MOTU Traveler Reviews | Sweetwater.com

Amazing, especially for the price
by David Sadd from Charleston, SC, June 2008
Music Background: Pro Musician, Worship Leader, Recording Engeineer

This thing rocks.

It's not perfect, but there is nothing near the price which can compete with it. I have been using several of these (and 896HDs) for years and I am always pleased. I have done recordings live on location or used it for overdubs and mixing in the studio.

The pre-amps are of good quality and stay quiet unless you are really pushing them. Especially with a really quiet mic like the Shure KSM44, you will get great results.

User interface is good, but will take a bit of practice to master (mostly you don't need to use it much since it's all in software on the computer). I have never actually tried it on bus power, but that's cool. When using it as a MIDI interface, there is no compromise to the audio (many interfaces have audible clicks and distortion when using MIDI and audio through the same interface).

I HIGHLY recommend getting a firewire card even if your desktop has built in firewire. You will find that everything gets quieter and more detailed. It's not subtle.

Get one, you'll love it. When it's time to grow, get a single channel pre-amp to augment (I have had great success with the Presonus Eureka). And, don't forget good cables.

"EXTRAORDINARY RESULTS FOR PORTABILITY OR STUDIO."
by Ingvar Estrada from NV., March 2007
Music Background: Tenor

The Motu Traveler has produced outstanding results with a Macintosh Tower & Powerbook.
"The Rolling Stones and James Taylor utilize the Motu Traveler
and the pro reviews and awards says it all."

"A MARVELOUS PIECE OF EQUIPMENT."

The Best in I/O
by Paul from Columbia, SC, March 2007
Music Background: All aspects of recording with two commercial CD releases

I chose the Traveler a year ago for the most I/O flexibility and have not been disappointed. The converters in the Traveler are not quite what I wanted, but the addition of an Apogee Big Ben brought the system up to par with the best of what I have heard. Again, at the time I bought my Digi didn't have a word clock in, so the 002 wasn't going to do it for me. The 003 has one so, it would be down to this and the 003. I'd still choose the MOTU because of the better I/O and I like DP better, but that is just preference. You will be happy with your purchase, but for serious studio work add the word clock.

portable at max
by jimi Krystofiak from San Leandro Ca, September 2006
Music Background: Recording enginer w/ BA

This is a sweet piece of gear. portable and runs of firewire power... wha... too cool. so i've done some mobile recording and with this, a loptop, good mic selection and some 8ch light pipe pres, your ready to rock!!!!!!!!!! clean sounds good, and Strong. Dropped mine once really bad down some stairs, still works perfect.

Nice for the price
by vince from Des Moines, IA, USA, July 2006
Music Background: hobbyist

This is one handy box. Perfect for use with a laptop to record on the go. Simple to use and set up, I most often use this in my home to allow me to record with a more simple setup than my desktop computer DAW. Using just the laptop and the Traveler allows me to plug my guitar and everything else into one outlet, so no ground loops to deal with. (And it IS powered only by the laptop using a 2006 Powerbook) The audio quality is superb and using this in conjunction with an excellent DI box, I have some of the most delicious electric guitar tracks I could ever have imagined. The interface is a little quirky when you are just using the front panel.

A Mixed Bag
by Robert J. Spear from Ithaca, NY USA, March 2006

I've had my Traveler for over a year and use it mostly for recording classical music on location. This is a challenge for any gear because it involves quiet sources with low-output mics, and this got me off on the wrong foot. The Traveler manual has an incorrectly stated gain range on the mic pres of +73 dB, when the output display clearly shows it tops out at +53 dB. In other words, it won't drive ribbon mics, and even some dynamics will track with audible hiss, so I incurred extra expense for a small mic pre especially for my low-output ribbons.

The Traveler is otherwise a very flexible unit, and it may be all that you'll ever need, once Motu gets a few bugs worked out of the CueMix software. I have used it as a stand-alone mic preamp and mixer and found the display hard to read and the process of changing settings to be absolutely frustrating. Do it on-screen with your laptop and it could hardly be easier, but Motu should make all the Traveler's functions accessible through software.

A nice touch is the independently switched phantom power on each of the four mic inputs, and the mic pres sound very good as long as you don't push them. I also like having a pad on each mic channel and the ability to designate channels 5 - 8 as either mic or line inputs with a +6 dB boost available. It's a lot easier to tote this smaller, lighter unit around in a shoulder bag and not have to worry about rack ears tearing everything up. While the Traveler might not be the champ in every category, it does many things well, and there is currently nothing else out there quite like it.

Not quite a traveler....
by Mookie from Phoenix, AZ USA, March 2006

I'd like to agree about the sound quality but the design of this rack is terrible!

1)Yes, it is powered by Firewire(6 pin) which makes it useless to 99% of laptops because they are 4pin (unless you have an old MAC). Buying a PCMCIA Firewire card is worthless because you still need DC power for the PCMCIA card!

2) Since I can't "Travel" with it without power I'll have to buy a 4pin XLR battery which is another $200. BOO

3) I can't even power it in my RACK! The DC adaptor sticks out of the side of the unit and will not mount in a rack when plugged in! Why not power it from the back?!

Worthless engineering!

Mookie

"traveling I must go"
by Nelson Lavers from Ontario, Canada, April 2005

Oh a traveling I must go , a traveling I must go...

What a rack this ones is! I had tried all the M Audio products for years as well as various
Roland recorders etc... for years, but in my opinion this is the “real thing” for the money.

I could not believe the sound quality from play back when I put a Neumann mic up to my acoustic, hit record and then listen back, as this is how I generally test with these products at the start and then move to some vocals/bass/drums and so on.

The sound was far Superior to any other card or rack that I have used in the past as I was just coming from the M Audio Fire wire 410...not even close!

Yes, I have had a limited budget over the years and you get what you pay for, as I could not spend $2000.00 on a card or rack, but I now feel that I've honestly found a solution that is prefect for the small project studio in mind.

I have been missing this quality for years, as the dynamic range and sound is so clear, warm and in you face with no noise present. It put the whole M Audio line to shame and everything else in that range as well in my opinion as I tried or at one time heard them all from various project/home studio setups around my area.

You would be hard pressed to find anything of this quality, in this price range that can match it's functions and over all sound, as the 4 mic pre's are excellent and the in's and outs are a great match up for the package itself.

I'm so glad I bought this, as it's taken my recordings up to the more professional level of sound in the studio, and the people I work with can hear the difference “right away” with overwhelming enthusiasm ever present around the room.

Don't settle for a cheap card if you can go the extra little bit at the bank because it's worth it in the long run and you might be keeping this product for a very long time as it may be all you will ever need for the small studio application without sacrificing whats going onto your hard drive as it is you last link to the Zeros and One's!

Ya... the portability is cool too ...as I do a lot of off site recording at various times of the year and it's nice to record a jam around the fire with this type of quality in mind ...put a stereo mic out... press record ...and wow ...It will be like your right there when listening back ...

...just watch how many beers you have in ya!!! as you don't need to be “traveling” into the fire with you traveler!

Just my 2.3 cents ok

Happy travels ...N Lavers
Lavers Productions

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