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M-Audio Fast Track Pro USB Audio Interface
Two mic preamps. Inserts for outboard effects. DTS surround sound through coaxial S/PDIF.
"the perfect bedroom producer solution..."
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Feature:everything i need, and nothing i dont.
Quality:
feels very plastic, but then again so did that first gen elctribe i beat the crap out of...which still works well.
Value:
for the money, this is the best unit on the market. it works well for recording from mics, instruments, samplers and mixers and whatever else you may have. and the balanced outs are great for running sound direct from a computer to a sound board in live situations. this card is an al around performer.
Desirability:
hey, its got lots of knobs and buttons...and thats what makes the layman say "wow"
Sound:
if you're recording direct, nothing can beat this unit.
Ease of Use:
everything worked right out of the box with just a few mouse clicks
Support:
im giving this a ten simply because the upgrade from the packaged ableton 4 to 5.2 was quite easy. other than that, i havent had to contact m-audio
Overall:
ive had a small selection of soundcards and this is the best ive used yet. the only down side is the track limitation due to usb connectivity, but thats something i have yet to hit the limit on. i rarely run more than 4-5 audio tracks plus 2-3 midi tracks. so if this sounds like a downside you can deal with, buy this effing sound card. I LOVE IT!
"Excellent product."
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Feature:Two XLR inputs, to TRS inputs, insert ports, TRS, RCA, and S/PDIF outputs, a headphone port, phantom power, I would say this little box is fairly full-featured, especially considering the price range it is in.
Quality:
Despite being made of plastic, the product is hefty and feels solidly built. I would not worry too much if I dropped it. The only things that bug me are the small plastic switches for the A/B, pad, etc, and the iffy gain controls. Just one millimeter too far and whoa, watch out.
Value:
Given the amount of features offered, this is an excellent value.
Desirability:
The colorful design was somewhat attractive.
Sound:
The sound is clear and free from audible noise at low levels. However, at high gain levels, the noise floor begins to come up a little bit, especially if you're using it with equipment that already has a lot of intrinsic noise.
Ease of Use:
Honestly, I am not sure how so many other people managed to have so many problems. After installing the drivers and plugging the unit in, it worked perfectly. There were some recording errors at first, but increasing the latency eliminated them completely. I have been recording with Adobe Audition 3 without any further errors or hicups at all.
Support:
I haven't had to deal with support, because the product has worked almost perfectly. The information I needed to fix the aforementioned recording error was provided in the online manual.
Overall:
I expect this product to fulfill my recording needs for the foreseeable future.
"Good for the novice, average for the pro"
Feature:
It has most of the features you need for a small project studio, but was lacking in 2 areas. I wish for starters that the headphone had an A/B switch for monitors. I run 2 Alesis Mk2's out of it and when doing post production it becomes a hassle to turn the monitors off if I want to hear only the mix in the cans. The second is only a minor hassle, but I wish the mic/instrument inputs on the front were located in the back, as cabling gets in the way. I understand that the feature is there for instruments to plug into, but if you own a small mixer then you would rather have those in back. Aesthetics I guess.
Quality:
Looks like everything is built well enough. Certainly worked and sounded better than the Fast Track USB unit I bought also. Looks rugged enough to do portable recording gigs with.
Value:
Ehh. The price point was OK with me, but I could have bought other USB units with more features for the same price.
Desirability:
It's simple, intuitive, and just right for the novice home studio owner.
Sound:
The sound is unexpectedly nice for the price range. At high volumes it becomes a bit noisy, but the nice addition of the pads solves that issue.
Ease of Use:
No problem setting it up if you just RTM. I haven't put any instruments through it, I run an 8-channel mixer into it. No audio issues that couldn't be fixed with some simple adjustments.
Support:
I haven't needed to talk with support. The website was plenty of info for me.
Overall:
I bought this product as a short-term fix for a tiny studio project. I knew it wouldn't have the features I really wanted in the long term, and if I lost or broke it I'd probably get another.
It has most of the features you need for a small project studio, but was lacking in 2 areas. I wish for starters that the headphone had an A/B switch for monitors. I run 2 Alesis Mk2's out of it and when doing post production it becomes a hassle to turn the monitors off if I want to hear only the mix in the cans. The second is only a minor hassle, but I wish the mic/instrument inputs on the front were located in the back, as cabling gets in the way. I understand that the feature is there for instruments to plug into, but if you own a small mixer then you would rather have those in back. Aesthetics I guess.
