DIGIDESIGN DIGI 002
Feb 1, 2003 12:00 PM, BY ERIK HAWKINS
The cliché “evolve or die” applies not only to the animal kingdom but also to the cutthroat world of digital-audio-sequencer manufacturers. Among the most tenacious survivors is Digidesign, which has grown its Pro Tools application from a basic multitrack digital-audio editor to the MIDI-sequencing, surround-mixing, digital-audio powerhouse that it is today. Along the way, a variety of Pro Tools versions for both Mac and PC have been launched, from the pricey, DSP-card-based systems like Pro Tools|HD to the affordable native setups like Mbox.
Digidesign's latest evolutionary leap is the Digi 002, a FireWire audio and MIDI interface, stand-alone digital mixer (with onboard EQ, dynamics and effects) and control surface for Pro Tools LE (the native version of Pro Tools) all rolled into a single unit. Right out of the box, the Digi 002 works with both Mac and PC. Sampling rates as high as 24-bit, 96 kHz are supported, and it comes bundled with a bunch of great effects plug-ins and a couple of cool virtual instruments that truly make the Digi 002 a complete DAW package (see the sidebar “Bundle of Plug-Ins”). For $2,495, Digidesign seems to have assembled a killer deal.
ON THE SURFACE
Dressed in a selection of gray hues that accent its curved edges, amber LED displays and keys that light up, the Digi 002 is a sleek-looking unit. Despite the hardware it packs (its four mic preamps, for example), it weighs in at just over 15 pounds — very manageable. Large rubber feet help it sit comfortably on most surfaces. Power is supplied by a removable Type-II IEC cable, and the board's on/off switch is found on its rear.
The unit's face is well-designed, with no major organizational differences from other manufacturers' control surfaces. Above each fader are mute, solo and channel-select keys, as well as a track record-enable indicator. Large rotary knobs on each channel change duty depending on whether you want to adjust a channel's pan, aux-send levels or plug-in parameters. Each knob has an associated LED ring that acts as a visual cue, showing the knob's relative position for that parameter. Scribble strips on each channel display a track's name or a parameter's exact numeric value and will operate collectively to display an entire sentence, such as, “Pro Tools has a dialog on-screen.”
The Digi 002's timecode display is a bit low-impact, probably due to its amber color, so I used the Big Counter window right in Pro Tools. Although not obvious at first glance, the unit also includes meters. If you press the L-R Meter button, the rotary LEDs can be assigned to display both stereo and mono signal levels. But using Pro Tools' Mix window for your metering needs works well enough.
INPUT TO OUTPUT
Clearly, the Digi 002 is a direct descendant of the Digi 001, but the relation is mainly in that they are both native systems that work with Pro Tools LE. Although the Digi 002's audio I/O is similar to that of the Digi 001, there are several significant enhancements. Eight ¼-inch TRS analog inputs can be independently switched between line (-10 dBV) or mic (+4 dBu) operating levels. The first four inputs can be switched to balanced XLR connections, complete with 48V phantom power to run your condenser microphones. Gain and highpass-filter controls for these inputs are on the board's face. Stereo RCA jacks provide an alternate source input that is routed directly to the board's monitor output — perfect to hook up a CD player or a cassette deck. The alternate input can even be sent to mixer channels 7 and 8 at the push of a button, making recording this input a breeze.
Of the eight ¼-inch TRS analog outputs, 1 and 2 function as the main stereo outs. Dedicated monitor outputs let you plug your power amp or powered speakers right into the Digi 002. Control surfaces without an analog-monitoring section are annoying because you're forced to run a mixer on the side just to control speaker levels, so the Digi 002's monitor section is really appreciated. A headphone jack on the board's face has its own independent level control. And there is a stereo pair of alternate-source RCA outputs to send the main stereo mix to a -10dBV device, like a cassette deck.
Digital I/O include S/PDIF and ADAT optical. The S/PDIF digital I/O supports sampling rates as high as 24-bit, 96 kHz, as does the ADAT optical when switched to its optical S/PDIF mode.
IN CONTROL
Because only eight channels are present and Pro Tools LE can have a max of 32 audio tracks (this track count is new to version 5.3; previous versions had only 24) and 128 MIDI tracks, Left and Right keys are used to scroll through your project's tracks. In Bank mode, scrolling can be executed in groups of eight, or one track at a time in Nudge mode (not to be confused with Pro Tools Region Nudge feature — labeling the Nudge key as Channel Advance might have been clearer). For example, if the Digi 002's eight faders currently mirror tracks 9 through 16, then pressing the Right key while in Bank mode will recall tracks 17 through 24. For this same example, pressing the Right key while in Nudge mode will recall tracks 10 through 17. This sounds more complicated than it really is; this function is a snap to get used to once you're using the mixer.
Flip mode lets you switch the functionality of the faders and the rotary knobs so you can, for example, adjust the aux-send levels using the faders instead of the knobs. There's a dedicated key to recall only the master faders in your project to the control surface. This really comes in handy when you're working with a ton of tracks and controlling groups of these tracks with multiple masters.
A full complement of transport keys, including RTZ (return to zero) and Loop Play, are provided. Record keys in addition to Rec include Loop Record and Quick Punch. A Zoom mode lets you use the Left and Right keys to quickly zoom in and out of a selected region. Keyboard-modifier keys (Shift, Command, Control and Option) right on the unit's face help you to stay away from your computer's keyboard.
Considering the Digi 002's price point, it's hard to find fault with it. However, because I'm used to working on high-end control surfaces like Mackie's HUI and Digidesign's Pro Control, I do wish for a few more amenities. Dedicated edit (cut, copy, paste and separate) and save keys would be added incentive to push my computer keyboard to the farthest reaches of my desk. The faders feel inexpensive, and the knobs are rather sticky to turn — nevertheless, they get their jobs done.
MIDI BITS
The Digi 002 has one MIDI In and two MIDI Out ports. With a Mac running OS 9.x, you'll need OMS 2.3.8 for Pro Tools LE to communicate with the Digi 002's MIDI ports. OMS is provided on the Pro Tools LE installation CD-ROM for Mac. When Pro Tools LE is available for Mac OS X, the OMS extension will no longer be needed. With a PC, MIDI drivers for each port are installed when you install Pro Tools LE and are automatically recognized by Windows Multimedia.
Although Pro Tools is celebrated for its audio recording, editing and processing capabilities, it hasn't earned any resounding applause for its MIDI features. Pro Tools LE version 5.3.2 (the version required for Digi 002) doesn't offer any big improvements in this area. However, despite the fact that Pro Tools is lacking the MIDI-sequencing bells and whistles of more established digital-audio sequencers, it can probably handle most of your basic MIDI-sequencing needs. With its fine integration of RTAS virtual instruments (which are a thousand times more convenient than plugging virtual instruments into Pro Tools via DirectConnect) — like the bundled Pro-52 synthesizer by Native Instruments and the SampleTank sampler player by IK Multimedia combined with the Digi 002 control surface — you have a lot fewer excuses for not composing your MIDI tracks right in Pro Tools. But if REX-file compatibility or ReWire support is what you want, these tricks will require a different digital-audio sequencer.
STAND BY ME
A problem with recording tracks through your computer is latency, or the delay you hear between your performance and the computer's monitor return. Obviously, trying to play something while listening to a slapback echo of yourself in the speakers or through headphones is disconcerting — like a bad cellular connection. To get around this problem, the Digi 002 and Digi 001 employ a feature called Low-Latency Monitoring. It allows an incoming signal to be passed directly to the monitor (and headphone) outputs through the Digi 002's mixer, effectively removing the computer's record monitor input signal from your monitor path. Problem solved. The only downside to this setup is that you can't monitor with Pro Tools effects. To hear your instrument with an effect during recording, you'll need to use an external effects unit. (Too bad the Digi 002's own internal effects can't be used in this situation — more on this to come).
The Digi 002 has the unique ability to operate in Stand-alone mode, where it acts like an 8×2 digital mixer with four aux sends. The onboard effects available in this mode include reverb, delay, EQ and compression. Twenty-four snapshots of all the board's settings can be stored so that you never lose a mix. The reverb and delay sound fine, the EQ and compression work well, and the board's overall sound quality is top-notch. Stand-alone is an amazingly cool feature because it allows you to mix as many as eight inputs with effects without booting up your computer. A shortcoming of using a computer's multi-input audio I/O card as a mixer is that to hear anything, you must turn the computer on. I don't know how many times I've just wanted to practice or drop a quick idea to cassette without the hassle of going through my computer. The Digi 002 solves this problem by combining a digital mixer and a full-featured control surface in one compact console.
If you want the Digi 002 to work as an audio I/O interface with a digital-audio sequencer other than Pro Tools LE, you'll need Digidesign's ASIO driver. The ASIO driver for Windows XP is available at Digidesign's Website (www.digidesign.com). It worked okay for streaming audio between the Digi 002 and my other digital-audio sequencer, Steinberg Cubase SX. However, the Digi 002's MIDI ports were disabled when the ASIO driver was installed. Digidesign is aware of this problem and says that a fix will be available shortly. The Digi 002 is a fine control surface, too, and it would be great if it could work as such with digital-audio sequencers besides Pro Tools LE — I'll put that on my wish list.
ALL FIRED UP
Pro Tools users often lean toward the Mac as their computer of choice. Most of my Pro Tools experience has been with Apple computers. But this time, I decided to test-drive the Digi 002 using my new AMD AthlonXP 2100+ computer (1.73 GHz with 512 MB of system RAM) running Windows XP. With no PCI cards to install, setup was an absolute breeze: I simply connected the Digi 002's FireWire ports to the PC and installed Pro Tools LE from the CD-ROM. It can't get much easier than that. All of the bundled plug-ins are equally easy to install, and only a couple require online registration to procure your final authorization codes. The system ran smoothly under Windows XP, and the Athlon processor handled heavy plug-in demands like a champ; a longtime Mac addict, I was impressed. I had no crashes, only an odd key-modifier bug that mixed up my keyboard and transport commands. (This is a known bug that is being addressed.)
The Digi 002 is an impressive product, especially with its current bundle of effects and virtual-instrument plug-ins. