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Pro Tools to go with Mbox 2 Micro
Sneaking out just after my AES top picks article, Digidesign’s latest addition to the successful Mbox line was announced earlier last week. Billed as an ultra portable, “on-the-go” Pro Tools solution for your laptop, the Mbox 2 micro allows you to easily take projects wherever you go. This week we will take a first look at the new Mbox 2 Micro, run through some of the pros and cons, and help you decide whether it is the solution you have been waiting for.
Bus powered and roughly the size of a USB flash drive, the Mbox 2 Micro sports a sleek blue anodized aluminum finish and a convenient 1/8” headphone jack with volume control. Trading size for functionality, the Micro unfortunately does not include audio inputs and serves as a playback only device for Pro Tools LE. Again, I will repeat. The Micro DOES NOT have audio inputs, so you will not be able to plug in your guitar, a mic, etc to record audio. You may be thinking, “so why would I want a Pro Tools system that can’t record audio?” Well for starters, it is a perfect solution for those who only record MIDI, as you will still be able to connect your USB MIDI controllers, do sequencing, and use plug-in virtual instruments. For individuals with larger Pro Tools systems that need an on-the-road solution for editing or mixing, you can’t beat the pocket sized form factor and handy 1/8” headphone jack. The Micro retails for $279 and ships with a full version of the venerable Pro Tools LE 7 software and all the standard plug-ins. However, unlike the rest of the Mbox 2 family, the Micro does not include the popular ignition pack bonuses.
So what is the bottom line? Do you need one? Well to make things easy for you I have laid out a simple list of pros and cons related to the Mbox 2 Micro.
Pros:
Smallest Pro Tools system ever: Seriously folks, it is not going to get any smaller then this until Digidesign lets you use the internal sound card on your laptop (which is most likely never going to happen).
Built in headphone jack with volume control: Unlike the M-Audio Transit or Jam Lab, the Micro sports a convenient hardware volume control for its stereo 1/8” headphone jack.
Pro quality sound: Despite its tiny size, the Mbox 2 Micro offers high quality 24bit, 48khz audio playback that is far superior to your average integrated laptop soundcard.
Ships with Pro Tools LE: The Mbox 2 Micro ships with Pro Tools LE.
Cons:
No audio inputs: Enough said.
iLok: Although Pro Tools LE 7.3 does not currently require an iLok license to run (like Pro Tools HD and M-Powered) you will still need an ilok to authorize all of your plug-ins, which unfortunately takes up another one of your laptops USB slots. To bad the micro couldn’t have included a way to store iLok authorizations as part of the design. On another note, you may even consider using a USB hub or cable extension to avoid snapping off the Micro when you stand up and forget to take your headphones off.
1/8” Headphone Jack: While not exactly a “con” for some, most reference headphones use a 1/4” jack, so you will have to use an adapter. Because the headphone jack on the Micro is at the end, the Micro+Headphone Adapter may look a little awkward hanging off the side of your notebook.
No Ignition Pack: Unlike the rest of the Mbox 2 family, the Micro does not ship with the ignition pack bundle.
Bottom line:
For years now, Pro Tools users have been asking for a way to run the software efficiently on their laptops without being chained to a huge hardware interface, and the Mbox 2 Micro is definitely a great solution for those in need of a playback/sequencing only setup. However, I would recommend that if you are looking at the Mbox 2 Micro as your initial introduction to Pro Tools, you might want to consider some of the other options outlined below, all of which offer a great deal of portability but also feature audio inputs.
Other Options:
While there is no doubt that Mbox 2 Micro is very cool, you should be aware of some other options for using Pro Tools on the go. Slightly larger but still extremely portable, the M-Audio Transit and Jamlab both feature audio inputs as well as outputs and will run with Pro Tools M-Powered (purchased separately). The Jamlab also features a ¼” instrument jack specifically designed for guitar or bass players to plug directly into the interface. A bit larger still, the Mbox 2 Mini (covered in an earlier Pro Tools Corner found here ) is still a great portable option that features balanced inputs and outputs, a mic preamp/instrument DI and Pro Tools LE with ignition pack.
Pro Tip: exporting regions as files
Because regions in Pro Tools generally reference larger whole files on your hard disk, some times it can hard to access small slices of edited audio outside of the Pro Tools software. Pro Tools “Export Regions as Files” command easily allows you to take any region selected from the playlist or the regions list and export that as a new audio file to any destination on your hard drive. This is great if you use Pro Tools to cut up samples to load into an MPC, or any software sampler.
To export a region as a new audio file:
- First select the region (or regions) you wish to export in the playlist or the regions list
- Then choose “Export Regions as Files” from the regions list menu (click on the word “Regions” at the top of the regions list to access this menu), or use the keyboard shortcut: Command+Shift+K (MAC) or Control+Shift+K (PC).
- Configure the export menu for the correct file type, bit depth, and sample rate. Under format, remember to choose “stereo” for stereo files as most samplers generally take interleaved files, and might have problems importing split-stereo (or multiple mono) audio.
- Choose a destination directory on your hard drive.
- Hit Export.
Pro Tools Tidbits:
- Tascam has announced Giga Studio 4, and GVI 4 for Mac OSX and PC supporting the RTAS format.
- Apple released updated MacBooks and MacBook Pros featuring the new Intel Santa Rosa processors.
If you have a Pro Tools related question that you would like me to take a shot at answering or have any feedback, please send it to brian@audioMIDI.com. I will do my best to select the questions that seem to stump the most people.
As always, stay tuned to the audioMIDI.com eNews for the latest reviews and new product info.
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