M-Audio Fast Track Pro USB Audio Interface

Start recording with the M-Audio Fast Track Pro USB audio interface. M-Audio Fast Track Pro is affordable and compatible with all popular audio software.

Overall User Ratings (based on 99 ratings)
  • Overall:
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Sound:
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Features:
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Ease of Use:
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Quality:
    3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Value:
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Manufacturer Support:
    4 out of 5 stars
  • The Wow Factor:
    3.5 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
(99) (see rating details)
Submitted November 26, 2010 by a customer from neo.rr.com

"Yepp, it's pretty sweet."

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
This product is great for recording and playing back music. It's probably not the best product if you're a serious audiophile looking to produce a Grammy winning piece, but if you're a solo musician, hobbyist, or even just someone who wants to listen to their music in higher quality, this product is of fantastic value. It's easy to use, relatively easy to set up, provides everything you need to get to doing some pretty quality things.
Sound
Playback with this interface is such a step above what you are getting from the sound card that came in your computer. The clarity is incredible. The headphone amp could use to be a bit louder, but other than that, playback is fantasticly good sounding. When recording however, I couldn't get it to record in 24bit/96khz as the product claims it will, so I just left it in 16bit/44khz. Even at a lower than ideal setting the sound recorded was very clear with almost no latency (none that was too distracting.)
Features
Mine came with a USB cable, and some included software, but honestly, I didn't bother installing the included software because I run Sonar 8.5 Producer. It would've been nice if it would've included drivers that actually worked, but it was easy enough to get the Windows7 x64 drivers downloaded and running that I won't hold it against them too much.
Ease of Use
The drivers included were from a long time ago, and didn't support Windows 7. They did recently release new drivers for Win7 that worked just fine. All I had to do was install the drivers, reboot my computer, and it was working. I haven't gotten it to record in 24bit quality in Sonar yet, but honestly I haven't tried too hard because I'm getting trading my PC in for a MacBook Pro soo, however; it can probably be done. The actual hardware interface is easy to use though, everything makes sense.
Quality
I bought mine "blemished" but the only thing that was blemished about it was the packaging. It feels like it's made pretty well. The knobs have a nice resistance to them so that when you turn them they move smoothly and can make fine adjustments. I've been using it for about a week or so, and it hasn't crashed at all. I am lead to believe that most people who have problems with this interface actually have computer problems, or have no idea what they're doing.
Value
This product is a great value. Even if you only use it to listen to music through, you'll love the increase in sound quality. If you're a home studio musician, this interface gives you everything you need - two good sounding mic preamps, multiple outputs, and its even relatively portable.
Manufacturer Support
I gave it a 10 becuase I haven't had to contact them. In my opinion, making a quality product that doesn't require me to waste my time with calling customer service is worth way more than a 10.
The Wow Factor
It's a pretty nice product. It kind of looks like a toy, which I'm not a big fan of, but other than that it's a pretty sexy interface I suppose.

Musical Background:

ElectroPop Sensation

Musical Style:

ElectroPop, Indie
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Submitted September 19, 2008 by a customer from hotmail.com

"Excellent product."

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
I expect this product to fulfill my recording needs for the foreseeable future.
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.
Features
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.
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.
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.
Manufacturer 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.
The Wow Factor
The colorful design was somewhat attractive.

Musical Background:

Sound editor and recorder

Musical Style:

Classical
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Submitted May 18, 2006 by a customer from gmail.com

"the perfect bedroom producer solution..."

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
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!
Sound
if you're recording direct, nothing can beat this unit.
Features
everything i need, and nothing i dont.
Ease of Use
everything worked right out of the box with just a few mouse clicks
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.
Manufacturer 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
The Wow Factor
hey, its got lots of knobs and buttons...and thats what makes the layman say "wow"

Musical Background:

active musician/producer

Musical Style:

electronica/rock/indistrial
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Submitted April 14, 2006 by a customer from gmail.com

"Good value USB interface."

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
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This review has been selected by our experts as particularly helpful.
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.
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).
Features
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.
Ease of Use
It pays to read the manual, and the manuals for your software.
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.
Manufacturer Support
There are driver updates, but they didn't fix my problem.
The Wow Factor
Yeah, it looks sweet. Stick it on a laptop and go DJing.

