Is the Avid Pro tools Mbox a good all in one unit for the axe fx?

E

elkabyle

Inspired
I'm looking for an adequate all-in-one box to connect the axe-fx to my macbook (only have Usb, no firewire). Found this:
Avid | Pro Tools Mbox

Seems to tick all boxes:
- midi in-out (to edit patches with the axe-fx PC editor)
- line in - with XLR (to record with Logic)
- monitor out (to connect to Studio monitors)
- headphones out (to use with my Senn hd650)

Anyone on the forum using this box?


I also have a podXt at hand, but I'm not sure if it's a recommended solution? It has all of the above except the stereo input (only a mono guitar input).
 
I have this. It works fine on Windows 7 and Mac Snow Leopard. Even the MIDI interface seems OK (although I have not used it for a firmware update yet).

I also have a Pod XT hiding in a closet. That is not a good solution. It is designed to take a mono guitar input to be processed by the Line 6 modeled amps and effects which can then be recorded over USB. You don't want to mess with the Axe-FX purity of essence of natural tones by running it through a red bean.
 
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The Mbox is Ok for a portable device. It does have some king of low audible hum to it that is kind of annoying. I can usually only hear it with headphones.
 
I'd rather have no hum at all to be honest.
The other interfaces that I consider are the m-audio fast track pro and the Lexicon Ionix-U22. Both have midi and are usb. They're not too expensive either. Has anyone on the forum used them before? Are they adequate?
 
I bought an I-Onix U22 after reading Scott Peterson's review and I like it a lot.
 
LMO said:
I bought an I-Onix U22 after reading Scott Peterson's review and I like it a lot.
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Hi LMO,

I performed a search on this forum to look for this review (and even on google), but somehow I cannot find it. Could you tell me where it is, please?
 
I like the Apogee Duet a lot. I know it doesn't have MIDI, but I use the M Audio Uno for that. That way I don't have to take my converter on the road.

*Disregard this if you're going to use Pro Tools specifically.
 
guitargeorge said:
I performed a search on this forum to look for this review (and even on google), but somehow I cannot find it. Could you tell me where it is, please?
Click to expand...
A search for posts by Scott Peterson including the word Lexicon will turn up several posts (Perhaps I should have written "recommendation" instead of "review" in case that is confusing you):

Scott Peterson said:
I picked up a Lexicon I-Onix U22 USB interface and I love this thing. It's a little bit more expensive than your budget at $250, but it's rock solid and sounds really good. It's also a no-brainer midi interface that works well with the Axe-FX and has a hardware knob for direct/playback monitoring. So you can monitor your DAW's feed and your playing directly via hardware and it's simple as pie to setup and work with. Runs perfectly on my ancient Win-XP DAW. Love it!!
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Scott Peterson said:
I own and use the Lexicon I-Onix U22 you have pictured there and LOVE it. Great sound, totally functional design and works great with the Axe-FX both with audio and with midi. Highly recommended.
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Scott Peterson said:
Recently went from a higher end Lynx Studios L22 PCI interface to a lower rent Lexicon I-Onix U22 USB interface and could NOT be happier. I now have rock solid drivers, hardware mix and a dependable midi interface in one unit. And it sounds good. No brainer for me. $249. The next version up has SDIF; I maybe should have gone with that instead, but don't use the SPIF at all anymore so decided against it. In my case, frugality actually turned out to be a benefit.
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79_limited said:
The Mbox is Ok for a portable device. It does have some king of low audible hum to it that is kind of annoying. I can usually only hear it with headphones.
Click to expand...

Must be your system. I used Axe-FX into Mbox 2 into pc. 2 thumbs. The only thing humming is me ........
 
Yeah it may be something else causing the hum when I have it hooked to my PC. Whan hooked up to my Macbook the hum goes away.
 
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