Quality:
Looks like everything is built well enough. Certainly worked and sounded better than the Fast Track USB unit I bought also. Looks rugged enough to do portable recording gigs with.
Value:
Ehh. The price point was OK with me, but I could have bought other USB units with more features for the same price.
Desirability:
It's simple, intuitive, and just right for the novice home studio owner.
Sound:
The sound is unexpectedly nice for the price range. At high volumes it becomes a bit noisy, but the nice addition of the pads solves that issue.
Ease of Use:
No problem setting it up if you just RTM. I haven't put any instruments through it, I run an 8-channel mixer into it. No audio issues that couldn't be fixed with some simple adjustments.
Support:
I haven't needed to talk with support. The website was plenty of info for me.
Overall:
I bought this product as a short-term fix for a tiny studio project. I knew it wouldn't have the features I really wanted in the long term, and if I lost or broke it I'd probably get another.
"Not too shabby! Way to go, M-Audio."
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Feature:Good all around feature mix; if you can get by with the channel count, it's pretty well executed. Makes a great interface to throw in the computer bag and take along since it's bus powered.
Quality:
Plasticky, but light and feels fairly solid for all of that. Knobs are less than robust, but no real obvious design failures that I can see.
Value:
I got this at a store closing sale for about 30% off retail. I think it's not bad for the cost, though, even at avg retail.
Desirability:
Pretty decent appeal - looks nice sitting next to a macbook pro.
Sound:
Doggone good sound compared to other USB interfaces I've worked with. Clean input channel, and really does 24/96.
Ease of Use:
Pretty simple to get working. You'll need to install 'drivers' on your Mac (you get a system prefs panel for controlling the FTP).
Support:
M-Audio has always provided excellent support when I've needed them.
Overall:
Probably would replace it. Hard to say, since I'm a gear head and new stuff comes out every day.
"Great product"
Feature:
It has enough features for the average recorder like me. I mean, come on, do you really except 15 pre's, 20 I/O's, and all these features for only $200?
Quality:
Well, I haven't exactly been throwing it around, but from what I've heard, it can take a few hits. Only downside is it's plastic.
Value:
It's a great value for the price.
Desirability:
It looks... good?
Sound:
Sound quality is pretty good. The preamps aren't amazing, but they're still very good for the price. DI is even better! Crystal clear sounds from my guitar with it.
Ease of Use:
I'll admit, the drivers took a little while to set up, but once you get it all running, it works great.
Support:
Haven't dealt with support - can't say.
Overall:
It's not perfect, but hey, for $200 - it's pretty freakin sweet! I'd recommend this deffinately for guitar (either DI, or mic'ed) and vocals. Not sure about drums and bass though.
It has enough features for the average recorder like me. I mean, come on, do you really except 15 pre's, 20 I/O's, and all these features for only $200?
Quality:
Well, I haven't exactly been throwing it around, but from what I've heard, it can take a few hits. Only downside is it's plastic.
Value:
It's a great value for the price.
Desirability:
It looks... good?
Sound:
Sound quality is pretty good. The preamps aren't amazing, but they're still very good for the price. DI is even better! Crystal clear sounds from my guitar with it.
Ease of Use:
I'll admit, the drivers took a little while to set up, but once you get it all running, it works great.
Support:
Haven't dealt with support - can't say.
Overall:
It's not perfect, but hey, for $200 - it's pretty freakin sweet! I'd recommend this deffinately for guitar (either DI, or mic'ed) and vocals. Not sure about drums and bass though.
"Good value USB interface."
Feature:
Basically, it's a home recording studio in a box. Add a program like Ableton Live (a semi-functional version is included) and you are set for hours of DIY audio joy. You can't multitrack a whole band playing at once but you weren't planning to, were you? The good stuff: *The ability to mix your computer's output and the direct monitoring signal together in your headphones. Super-cool. *Good, noise-free performance with the condenser mic. *Phantom power direct from your computer. *Inserts! Joy! Adds flexibility when recording - don't let your harware effects go to waste. The bad stuff: *Recording with a computer in the room means there's a bit of unwanted noise - not M-Audio's fault, but worth considering. *No hope of getting more than four signals at once into the box at a time.