Musical Background:

Home recording & live gigs with computer.

Musical Style:

electronica / folk / indie
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Submitted February 21, 2011 by a customer from yahoo.com

"GREAT SOUND GREAT PRICE !! good For both DJs and Producers !"

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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This interface is great if you are producing music at a Beginner/Intermediate level, and It works great for DJing as well I like this interface alot and the best thing is that I think it will be a while untill I grow out of I, since I don´t intend Recording Live performances nor Drums (you can still use two overheads but Its not that good) I´m great with just Two inputs!!
Sound
It sounds pretty good I can get some pretty sweet rich sounding electric guitar, and the mic preamps sound great ! I like the 24 bit depth it offers, which is pretty rare for this price you usually get 16 bit. I think the output signal could be a little louder but its a small detail
Features
I love that It can be used to DJ (two outputs) and to Produce music, and that you can change it up for the occasion, like turn on and off some inputs and outputs, this way I havent had any latency problembs, If find its pretty flexible for the price
Ease of Use
Its Really Easy to use...if you download their ASIO driver from their webpage.... I didn´t at first and it was all weird working, but then when I downloaded their driver for windows 7 X64 after that I got it working in no time, so do it straight away and there should be no problem then you have to learn how to control the Inputs and Outputs, with this little driver control tab that appears when the driver is in use, its really simple
Quality
It looks pretty solid but, its plastic so you still have to treat it with care, but mine has taken some falls and its working fine. the knobs and buttons have a good feel the Mic/Inst inputs aren that solid But if you treat them with care there is no problem
Value
I think its the best for any artist/home producer thats tight on a budget, you get alot for what you pay
Manufacturer Support
Ive never had an issue other than needing a driver for my computer which I downloaded from their site. they have lots of support there.

Musical Background:

Active Musician/Producer

Musical Style:

Alternative, Electrohouse, and New Age
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Submitted August 5, 2008 by a customer from hotmail.com

"Great product"

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
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.
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.
Features
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?
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.
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.
Manufacturer Support
Haven't dealt with support - can't say.
The Wow Factor
It looks... good?

Musical Background:

Active Musician

Musical Style:

Blues, Hard rock, Metal, Rap, Techno
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Submitted August 14, 2011 by a customer from optonline.net

"Easy hook up get right to playing."

Overall: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
maybe upgrade to record couple more instru's some day
Sound
IT works as advertised. I have keyboards hooked up thru the midi port.My casio is about 5 years old and it plugged and played.I also have my guitar hooked up thru the instru port. Everything worked right off.
Features
Works pretty good for my needs.There is enough quality here to have some fun. Some dials to play with that add to over all sound thats going thru my mac book. You can record 2 live ports at a time.For me, not doing more then that, at one time. Most piano or guitar with singing thats all you need for a back room solo studio career. Have fun people.
Ease of Use
Plug in play for me, I run a mac speakers, computer, keyboards, guitar all plug and play with some dial adjusting. Nothing hard here.
Quality
Hey I would not throw it against the wall.Other then that so far so good.
Value
cost more cause I wanted midi ports with it. Not just usb.
The Wow Factor
Its cool its a product

Musical Background:

active hobbyist

Musical Style:

real
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Submitted February 27, 2009 by a customer from aol.com

"Audio interface heaven in a box!"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
For my needs,this box is as good as it gets.
Sound
An incredible overall audio upgrade from my factory pc sound board for the money!
Features
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!
Ease of Use
This is my first audio interface,& it was basically plug & play!
Quality
For a plastic box,this box is very solid.
Value
A bargain of the millenium.
Manufacturer Support
M-Audio has good product support through their forum.
The Wow Factor
A very convenient & sharp looking piece of gear.

Musical Background:

Veteran Keyboardist,recording hobbyist,programmer

Musical Style:

Ambient,jazz,electronica,rock,pop,alternative........
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Submitted June 12, 2007 by a customer from gmail.com

"Not too shabby! Way to go, M-Audio."

Overall: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
Probably would replace it. Hard to say, since I'm a gear head and new stuff comes out every day.
Sound
Doggone good sound compared to other USB interfaces I've worked with. Clean input channel, and really does 24/96.
Features
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.
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).
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.
Manufacturer Support
M-Audio has always provided excellent support when I've needed them.
The Wow Factor
Pretty decent appeal - looks nice sitting next to a macbook pro.

