presonus recommendations?

[smolder]

Looking to invest in a mutli-mic firewire preamp and have kind of settled on the presonus. Looking for some additional directions... considering the Firepod (FP10, the firestudio and the firestudio project. I'm new to digital recording... so I'm not sure how to assess the difference... I know the FP10 is older... but any additional advice or input woudl sure be appreciated.

 

[supernosher]

my advice is avoid low-end Presonus.

 

[patrickisbusy]

FP10. I've heard a lot of people have had problems with the DICE II chipset in the Firestudios. The drivers are solid for the FP10.

 

[cooptone]

I have the FP 10. No issues and the preamps are nice and clean!

 

[Steve Dallas]

FP10. They are rock solid and have the same preamps as the FS line. They have trouble-free drivers and are very reliable. And you can daisy-chain them together as you grow.

 

[JMulhollan]

I own the FP10. I've had no problems with it so far and it sounds perfectly fine

 

[smolder]

Been reviewing the specs... and I can't wrap my head around the dif between the firestudio and the firestudio project other than led's and some software... any thoughts?

 

[Steve Dallas]

The FS handles more simulaneous I/O than the FSP for one thing. I would download both manuals and read them thoroughly to get a handle on the differences.

What's much more important is what DAW software you are using. If you are using Sonar, forget the FS line. Sonar has all sorts of compatibility issues with the DICE II chipset.

Here's my sob story...

I had a FirePod (FP10) for several years and it worked flawlessly for me. I decided I was tired of setting up for different instruments all the time and wanted more inputs. Instead of buying another one and daisy-chaining them, I sold the FirePod and bought a FireStudio and DigiMax FS, because the FS line was supposed to be better.

Long story short, I spent the next 6 months trying to get it to work with Sonar. It would work with Reaper for the most part and with Cubase LE pretty well, but not Sonar. I'm heavily invested in Sonar (been using it since version 2) and I'm not about to change software except to dabble.

Presonus blamed Cakewalk and Cakewalk blamed Presonus, who then blamed TC Electronic (who makes the DICE II chipset and low-level drivers for it). The forums were clogged with people having the same problems. Some people managed to get them to work together--maybe even the majority of owners since we don't know how many didn't have trouble, but I never did short of setting the ASIO driver buffer to 2048. I bought new FireWire cards, new video cards, new RAM, you name it. I never got it to work right.

I lost my shirt selling it. Imagine all the money I lost in recording time trying to get it to work also. I had to pass on several small contracts, because I didn't have an interface I could rely on.

I ended up with a MOTU HD192 and several outboard utility pres. I had it set up and running in 10 minutes and have never had an ounce of trouble with it. It has been rock solid since day one.

My advice... Get the FP10 and ignore the shiny FS line. Or take a long, hard look at the MOTU 8PRE. Spend your time recording instead of fighting a FS.

 

[smolder]

I have nothing invested in previous software... I planned to use the FP10/FS/FSP with my mac... and either use garageband or the cubase software that comes along with it. I'm just getting started in the recording thing. I have the option to buy an FSP in new unopened unit for about 70% of the cheapest I can find it online. I should probably stop hemming and hawing, buy it and find out how it works.

 

[KLINKDETROIT]

What drawbacks did the fp10 have that made it undesirable for use with sonar? I am a sonar user and would like to buy and use the fp10 for reamping and sequencing live. I may use ableton but like you I have been using sonar since the early 90s. Thanks for any input.

 

[Steve Dallas]

What drawbacks did the fp10 have that made it undesirable for use with sonar? I am a sonar user and would like to buy and use the fp10 for reamping and sequencing live. I may use ableton but like you I have been using sonar since the early 90s. Thanks for any input.

It's not the FP10 that is undesirable with Sonar. It works perfectly with Sonar. It is the FireStudio line of products which has compatibility issues.

 

[KLINKDETROIT]

I was wondering why you wanted the firestudio in the first place? What advantage it had over the fp10 aside from the Sonar issue. I may use ableton live instead of sonar but I am not sure. Thanks

 

[Steve Dallas]

I was wondering why you wanted the firestudio in the first place? What advantage it had over the fp10 aside from the Sonar issue. I may use ableton live instead of sonar but I am not sure. Thanks

Back when the FS was new, it was supposed to be the new Presonus RME killer. That is to say, equal performance to the RME 800 in terms of AD/DA, but with better preamps and control software. We didn't know about the compatibility problems with Sonar, so it made sense to buy it. We fell into the same trap described by boogers.

What I know now is that it doesn't sound all that much better (if at all) than the FP10, and it may or may not be a nightmare if you are a Sonar user. I think the real advantage to the FS is the enhanced clock performance, which makes audio sound a little less "smeary," but most people can't even hear the difference. They sound so close, I'm not sure I could even pick it out in a double blind test. If I had it to do over again, I would have saved some $$ and bought another FP10, plugged it in, and gotten busy making music.

And it's not just the FireStudio that has problems with Sonar. TC's Konnect interface, some of the Alesis products, etc. are having trouble too. Anything that uses the Dice II chipset may have compatibility problems with Sonar.

 

[smolder]

So... just to follow up. I bought the presonus firestudio project... a few mic's and am using garage band. I found the project much cheaper than I could find the FP10 or a FS and way less than new. After installing the software and hooking up the preamp... everything works great. My only goals are to record my playing... both practices and live performances for review and critique. Works greatand was very simple... great sound... was just looking for something better than the little recorders.

 

[79stratman]

To clarify then, does the Firestudio Tube also have the dreaded Dice II chipset, as well, since it is a "Firestudio"-line product?

I was contemplating Sonar 8 Studio or Producer versions, as well as, giving Reaper a try. I would prefer to avoid compatibility issues beforehand. Just wondering what direction I will need to focus on now.

 

[KLINKDETROIT]

Is there a difference besides the name in the firepod and the fp10?