Quality:
a) The Neutrik XLR connectors look like they might snap off, so I'm planning to leave the mic cable plugged in all the time. b) Using XP (SP2, Pent4, Asus m/board) the drivers are a bit buggy. It doesn't affect the device or any audio programs though, just the included config. software. c)The headphone output and preamps all seem to produce very low signals. Not that annoying, but a problem that should have been fixed.
Value:
If you're a beginner this box will let you do some amazing things. It's not professional quality, but the sound is fine and the price is low.
Desirability:
Yeah, it looks sweet. Stick it on a laptop and go DJing.
Sound:
I'm not a pro and don't know good quality when I hear it, but if you're considering buying this you're probably the same. IMHO, it sounds fine, and will work for recording condenser mics, instruments, samplers, etc. and also for live PC based performance (DJing, samples, theatre sound and so on).
Ease of Use:
It pays to read the manual, and the manuals for your software.
Support:
There are driver updates, but they didn't fix my problem.
Overall:
This is a step on the way to having a proper studio. It's still DIY home-style, but it will give you a recording you can release on CD or play on the radio with confidence.
Basically, it's a home recording studio in a box. Add a program like Ableton Live (a semi-functional version is included) and you are set for hours of DIY audio joy. You can't multitrack a whole band playing at once but you weren't planning to, were you? The good stuff: *The ability to mix your computer's output and the direct monitoring signal together in your headphones. Super-cool. *Good, noise-free performance with the condenser mic. *Phantom power direct from your computer. *Inserts! Joy! Adds flexibility when recording - don't let your harware effects go to waste. The bad stuff: *Recording with a computer in the room means there's a bit of unwanted noise - not M-Audio's fault, but worth considering. *No hope of getting more than four signals at once into the box at a time.
Quality:
a) The Neutrik XLR connectors look like they might snap off, so I'm planning to leave the mic cable plugged in all the time. b) Using XP (SP2, Pent4, Asus m/board) the drivers are a bit buggy. It doesn't affect the device or any audio programs though, just the included config. software. c)The headphone output and preamps all seem to produce very low signals. Not that annoying, but a problem that should have been fixed.
Value:
If you're a beginner this box will let you do some amazing things. It's not professional quality, but the sound is fine and the price is low.
Desirability:
Yeah, it looks sweet. Stick it on a laptop and go DJing.
Sound:
I'm not a pro and don't know good quality when I hear it, but if you're considering buying this you're probably the same. IMHO, it sounds fine, and will work for recording condenser mics, instruments, samplers, etc. and also for live PC based performance (DJing, samples, theatre sound and so on).
Ease of Use:
It pays to read the manual, and the manuals for your software.
Support:
There are driver updates, but they didn't fix my problem.
Overall:
This is a step on the way to having a proper studio. It's still DIY home-style, but it will give you a recording you can release on CD or play on the radio with confidence.
"Fast Track Pro"
Feature:
for me, all i need is a 2 channel mic/ 2 channel Instrument inputs. and a clear sound. so i'm not to worried about Midi, right now anyway.
Quality:
i say eight because instead of puting midi ports they should have put higher gain and quality preamps. THEY are still good preamps though.
Value:
nice product, good value
Desirability:
looks very nice
Sound:
The sound with the right Mic sounds great, with like everthing else. and can't forget about nice cables. DON'T use some old cables, just that will give you some bad hiss.
Ease of Use:
very easy to use on my part. Been using computer for a while.
Support:
every time i called they were there to help!
Overall:
well good product but i will have to buy a preamp on the side to boost the signal bit. i hope that works, it should.
for me, all i need is a 2 channel mic/ 2 channel Instrument inputs. and a clear sound. so i'm not to worried about Midi, right now anyway.
Quality:
i say eight because instead of puting midi ports they should have put higher gain and quality preamps. THEY are still good preamps though.
Value:
nice product, good value
Desirability:
looks very nice
Sound:
The sound with the right Mic sounds great, with like everthing else. and can't forget about nice cables. DON'T use some old cables, just that will give you some bad hiss.
Ease of Use:
very easy to use on my part. Been using computer for a while.
Support:
every time i called they were there to help!
Overall:
well good product but i will have to buy a preamp on the side to boost the signal bit. i hope that works, it should.