Musical Background:

Home Studio Musician

Musical Style:

Rock, Alternative
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Submitted May 12, 2011 by a customer from yahoo.com

"This is a young student's dream (especially a broke college student ^_^)"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Overall, I truly love this device and I'm extremely happy with my purchase. I have yet to regret buying this interface. I understand that I'll upgrade later due to larger projects that are starting to come along, but I feel that I will keep this product nonetheless. It's my baby (my first, legitimate interface).
Sound
So far I love the quality. The device produces great sound with Logic, in my projects at least. So I have nothing to complain about here.
Features
The preamps, I'll admit, aren't that great. When you get a chance to work with better equipment, you'll notice that and you may want to purchase an external pre-amp. Nonetheless, I'm pretty fine with everything else.
Ease of Use
With my Mac, I didn't need any drivers. It was literally plug n' play.
Quality
Sadly, I must say that I have dropped this thing a few times. Nonetheless, it still continues to work as if it's brand new. The build is sturdy. It may seem/look a little cheap, but it definitely does not do cheap work. It continues to handle my small and slightly larger needs quite well. And I've had it for a while now, so it is dependable.
Value
This product is great for a beginner or even someone who isn't a beginner. I have nothing but good times and great music with this device.
Manufacturer Support
So far, I have had no problems with this device, so no need to discuss support (thankfully).
The Wow Factor
Sex appeal is so-so for this product. I mean, I thought it was sexy for my budget. It was absolutely stunning based on the projects that I've started off with.

Musical Background:

Student, Musician, Producer & Engineer

Musical Style:

pretty much any genre
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Submitted December 3, 2007 by a customer from gmail.com

"Works.... most of the time.... except when it doesn't"

Overall: 2 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
Ease of Use
buttons are a little hard to access. Back panel phantom power switch is almost hidden, power is on back. OK, but could be a lot better
Quality
Unit is well built. Solid. Drivers, on the other hand, are pretty crappy. Under OSX 10.4.x they crap out all the time. I need to drop Logic, turn the unit off then back on. Sometimes (read: most of the time) turning the unit on causes the whole OS to hang for about 2-4 minutes, and then finally wake up. Sometimes (read: once in a while) turning the unit off and back on will cause the system to crash and require reboot... Bah. Next audio interface will definitely be MOTU.
Value
Decent value.
Manufacturer Support
Not great. They have not fixed bugs in their OSX drivers, and the last update was in 2006 or something. Lame.

Musical Background:

Hobbyist, aspiring amateur

Musical Style:

Electronica, trip-hop, nu-jazz
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Submitted January 28, 2008 by a customer from hotmail.com

"USB 1.1? I don't have problems with that... Don't worry just buy it :D"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
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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!
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
Features
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
Ease of Use
Just connect your guitar and start playing :D
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 ;)
Manufacturer Support
M-audio really concern about your needs, Best support ever!
The Wow Factor
Looks great, I like the blue lead is really hypnotic

Musical Background:

Musical Producer

Musical Style:

Funky House, Latin House, Electro House and Everything about HOUSE
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Submitted October 3, 2008 by a customer from hotmail.com

"Please stop the humm"

Overall: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
If it had not start humming It was definitely an up grade from that piece junk lexicon omega that never worked right
Sound
when I first got it it worked fine. now its making a hum noise that I can't get rid of. overall its been ok but for some reason all of a sudden I am getting this hummmmmmmmmmmmmming noise darn. boy that's annoying
Quality
Well I had hoped it would last longer than it did Like I only had for 2 months but it started to hum
Manufacturer Support
have not tried contact

Musical Background:

gutiar player

Musical Style:

all
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Submitted February 2, 2007 by a customer from gmail.com

"Could be great if I didn't have to install the drivers every time I use it."

