M-Audio Fast Track Pro equivalent?

[j1clark@ucsd.edu]

At the moment I'm looking for alternatives to the Fast Track Pro, since 'support' seems to be pretty damn slow on drivers for Mac OS Mountain. While the sticky on 'recorders' seemed to center on things like the Zoom and Tascam, the non-portables like the Fast Track didn't seem to have much mention.

I've found 'names', but don't know if these are better or worse in their 'class' of around $300-400 Bux US.

MOTU 4 pre has 4 XLR's (not clear what 'guitar' vs. 'mic' may mean in terms of impedance and levels...) as well as a number of 1/4 in. jacks.
Edirol UA-101 Has 2 XLR inputs with phantom power, but has a number of 1/4 jacks on the back for both in and out. I'd only be using the XLR's... so 1/4 jacks seems like over kill.

I couldn't determine whether these were also sliding off the back side of Mac OS support, nor whether they were quality 'quality' for the class the same as the M-Audio device.

If they are better or the same... fine, if they are worse... well obviously I'll look elsewhere...

 

[Alex H.]

While the sticky on 'recorders' seemed to center on things like the Zoom and Tascam, the non-portables like the Fast Track didn't seem to have much mention.

That's because things like the Fast Track are not recorders. They're audio interfaces for computers. These are two very different things.

If you're looking for a basic audio i/o interface and 4x4 is enough for you, take a look at the EIE Pro from AKAI. The Omega from Lexicon is also decent... not my favorite, but much better than their Alpha and Lambda interfaces. MOTU interfaces are pretty good, though, so if you want to spend a little more than the EIE Pro, that might not be a bad place to start.

And "guitar" input, sometimes called "instrument level", is an unbalanced 1/4" connection with a signal level lower than line but hotter than mic. These are made specifically for connecting electric guitars and basses, and acoustics with pickups.