install.

I like the way you can record 4 independant (2x mic/instrument, 2x line) and stereo spdif (rca or optical) channels...makes for a small portable 6 channel rig with the diital input.  it comes with Cubase LE (Mac AND Win) which is a good multitrack recording app.

havent tried the pres yet..I will at some point.

not bad for $199!

Where did you get a Firebox for $199???

Also, to other people there, you should note that you *cannot* replace the preamp chips in the Firepod/Firebox.  They sound OK (I think), but you can't replace anything...

  Richard