"yaya"
Feature:
just regular features nothing specail with the box itself but the pro tools m-powered is great
Quality:
great qualitity i actually did drop it a couple times but still works perfectly fine
Value:
for the price its damn good
Desirability:
not very appealing to the eye but its like one of those girls that just because you can get her she seems hotter its affordable so it seems desireable
Sound:
i dont know what any of these people are talking about it took me under an hour to setup and have it going and i am 16 years old im not tryin to brag im just saying either the problems you had are specific to the equiptment you recieved or maybe your computer is insufficient im not sure but i know i got it working fast and well it has a pretty nice sound i use a cheap art tube preamp for vocals and a line 6 run straight in for guitar and sounds very nice
Ease of Use:
it all depends on your experiance before hand if you have worked with interfaces before peice of cake or even if you just have a nac for this kind of stuff its easy to use but i can see how newer users could have some trouble
Support:
havent had to use it
Overall:
this is a great product in my opinion just take some time to familiarize yourself with the interface and the program your recording into
just regular features nothing specail with the box itself but the pro tools m-powered is great
Quality:
great qualitity i actually did drop it a couple times but still works perfectly fine
Value:
for the price its damn good
Desirability:
not very appealing to the eye but its like one of those girls that just because you can get her she seems hotter its affordable so it seems desireable
Sound:
i dont know what any of these people are talking about it took me under an hour to setup and have it going and i am 16 years old im not tryin to brag im just saying either the problems you had are specific to the equiptment you recieved or maybe your computer is insufficient im not sure but i know i got it working fast and well it has a pretty nice sound i use a cheap art tube preamp for vocals and a line 6 run straight in for guitar and sounds very nice
Ease of Use:
it all depends on your experiance before hand if you have worked with interfaces before peice of cake or even if you just have a nac for this kind of stuff its easy to use but i can see how newer users could have some trouble
Support:
havent had to use it
Overall:
this is a great product in my opinion just take some time to familiarize yourself with the interface and the program your recording into
"Audio interface heaven in a box!"
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Feature:The most useful feature for me,was the Asio audio driver download form the M-Audio website,as it fixed my latency issue in a jiffy! Obviously,using this interface as a default audio device is extremely useful as well & I love having the convenience of manual gain controls right in front of me!
Quality:
For a plastic box,this box is very solid.
Value:
A bargain of the millenium.
Desirability:
A very convenient & sharp looking piece of gear.
Sound:
An incredible overall audio upgrade from my factory pc sound board for the money!
Ease of Use:
This is my first audio interface,& it was basically plug & play!
Support:
M-Audio has good product support through their forum.
Overall:
For my needs,this box is as good as it gets.
"USB 1.1? I don't have problems with that... Don't worry just buy it :D"
Feature:
M-audio screwed it up with a 1.1 USB Interface but for me works just fine, I don't have big problems with that
Quality:
No problems here, I dropped this to the floor accidentally and still working as good as the same day I opened the box
Value:
For 150 bucks this lil' dude will not dissapoint you ;)
Desirability:
Looks great, I like the blue lead is really hypnotic
Sound:
24/96 this is a average audiocard that gives you professional results, you can record here and you can connect your monitors or headphones (in my case Studiophile Q40 from M-audio that sounds BETTER than more expensive headphones)and you will listen everything as crystal clear
Ease of Use:
Just connect your guitar and start playing :D
Support:
M-audio really concern about your needs, Best support ever!
Overall:
I never had problems with the 1.1 usb port... near zero latency, no big problems... if you wanna have a home studio and you wanna record or just listen in your monitors THIS IS YOUR THING!
M-audio screwed it up with a 1.1 USB Interface but for me works just fine, I don't have big problems with that
Quality:
No problems here, I dropped this to the floor accidentally and still working as good as the same day I opened the box
Value:
For 150 bucks this lil' dude will not dissapoint you ;)
Desirability:
Looks great, I like the blue lead is really hypnotic
Sound:
24/96 this is a average audiocard that gives you professional results, you can record here and you can connect your monitors or headphones (in my case Studiophile Q40 from M-audio that sounds BETTER than more expensive headphones)and you will listen everything as crystal clear
Ease of Use:
Just connect your guitar and start playing :D
Support:
M-audio really concern about your needs, Best support ever!
Overall:
I never had problems with the 1.1 usb port... near zero latency, no big problems... if you wanna have a home studio and you wanna record or just listen in your monitors THIS IS YOUR THING!
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