Which MBOX 2 for me? [Archive]

5454stevef

09-03-2007, 12:10 PM

I am on the brink of purchasing the mbox 2 or mbox 2 pro. I would settle for the mbox 2 but i want to use my korg KAOSS pad and add its effects over already recorded tracks. Some tell me it is going to take some routing (out of the mbox and back in or something) which would require some outputs correct? the mbox 2 doesnt have any. What do I do? I am not sure if I want to pay 250$ more for 6 more outputs, because that is what really only matters to me on the pro.

They're right, you wouldn't be able to do what you are describing with the Mbox, since it only has the two monitor outputs. I'm not familiar with the KAOSS, but I'm assuming it functions similarly to any other effect device as far as ins and outs. You MIGHT be able to come out of the monitor outs, thru the KAOSS, then back in to the two line ins as long as you are careful not to assign anything else to the analog mix out for that pass, and mute the output of the channels you're recording on to avoid a feedback loop. I can't say for sure because I've never tried it - it might not work. Even if it does, it sounds like a pain - you'd only be able to monitor with phones unless you split the monitor outs.

With the Pro you would assign the tracks to one or more of the analog outputs, run them thru the effect device, and back in to one or more analog inputs on the MBox Pro, and record them on new tracks. It takes a little doing in ProTools to get it routed properly, but once you do it you can simply save the setup and use it any time you want to process tracks.

The bigger advantage with the Pro, aside from being able to patch outboard devices in, is that it would allow you to record more things simultaneously, although for many people this is not an issue. I thought when I got my (original) Mbox that two channels would be sufficient, but before long my goals had changed to the point where I really wanted to record drums and things, so I wound up trading it in for a 003. In my view it's better to have those inputs and only use them occasionally than not have them when you need them.

Even in my normal one-or-two-man-band mode, another advantage of the 003 for me is I have mine rigged up to a patch bay, and some of the instruments and devices I use, such as my POD, are normalled to specific channels full-time, so I just select that channel in software when recording from that device. You can rename the channels in PT to reflect what's normalled in, really cuts thru the confusion at times. I seldom have to re-patch anything. The same thing could be done on a smaller scale with the Pro if you have several things you use over and over.

SF