Ticked off at M-Audio and Ableton

[decay-o-caster]

I just got the M-Audio Black Box (basically an audio-PC interface with an Adrenalinn built in). I like the unit, but it has issues.

One reason I bought it is to be able to record remotely using my PC laptop, then transfer stuff to Digital Performer on my G4. Say, make clips of amps on the other side of the house on my laptop, then deal with them on the Mac. The Black Box ships with Ableton Live Lite. The free version lets you record 4 audio tracks and 2 midi tracks, should be fine for demos, clips, etc. Sounds perfect for what I need.

Trouble is, Live Lite seems to destabilize my laptop (WinXP). It sets the paging size to a silly small number and won't let me or Windows overwrite it. So I reluctantly uninstalled it, and now my laptop's working again.

I plan to deal with Tech Support when I get a chance, but anyway, now I just want to find a "thin", cheap, stable product for very light production on a PC. I don't need hundreds of tracks, full midi support, I just want an easy to use interface for minimal tracking and post production that will create files that DP can read. Time to search some threads, I guess.

But dammit, this should have been perfect...

 

[vampwizzard]

Have you tried audacity?

It outputs to a .aud file, which i do not believe is compatible with DP, but it allows for export to wav or mp3.

It has a basic way of multitracking.. you play a bit (or generate a click track, an included feature), then you hit record, and it will play the current track while you lay down the next one. Latency is only off i believe by a couple milliseconds, so its not exactly perfect. But, you could copy and paste each track in a new wav, to be finalized in DP.

Best of all, the program is free.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/latest/audacity-win-zip.php/audacity-win.zip

 

[LSchefman]

My son has no problem with Ableton on his iBook. Odd that they are having problems with it on the PC; wasn't it written for PC originally?

 

[decay-o-caster]

Well, I need to let their tech support folks talk me down on this, but yes, I also thought it was weird that it would cause problems for a PC. Now, I'm a software consultant so I've got a pantload of bizarre applications on my laptop, so there might have been a conflict. Maybe.

That being said, I just downloaded nTrack Studio, and it's exactly what I want. Dead easy recording, perfect for the level of stuff I need to do to just get musical data into the laptop for later manipulation. I just recorded a 4 track take of a tune I've been working on for a while, it took about as long as it took to play the parts, basically no learning curve whatsoever on the software. And it exports to .wav and .mp3, so I'm happy. Only $50, which is also nice.

Thanks for the Audacity rec, vampwizzard - it was just a little TOO lightweight for what I had in mind from what I could tell on their website.

 

[aquadog]

So how does the black box sound? I'm about to buy one of these, as soon as the paycheck comes in? Are you useing the built in modeling, as a preamp, or both?

I love clips!

 

[decay-o-caster]

I like it. I love the Adrenalinn, too, and this is just that much more interesting because it has a mic input and a USB connection to your computer. With a regular Adrenalinn, you still have to find some way to get it into your PC or Mac.

The Black Box does not have the deep editing of the AdrenalinnII (still has lots of control, just not as much), and it only has half as many amp models, but otherwise, they're very similar.

This is basically 10 minutes' worth of work, from arming the first track to finishing the last one, no time spent on overdubs, playing it right, messing with EQ, editing out the ragged start or end. It's the first drum pattern preset (#00) on the first track, two edited amp models for the guitar tracks, and a bass part played direct through the BB (no amp, no effects). I added some compression to the lead and bass in the software, hit export, and that's about it. And I'm sure to you experienced recording guys, it sounds like it!

Scary how easy it is to record with the BB and the n-Track. Now I just need to figure out that pesky playing thing...

 

[Orren]

Originally posted by decay-o-caster
Trouble is, Live Lite seems to destabilize my laptop (WinXP). It sets the paging size to a silly small number and won't let me or Windows overwrite it. So I reluctantly uninstalled it, and now my laptop's working again.

But dammit, this should have been perfect...

I think it may be an issue with your laptop/XP install. I'm reviewing the Black Box currently, using both my Desktop G5 and Dell Inspirion 6000 Laptop. No problems using its install of Live on either.

Orren

 

[aquadog]

Originally posted by decay-o-caster
I like it. I love the Adrenalinn, too, and this is just that much more interesting because it has a mic input and a USB connection to your computer. With a regular Adrenalinn, you still have to find some way to get it into your PC or Mac.

The Black Box does not have the deep editing of the AdrenalinnII (still has lots of control, just not as much), and it only has half as many amp models, but otherwise, they're very similar.

This is basically 10 minutes' worth of work, from arming the first track to finishing the last one, no time spent on overdubs, playing it right, messing with EQ, editing out the ragged start or end. It's the first drum pattern preset (#00) on the first track, two edited amp models for the guitar tracks, and a bass part played direct through the BB (no amp, no effects). I added some compression to the lead and bass in the software, hit export, and that's about it. And I'm sure to you experienced recording guys, it sounds like it!

Scary how easy it is to record with the BB and the n-Track. Now I just need to figure out that pesky playing thing...

Sounded pretty cool to me. Thanks a lot.

 

[hawkeyeinexile]

Originally posted by decay-o-caster
...
This is basically 10 minutes' worth of work, from arming the first track to finishing the last one...

dang. nice work, let alone for 10 mins.

 

[Scott Peterson]

I have been a full blown Live (not the "lite" version you get with BB) and am PC based. Never any issues.

The BB just worked the second I got it; I loaded the drivers for it only and skipped the "Lite" Live; the full blown version and BB work great.

Sorry to hear you have had issues; but your clip sounds great..... but it needs to be longer!

As a longtime Adrenilinn user, I also agree completely with your review and contrast of the two units.

 

[decay-o-caster]

Aw shucks... [blush]. Thanks y'all. Sounds like I should give Ableton another chance, then, if youse guys have had good, non-self-destructive results with it. But the Black Box is a trip.