Presonus interface question

[Visirale]

I'm getting all my gear together and next up is my interface. I've read a lot and decided to go with a presonus firewire unit. The firebox goes for 299 and the fp10 (firepod) goes for 399. My question is the firepod worth the $100 more, especially since I'm serious about this? My main music production right now is going to be hip hop and electronica, but I want to be open to anything down the line. Do the inputs really matter that much since I can run multiple mics (drum mics especially) through a mixer and then run that mix into the interface?

Thanks guys...

links for specs:

firebox
Link Removed

firepod/fp10
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/PreSonus-FP10-10x10-FireWire-Interface?sku=242036

 

[bass349]

hey man

i use the firebox and it's a fantastic little unit. i use it for home recording/ demo's for myself etc..

if you are thinking about doing this "seriously" then the firepod would be a good place to start.. mixing down drums down to a few tracks isn't a great option as you then can't eq seperate tracks/mix properly IMO. Even if the 8 tracks are more than you need at the moment, you will most definately need them at some stage in the future. $100 well spent IMO

good luck!

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

I've got the Firepod, great unit. Definatly worth the extra cash to have the extra channels


However, if you can afford a bit more I'd go with a Firestudio Project unit, I think the added meters on the front would be really useful.

 

[EastCoastThump]

+1 to the Firepod or better.

Especially for hip hop or electronica, I'd think you would want to run the drums into your DAW as separate audio channels so that you could later process them individually or even convert them to MIDI data to drive samples.

 

[stranger0]

if you're thinking about going 'better', I wouldn't settle for the Firestudio, I'd go for the Firestudio Tube or the Firestudio Project, then add on the one of the digimax rigs and you're laughingwith 16 channels.

What seems to be really cool is the new mixing board interface (Also Presonus) that is coming out soon, probably expensive but 16 channels and while the faders may not be motorized (as far as I am aware) at least you're just lugging around a board instead of a rack for recording.

 

[Visirale]

Thanks guys. I'm most likely going to be looking used now... most likely firestudio or the firestudio project. Nothing wrong with used gear though... more bang for the buck. They seem to be pretty reasonable on ebay.

I went to the presonus website and looked at that all in one mixer. It looks absolutely amazing... and only a cool two grand in the bank, haha.

Edit: Actually I just looked at the firestudio project on MF. They are running a deal on it right now where you get an MXL990 mic (not familiar with how decent it is) and the BBE sonic maximizer plugin software for free. Is this worth the money I'd save getting it cheaper on ebay? Or should I just get the firestudio used and have 26x26 and be done with it?

 

[stranger0]

Actually i wish I could have gone used on the Digimax, would have been nice but whatever...the big difference between the FS and the FSP I believe are the LED lights in the front of the FSP, as well as the FS comes with that bundled software and up here (canada) the FS was also $200 more than the newly released FSP (I kicked myself for that one).

I don't know about the plugin, honestly, there's probably others.

Speaking from experience and using the FS, when it comes to monitoring, ah, you know, the LED's would be nice but half the time, when I am using logic, I am paying attention to that input more than anything else, I generally know when my guys clip.