Overall: 2.5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
I've had this product for three months, and I am definitely shopping around for a higher-level interface already. I reached the peak of what it could do probably in the first 3 or 4 days of owning it: the preamps are just that dismal. The other issues have contributed to my frustration with this product (when it really could've been a great item!), and now I'm looking at either the firewire 410 (but I'm not sure about m-audio anymore) or the digidesign m-boxes.
Sound
The preamps are rather dull and cardboardy, but some work with eq and compressors will give you decent vocals. Guitar direct in, on the other hand, leaves a lot to be desired.
Features
The neutrik ins are nice. I would really have liked to see two headphone outs, one with a muting function over the other.
Ease of Use
Every other time I boot up my computer, I have to reinstall the drivers. It recognizes the input from the instrument or midi device connected, but just does not send the information to the computer (or produce any sound in the headphone jack). The driver reinstall requires a restart, which is even more time-consuming. When it works, it works well (on my macbook pro), but it was causing frequent kernel panics on my intel iMac.
Quality
Again, when it is working, it is pretty good (but certainly not transparent!). But, more often than not, it has all sorts of glitches. There are often little crackles and clicks recorded in my audio track (and it certainly isn't the USB cable: I upgraded to a monster cable for that reason!) The left neutrik jack works reasonably well (although its gain control is virtually impossible to decode: i'm either peaking or it is inaudible); however, the 2nd input makes these very quiet buzz noises whenever the green gain light goes on (to indicate that a signal is coming in). I assume that I'm getting the "buzz/hum" noise from the green light because of a poorly soldered joint or wire-cross. I have yet to open it up to take a look and see if I can just disconnect it.... Either way, this points to poor build quality / quality control.
Value
It has decent features, but what's most important is its reliability and transparency. What is the point of making an entry level product if it doesn't adequately do the job it is supposed to?
The Wow Factor
It's a nice looking piece of equipment, but begins to look bland after a while (the firewire 410 is certainly an aesthetic upgrade!)

Musical Background:

home recording musician

Musical Style:

folk, acoustic, electronic, experimental
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Submitted July 14, 2008 by a customer from hotmail.com

"yaya"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
this is a great product in my opinion just take some time to familiarize yourself with the interface and the program your recording into
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
Features
just regular features nothing specail with the box itself but the pro tools m-powered is great
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
Quality
great qualitity i actually did drop it a couple times but still works perfectly fine
Value
for the price its damn good
Manufacturer Support
havent had to use it
The Wow Factor
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

Musical Background:

Active Musician

Musical Style:

All
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Submitted March 7, 2008 by a customer from gmail.com

"Vista support?"

Overall: 1.5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
When it worked, it was great. But twenty minutes of clear sound until it distorts is not my idea of a good product.
Sound
Unintentional clicks and pops due to messed up Vista drivers.
Manufacturer Support
The beta Vista driver does not work. M-Audio seems to concern themselves lately with new products and Mac support, not with loyal Windows customers who have begged for support.
The Wow Factor
Due to their lack of customer support, M-Audio lost a loyal customer. I owned a Oxygen 8 before this, and same problem: no Vista support. I'm not a Vista lover, had no choice in the matter when I purchased a new laptop, but expected some help from one of the world's largest audio companies. No dice.

Musical Background:

professional musician

Musical Style:

all genres of jazz and electronica
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Submitted April 9, 2012 by Ed M in Annapolis Royal, NS

"M-Audio Fast Track Pro Audio"

Overall: 0.5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Bought to record partner's keyboard playing by midi and add vocal tracks. Hardware nicely packaged but engineered specs so-so. Was to use with Win 7 64 bit laptop. Found updated drivers and download okay. Could connect with unit. Outdated bundled application software completely useless. Had old Xp machine which allowed update of abelton software, which is biased toward guitar, limited and more concerned about purchasing upgrade. Documentation poor, quick start guide useless, Avid web site other than drivers very poor for support, focused on purchasing support,. Promise of upgraded software failed to be delivered in timely fashion, excessive time to download software, received zipped and corrupted. Seem to assume you want to immediately pirate their software, safeguards unnecessarily complicated. Returned unit to dealer. Not customer friendly.

Musical Background:

Wife musician but have worked sound boards in church and theatre,

Musical Style:

Christian, Broadway, classical
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Submitted January 12, 2008 by a customer from gmail.com

M-Audio Fast Track Pro Customer Review

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Sound
the M-audio fast track pro is definitely a worth deal, since i'm more in to gospel, i need live guitars to be recorded which is nicely dealt with by the unit and being a pianist the midi I\O helps polish the piano tracks easily, and it works quite fine with my sequncer(Cubase\Nuendo)!
Features
i wish the hardware came with m-powered pro tools rather than ableton but at this price what else can u expect.. other than that the build quality is mediocre sometimes i feel the knobs might just break loose!!
Ease of Use
its sound is awesome whether live or in a controlled environment! and no steep learning curve as well, the installation was a breeze!

