Firestudio expanded to 24 tracks

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Frank Haas
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2007/01/15 16:29:50 (permalink)

Firestudio expanded to 24 tracks

Hi,

I am seriously considering buying a Presonus Firestudio.
Presonus seems to work on drivers to cascade up to 3 units (for 24 analog inputs)
As I am lacking of time I believe I will expand the Firestudio with 2x Digimax FS - "8 channel preamp with ADAT I/O".
The Firestudio has 2 ADAT interfaces.. so that way I will get my 24 analog inputs.
All units have bnc - word clock plugs, so I guess I wont have any trouble on that side.
Primarly this setup is for recording up to 24 tracks simultaniously, so I plan on using my 2.5GHz notebook with an external 7200rpm-usb-drive. (I'll also upgrade to an internal 2,5" - 7200rpm drive).
24Bit, 48KHz and Sonar5PE is what I aim at. (Although I own S6PE I think S5PE is "enough" and most stable)
I dont yet plan using this setup with low latency settings, cause I dont want to apply FXs in the recording process. I also see this setup more as a HD recording system, so Softsynths shouldn't play a rolle either.
I see problems with overdubs.. and latency/trackcount/cpu.

Is anyone here seeing same/other/none problems with this setup ?
As this is a rather large investment I dont want to go in the wrong direction.
thx
Frank

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    Rigel Russell
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    RE: Firestudio expanded to 24 tracks 2007/01/15 20:07:42 (permalink)
    Frank,

    I suggest doing as much research as you can on people's experience with the item.

    I picked up the Focusrite Saffire Pro 26i/o, which is also Firewire, with the same number of inputs/outputs. Mine's working stable, with one ADA8000 8ch/ADAT-out expander, and a spdif (ART DPSII). If I get another expander to move to 26-in, I'll aim for better converter quality than B'ger or ART. I'm working on glitch-free operation with extremely low latencies like 1.5ms, so I can input-monitor w/plug-in effects or amp sim, even with a bunch of tracks already in the project.

    I know there are some loving their Firestudio (and Saffire Pro users with issues), but just a case in point: My friend had the Presonus Firestudio, and I saw it do something strange: when he hit play in Sonar, the Now marker vertical line rushed through the project and only noise came out. He returned it, and got the same Focusrite I have, and he said it's working well for him. In my case, I had to get a PCI Firewire card with TI-chipset for it to work well, and I'm also about to put in a PCI-e graphics card, in pursuit of 1.5ms (or even 1.0ms) with a busy mix.

    Happy hunting!
    Rigel
    #2
    Frank Haas
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    RE: Firestudio expanded to 24 tracks 2007/01/16 11:36:54 (permalink)
    Rigel,

    thank you for your thoughts on this.
    I wanted this rig to be mobile, easy to use (that's why I prefer the Neutrik Combo Connectors on the Presonus combined with 8 front-inputs in a row). I am really getting doubts at the moment, if this setup isnt stable it's useless for me..
    not to mention that in Germany I have to spend 1300US$ more then my musicians in the states.. hmpf..
    #3
    OffAnAirplane
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    RE: Firestudio expanded to 24 tracks 2007/01/16 12:56:55 (permalink)
    I can't comment on the Firestudio, but I used to use two Presonus Digimax LT's in the same fashion as you are planning to. Only I used them with a Motu 2408MkIII. I had a fast PC, but not a hot rod, and it worked flawlessly. I could record 24 audio tracks at once, and never saw a glitch of any kind.

    I almost bought a Firestudio for using as a live mixer/interface for mixing and tracking our live gigs, but I ended up getting a Motu 896HD instead because it had more busses in it's DSP mixer. But if it weren't for that, I'd probably have went with the Firestudio. I've owned several Presonus devices, and haven't been disappointed yet.

    Rom 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
    #4
    Rigel Russell
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    RE: Firestudio expanded to 24 tracks 2007/01/16 14:51:21 (permalink)
    I picked up the Focusrite Saffire Pro 26i/o, which is also Firewire, with the same number of inputs/outputs. Mine's working stable, with one ADA8000 8ch/ADAT-out expander, and a spdif (ART DPSII). If I get another expander to move to 26-in, I'll aim for better converter quality than B'ger or ART. I'm working on glitch-free operation with extremely low latencies like 1.5ms, so I can input-monitor w/plug-in effects or amp sim, even with a bunch of tracks already in the project.

    In my previous post, I said that I'm " . . . working on glitch-free operation with extremely low latencies like 1.5ms. . ." - meaning that I'm not there yet. Currently I can playback my 16-trk test project at 1.5ms, but there are crackles. At 3.0ms it's nice and clear.

    There is a fellow that posts here (JBSKIotaku) from PreSonus Tech Support, running a test lab for the PreSonus equipment. He says they're running without issue, so if you really want the PreSonus features, I'd try to duplicate the specs and setup of one of their PC's.

    a quote from one of his posts:
    I just imported 34 stereo Led Seppelin tracks into Sonar 6.0.1 just to see what would happen.

    It worked fine.

    Here in the Tech Tank, we've got 5 different computers the FireStudio and Sonar 6 are working flawlessly on. We're trying to break these ASIO drivers and can't seem to pull it off.


    Rigel
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    Frank Haas
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    RE: Firestudio expanded to 24 tracks 2007/01/16 15:08:59 (permalink)
    Thx Rigel for pointing out that Presonus Techsupport is present here too..
    He's very optimistic (so am I at the moment, after reading that topic)
    I am only a bit confused about the pricing (huuuge differences between sweetwater and german dealers).
    as I am planing on buying several 24-track-rigs in the future I might give them a call and see what's possible,..
    frank
    #6
    Rigel Russell
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    RE: Firestudio expanded to 24 tracks 2007/01/16 16:11:29 (permalink)
    Between Germany and US prices: I think the smaller difference is exchange rate and the larger difference is import/export TAXES (like VAT / Value-Added Tax) and shipping. The US may have some of their own tax on exports from the US. So, the double-tax/tariff situation probably accounts for the huge differece. If you ordered from a US dealer, I think you're still supposed to pay the German government their VAT - or any other taxes on imports. Not sure of the particulars.

    I was in Germany in 1981-1984, and bought a Marshall amp at a Kaiserslautern music store, and was surprised that it was priced much lower than in the US. And, being a US guy, I was exempt from the VAT.

    Rigel
    #7
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