M-Audio 410 to MOTU UltraLite to TC Konnekt Live and back again .. a review, of sorts ..

The audio interface of choice in my studio for the last 4 years has been an M-Audio Firewire 410. Like most other successful manufacturers that emerge from niche markets, M-Audio has no shortage of haters willing to drop a steaming verbal turd on it at the drop of a hat.

When I bought it, I did so because it was all I could afford in a firewire audio interface. Succumbing to both the generally negative perception of the sound quality of the 410 from gear heads and my own gear splurging tendencies, I have now twice tried to replace my hardy and faithful 410 in the last year. I am one treacherous bastard.

MOTU UltraLite

Firstly, I tried to replace it with a MOTU UltraLite, which is generally considered to be a minty fresh piece of gear by those in the know. What is not generally known is that it doesn't work on a Mac under BootCamp.

I mean, at all.

And this was after Leopard had been released and BootCamp was no longer officially in beta. The firewire hardware in a MacBook Pro is amongst MOTU's list of officially supported chipsets. Seems like it should work, no?

Writing and calling through to MOTU got a very smart-ass response asking why on earth I thought it would work in the first place. I don't know, perhaps because I was trying to use it with an officially supported OS and firewire interface? I must have been crazy. How embarrassment for me!

TC Electronic Konnekt Live

I own a TC PowerCore Compact and have been very happy with it. I use it on every track I produce. Generally pretty happy with the TC customer service, I thought I'd give their Konnekt Live interface a run. After being told by one of their support staff that he was running one on his desk with a 15" MacBook Pro "without any problems", I thought things looked good.

Apparently, the fact that a Konnekt Live will not power up on bus-power on a MacBook Pro (15" or 17") is not considered a "problem" by TC. I can't imagine how a product like this even went to market.

"Hey Jonny, this thing we're selling to people for live performance is bus-powered, right?"

"Yeah sure boss, should work with most laptops that have bus-powered firewire."

"Hmmm, only Mac laptops have bus-powered firewire. Most photos I see of DJs and live acts seem to be with MacBook Pros. I'm assuming it works with them right?"

"Ehhhh ... how about we just ship it?"

"It's Friday, do whatever you want. I'm going whoring."

410, can you ever forgive me?

Sure it might not be the best sounding interface on the market, but I can say of the 4 different machines and 2 operating systems I've connected it to, which includes MacBooks, MacBook Pros, HP laptops, and self-built PCs, it has never had a driver conflict ever (and that includes when BootCamp was in its early beta stages) and has never refused to bus-power.

Also:

• It has two distinct headphone outs with separate volume controls, which neither of the other two more expensive interfaces have, which proves extremely valuable when recording vocals.


• It is a lot smaller than a TC Konnekt, which as it turns out is freaking massive and heavy as shit. Not exactly what I expected from something marketed as a gig interface.


• The few hundred dollars difference between a 410 and these other interfaces can be spent on getting better monitors which will have way more effect on your sound quality. Like, for instance, moving from Tannoy Reveals to Event ASP8s. Boom bap never kick clapped my medulla oblongata so nicely.

If you like making music and don't think you'll notice a 2% difference in sound quality, then stick with something that works and spend your time jamming.

If you like beating your head against a wall made of pointy sticks, axes, and Kathy Griffin, go with a company that thinks BootCamp is "way out there" or one that thinks inability to bus-power is "not a problem".

The Akai MPD32 for TriggerFingerers

If you know anything about making beats, you know that the Akai MPC is the tool of the trade that you cannot make teh mad beatz without. You know that if you buy one, Dre will kick the ball to you at soccer practise and you can expect crazy R'n'B B.I.'s in thongs to materialise in your bedroom studio.

If you are from the current generation of producers, you are probably stuck ten feet deep in software and MIDI controllers, which means the only way you can bask in the historical fuzzy glow of the MPC is to grab one of Akai's MPD units. With one of these babies under your arm, you're virtually guaranteed to at least look like the credible producer you think you are.

Having a serious credibility deficit myself, I picked up one of the new MPD32's last week, even though I already had an M-Audio TriggerFinger. I'm sure there are already a thousand reviews on the internet saying how dope the MPD32 is, but this is why the MPD32 does soggy brown ones all over the TriggerFinger, and why (as a DJ'ing tool) it's worth every penny of the $299 it cost me:

• Bank Selection: The MPD32 has 3 banks of controllers and 4 banks of pads, which is actually less than the TriggerFinger, however, you can switch between them with a single keypress and because they each have a dedicated button, you can always tell which damn bank you're on. Very important when you're drunk in a dark club and have a tendency to forget things like that. Also, lights make you look cool and will get you chicks.

• Channel Switches: The MPD32 has assignable switches on each channel, which are great for bypassing effects, e.g. filters or delays. Also, the switches are lit which makes you look cool and will get you chicks.

• Endless Pots: This needs no explanation. Controller snap is annoying and makes you look uncool. Endless pots mean switching between controller banks actually works the way it's supposed to, and also it controls a cool looking bar in the display area which will get you chicks.

• Velocity Control: Dedicated buttons for full level and 16-level velocity response are much better than the byzantine sequence you have to bash out on a TriggerFinger if you want to activate the same thing. Bashing out beats at a constant 127 velocity is also the mark of a cool dude and will get you sweet mamas.