Musical Background:

Musician

Musical Style:

Gospel
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Submitted December 15, 2011 by a customer from gmail.com

"Nice I/O at a great price."

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
Another quality product from M-Audio. Love it for it's mobility.
Sound
Sound is very crisp and clear with no audible noise from TRS or RCA outs. Volume is a tad bit low even when cranked mix and monitor full tilt - however these are consumer level outs (-10db, phono) so during live performance you will need a mixer or some other device with gain/trim to increase db output.
Features
For the price - everything you need for a simple home studio, recording on the go but very much perfect for DJing with 4 RCA phono outs or two TRS outs.
Ease of Use
Easiest I/O I've setup to date. Minutes to setup, if that. Configuring buffer size and sample rate is a snap.
Quality
Despite being plastic - it is solidly built. Knobs feel tight, buttons feel good. Very well made for the price.
Value
For the price point, this I/O has everything you need to get started.
The Wow Factor
If you're a mobile DJ or would like a more mobile I/O for road gigs - this is a nice unit if you plan to do all of your mixing internally (Ableton, Logic, Cubase, etc).

Musical Background:

Since I was 6.

Musical Style:

Electronic, classical, horror.
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Submitted May 18, 2009 by a customer from live.com

"USB 1.1 and its latency makes this unit unusable by anyone who takes their music seriously."

Overall: 0.5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Features
my only review on this (since i know the pre-amps in this are GREAT) is that why did they use USB 1.1 on this interface!!! WTF!!! it's ridiculous. this is the year 2009 people! the fact that M-Audio did this to us is seriously aggravating. i really wanted this unit, but "near zero" latency is NOT no latency, what that means is that there is SOME LATENCY there. maybe if you are in a garage band it doesnt matter, but if you are like me and play DEATH METAL at over 300bpm, there is no possible way to record demos using anything that has even a smidgen of latency. its simply idiotic. to get USB 2.0 you have to get the ULTRA version of this, which is way overkill for demo recording. plus, since when has "metal guitarist" and "having money" ever been synonymous? M-Audio really dropped the ball on this product.

Musical Background:

active musician, recording engineer, producer

Musical Style:

DEATH METAL
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Submitted July 12, 2008

"16 Bit ONLY!!!!! NOT 24!!!!! Lots of driver issues also."

Overall: 3.5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
If you can get it to work that mabye you will have a decent audio interface but good luck. Thats all
Sound
The sound is actually preety good. Its clear and I had no trouble with cracks or pops.. Well mabye a little.
Features
Lots of features included. Midi, SPDIF in's, TRS outs, Phantom Power, Pad, Clip light, and more. Also came with a 6' USB cable which is always nice!
Ease of Use
The Drivers that come with this are a NIGHTMARE. I spent many late night s just trying to get it to work. I have a good computer with lots of RAM and GHZ. So it should of worked but alright.. I guess not. The drivers will constantly stop detecting the interface. Which then makes you have to reinstall them again and again. It also had latency problems. Especially with two inputs.
Quality
It is made of hard plastic it seems well made. It has a kingston lock port to prevent theft. But it just a frustrating interface. I use it with windows. I don't know about a MAC.
Manufacturer Support
HORRIBLE... This made me so mad... I called them on a tuesday morning and after waiting 30 minutes on the phone I was notified that they were closed for training. I called again the next day and they could not help me. They told me to reinstall the drivers. M-Audio has very poor support.
The Wow Factor
It looks nice and has lots of features. Heck... I wanted it at one point.
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Submitted May 1, 2008

"Great sound at the cost of a lot of hassle!"

