Recording Studio Equipment

The Microphone: M-Audio Producer USB mic
The mic connects to your computer and is powered through the USB port so there’s no need for pre-amp phantom power. It is uni-directional and does a great job of cutting out background noise. You can adjust the levels of dba through the Pro Tools software so the mic will pick up your voice when you’re not sitting close to the mic (like if you want to stand and sing) and/or if you have a really soft voice. There’s a built-in pop filter that works fine, but I always use a separate pop filter anyway. There’s a headphone jack on the mic which is useful for two things: It has better transfer than you would get from plugging your headphones into the computer’s headphone jack, and it eliminates any feedback you might get from having your voice play over speakers while you’re recording. The uni-directional mic reduces but doesn’t eliminate feedback. (A recording tip for singers: You’ll want headphones anyway – hold one headphone cup over your ear so you can hear your recording voice and let your other ear hear your voice as you’re used to hearing it. This is the best way to train your voice for recording which is different from just singing aloud to an audience.)

The Software: Pro Tools M-Powered Essential
This is not the full version of Pro Tools, it’s an introductory package. It’s not bad, but there’s a reason it’s 1/3 the price of the full version. I don’t personally use Pro Tools because I’m not a recording artist, I bought Vocal Studio to get the M-Audio Producer USB mic for use with my Rosetta Stone and Vocal Singing Coach software. It is important to note that the microphone works without the included Pro Tools software, but the software will not load without the microphone plugged into the USB port whether you’re using it or not. (It’s an anti-piracy measure.)

If you’re looking to become a prosumer recording artist, you’ll probably shell out $200 for a condenser mic, $500 for the pre-amp mixer to plug the mic into, $300 for full version Pro Tools, etc. For $90, you shouldn’t expect a miracle in a box. For the rest of us who just want to break into Pro Tools or who need a decent mic that will clearly record your voice onto the computer, this is perfect.

I really wanted to like this controller. The keyboard itself is solid, well-built, nice action, etc. My big gripe is with the Hypercontrol, which is the big selling feature of the Pro series over the non-Pro Axiom 49. Hypercontrol is supposed to auto-magically map the knobs, sliders, buttons, to the DAW software for you with presets that make general sense. This saves you a lot of time trying to map these things yourself.

It kind of works, but then I upgraded to Snow Leopard on my Mac, and it stopped working with Reason 4.0.1. It seems the only way to contact tech support at M-Audio is via the public web forums. I did, and eventually was told that Snow Leopard isn’t working with Hypercontrol, and they don’t have an ETA on when it will get fixed. This is a bummer, since now this thing isn’t much more than a midi controller with just the keyboard, since none of the knobs, sliders, etc. do anything very useful.

I also have problems with Hypercontrol and Ableton Live 8. In the web forums, M-Audio claims the issue is with Ableton. Nice support.

I’m considering selling this controller and buying something that has better software integration. I’ve been happy with the Novation products and their Automap software.

My Grandson said this was a fantastic piece of equipment for where he currently is in his music career.

Ok guys, ill make this short and sweet.
Im a singer song writer, been using Magix Music studio 12, then decided to buy Pro Tools.

“PROS for the Fast Track USB interface”
Low latency – Clean clear voices

High build quality

Small/Compact

Portable

“CONS for the Fast Track USB interface”
Cant use condenser microphone. **I was able to set up a condenser mic to this USB fast track model. But i had to buy a phantom power supply that cost me an additional 30 BUCKS! but it works fine.**

Only records in MONO. not capable of recording in Stereo. Which is my biggest turn off. NO one uses Mono recording. Why would they even make it MONO? so dumb.

As for the actuall software Pro Tools M-Powered Essentials
Pros
Tons of loops and Samples
Vitrual instruments and
Awesome Recording Interface.

Cons
Takes alot of space on ur computer so have alot of memory.
Does NOT, I repeat DOES NOT give you access to all functions of the Pro Tools program. They kepp wanting you to upgrade to the full version.

OVERALL Tips

Good for intery level stuff.
I personally just sold this and bought the MBox 2 which is by far a way better investment but a little expensive.
Have acomputer with alot of RAM and Memory.
If you want to use a condenser mic, buy a phantom power supply for like 19 -30bucks then hook it up accordingly.

Hope this helps you guys out!

CB.

Straight-forward, easy to use. The reproduction of recorded sounds is excellent. The stereo feature works very well with good separation of left/right placement. Very reasonably priced, a good quality microphone for the video/audiofile.

If you are planning to record your own music and want it to sound somewhat decent, these are not the speakers for you! they are very hard to mix on… I make electronic music (hiphop, dubstep, breakbeats, even record some guitar and other instruments) and these were terrible for mixing my songs… they have a bell curve response… lows and hi are too quiet, mids are too loud… my music all came out w/ too much bass and treble and nothing in the middle

I have seen some good reviews on here… and maybe they are good reviews because the people who wrote those knew what to expect out of these monitors… but i’d hesitate to call them “monitors”… if you need speakers for listening to music or gaming then go for it, they sound good if it’s mastered audio…. these are awesome in that case, they put out lower bass response (lower not louder) than my brothers big stereo… but for mixing your music, they are crap…

I just think they are sold as a studio speaker and are not at all adequate, even for something cheap… I’d spend countless hours w/ these speakers trying to make my mixes clean… and as soon as i put it on anything else, it sounded like crap, but really good on those speakers…

if you are a music producer, or plan to do any recording or studio work or anything along those lines… be patient, save your money and get something better, otherwise you will just be wasting more money

These speakers sound great right out of the box. For the money, it would be hard to find something that sounds as full and detailed. However, The speakers do have two flaws:

1 – minor issue – they are rather big for desktop speakers
2 – major issue – the amp buzzes on some sets. I am driven crazy by electrical hums and the set I ordered was sent back because of a buzz when the speakers weren’t playing. Apparently, this is a hit or miss issue with the AV 40’s. Caveat Emptor…

Honestly, I was a little scared reading about the driver issues for this product but I took a chance and bought it and I don’t regret it. I’ve been using this on my 64 bit Windows 7 desktop and my 32 bit Windows 7 UL30A ASUS laptop with Adobe Audition. In both instances, the drivers worked like a charm and only required me to configure the device in the Audition’s Hardware settings before I was ready to record. I use this to record from my Korg X50 Synth and a condenser mic (built-in phantom power is convenient) and it sure beats using the old line-in port on my motherboard. If the specs match what you are looking for, I highly recommend it!