FCP Audio Interfaces
- Thread starter DelRio
- Start date
It should work. I say should because I don't have one myself so can't test, but most Firewire interfaces will have no problem working with FCP or any other application that accepts audio input on the Mac (Soundtrack Pro, etc.).
As far as recommendations. There are a lot of options and it depends on what you need and how much you are willing to spend. There are interfaces by Apogee, RME, ProSonus, FocusRite, Metric Halo, etc.
As far as recommendations. There are a lot of options and it depends on what you need and how much you are willing to spend. There are interfaces by Apogee, RME, ProSonus, FocusRite, Metric Halo, etc.
Ram S.O.S
Well-known member
I use a digidesign Mbox2 because a friend of mine had one on hand. It works most of the time for voiceovers, sometimes it's really hard to make FCP's voiceover tool recognize the Mbox2. One thing that I don't much like with my setup is that you cannot use it to monitor audio, only as an input device. I'm probably going to find a different solution that works all the time. The Mbox2 is usb I have no experience with the Mackie ONYX 1220.
It looks like Mackie upgraded the Onyx line. It's now called Onyx-i and all of the mixers come with Firewire already built-in. Final Cut Pro support is listed.
Onyx-i product page
Onyx-i product page
Do some digging my friend and you will see how you can use the Mbox to monitor audio. Also you can import quick time movies into Pro Tools, so you can do your voice overs in there while still looking at your clip :happy:
Ram S.O.S
Well-known member
I'll do some digging for the monitoring. Also you can watch your footage as you record your v.o. in FCP using the voiceover tool it's a very cool feature. Not knocking Pro Tools at all because its great. The v.o. tool is just a simple integrated tool that works without addition exports or steps.
Ram S.O.S
Well-known member
Looks like my M-Box could be replaced by a Mackie Onyx mixer, these are great. I'm having trouble finding much of anything about peoples experience with these mixers and FCP online. Does anyone have any links or personal experience? Can you use them to mix multiple tracks of audio or is it more of an audio input device when dealing with FCP? If I could use one as a physical surface for mixing my audio that would seat the deal.
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You can find some reviews on the product pages for each mixer. It's a new product so there's not much out there yet. I imagine that they work in a similar way to the old Onyx mixers with the Firewire card so you can look for reviews of those models. Also check out the manual (it's available as a PDF on the product page for each mixer).
From what I've read, the Firewire interface lets you record each channel strip pre-fader, either pre-EQ or post EQ, as well as the finished left/right mix. This way you could use the mixer as a straight interface and record into your computer and mix later in software, mix on the hardware and record the final mix to computer, or both.
It's not a control surface so you can't use it to control the levels of your audio tracks once it's in Final Cut Pro. If you want to do that, you need something like the Mackie MCU Pro or Euphonix MC Mix/Control. Or you can go with something like a Tascam FW-1082 which is both an interface and a control surface.
If you are mainly looking for an audio interface and plan on mixing on the computer, you might want to check out some of the "mixer-less" audio interfaces from the companies I mentioned above; Apogee, RME, MOTU, Focusrite, Metric Halo, etc. Check for Mac support and you are good to go.
From what I've read, the Firewire interface lets you record each channel strip pre-fader, either pre-EQ or post EQ, as well as the finished left/right mix. This way you could use the mixer as a straight interface and record into your computer and mix later in software, mix on the hardware and record the final mix to computer, or both.
It's not a control surface so you can't use it to control the levels of your audio tracks once it's in Final Cut Pro. If you want to do that, you need something like the Mackie MCU Pro or Euphonix MC Mix/Control. Or you can go with something like a Tascam FW-1082 which is both an interface and a control surface.
If you are mainly looking for an audio interface and plan on mixing on the computer, you might want to check out some of the "mixer-less" audio interfaces from the companies I mentioned above; Apogee, RME, MOTU, Focusrite, Metric Halo, etc. Check for Mac support and you are good to go.
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Ram S.O.S
Well-known member
Thanks I thought it might have been an inexpensive option to a control surface, thanks for the info. Still quite nice but overkill for single input voiceovers.
DelRio
Well-known member
Well I started this thread cause I have the ONYX1220, & I know about the Firewire card option but I wasn't sure if it would work as an interface to FCP or not. I know it will work with logic and other programs so I wondered if anyone had used it cause I love my 1220 for input mixing in my studio but never actually used it with the firewire interface + program combination. While using FCP I thought to myself if it did that would be awesome, so I wanted to see if anyone used this combo... Well I will soon have the Fire Wire Card and hope I will have some good experiences & sufficient pros to recommend this set up. Thanks for the input so far everyone!
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