Overall: 2.5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
If m audio tech cant help me get this thing to work, then ill be looking for something else right away, and thats a shame since i just got it...
Sound
As a sound card this thing produces... as a tool to record, its been a nightmare, in fact, im waiting for m-audio to call me back... when this thing doesnt operate correctly, you have to turn the gain on the mic and the turn the headphones down to monitor your self. I tried it on the Mac and got a bit better results... If you can get this thing to work, i dont see it producing great sound for 200 bonez but considering the hassle, i should of got something else...
Ease of Use
like i said above... If I have to call tech support to make it work, then its not just plug and play...
Quality
its plastic, but its also a usb audio interface, most external computer hardware is plastic... i read some one say the knobs seem like they are gonna fall off. not true.. the thing is built well but im not sure if id wanna drop this thing at all, and at any point...
Value
i payed 130 bucks... i guess i paid low price for high punishment, i just wanna record!!!
Manufacturer Support
took for ever to get some one on the phone... and i have to be called back after 2 3 hours, so if you have to rely on tech support, good luck...
The Wow Factor
well, its blue, its looks nice, its a piece of plastic, not sure how lustful i am at it, right now i feel like burying it in the yard...

Musical Background:

rap artist, recording engineer.

Musical Style:

all
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Submitted June 7, 2007

"Home digital recording 101... Good for the price USB. (ENTRY LEVEL DEVICE)"

Overall: 3.5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
It craps out at least once every 2 hour recording session. and then i have to save what ive recorded so far - > close all recording applications -> turn off fast track device -> wait 5 seconds -> turn on fast track device -> reopen apps... gets to be a pain in the ass, and it seems like random instability. maybe new drivers would solve these problems? i have a sense it's the analog parts though, not a digital problem. Beyond that one problem the little bugger does it's job like a champ. For amateur home start-up studio, this is a good option. now that I am comfortable with stereo mic'ing and recording i want to upgrade. I've had the fast track for 3 months. and next time i will be buying probably something from MOTU, and at least 4x4. Although i dream of a MOTU firewire 8pre or a MOTU firewire traveler.
Sound
I use an intel mac mini and a ppc 12" powerbook with the fast track pro, and record mostly with cubase and audacity. The quality of the inputs better then par as far as usb audio interfaces, nothing special though.
Features
I only paid $90 for this. Considering the price, the features are pretty good, -20db pads, gain knobs, usb powered, headphone monitoring with a volume knob.
Ease of Use
I think I downloaded drivers but I can't remember. The only problem to mention is fairly often when I have the fast track connected to my powerbook the signal will suddenly become double sensitive. The quality sucks even when I turn the pads on and the gain all the way down to where there is no clipping. My solution is closing my recording application (cubase/audacity) and turn the fast track off for a few seconds. Then turn it back on, and re-open the applications.
Quality
Its plastic, light, could fall down the stairs and probably still work. Cheap knobs and led lights though. For the $90 i paid for it, it's good.
Value
For $90, this was a steal. But for $200 I would be shopping around. If all you want is stereo recording at 24-bit/96kHz this will get it done, but I would buy this thing used or wait until its on sale. You can buy mine, because I already want to upgrade.
Manufacturer Support
I've talked to M-audio before, but never about my fast track. They fixed my other problems with a new driver available on their site.
The Wow Factor
wowowowowowow!!!! this design is so sexy, i cant control myself. I often find myself gazing, fantacizing, falling deeply into those Neutrik XLR/ 1/4 in. TRS inputs.... Its blue, there are pretty green lights when things are working, and red ones when you are screwing up your recording. "...beyond its practical use (the color, the way it's made, the way it feels to you, the sheer genius of its design or features), that make you lust for this piece of gear even if you could make good music without it?" if you lust for usb audio peripherals' design i want to meet you.

Musical Background:

Housefull of musicians. Recording engineer student.

Musical Style:

Folk - raggae - blues - rock - psychedelia
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Submitted April 20, 2007

"Good for the novice, average for the pro"

Overall: 3.5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
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.
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.
Features
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.
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.
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.
Manufacturer Support
I haven't needed to talk with support. The website was plenty of info for me.
The Wow Factor
It's simple, intuitive, and just right for the novice home studio owner.
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Submitted April 4, 2006

"Fast Track Pro"

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
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.
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.
Features
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.
Ease of Use
very easy to use on my part. Been using computer for a while.
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
Manufacturer Support
every time i called they were there to help!
The Wow Factor
looks very nice

Musical Background:

Play guitar, and looking into doing some high quality home recording for myself and for others to jam

Musical Style:

all types, rock, cajun, country, just have fun with what you do!
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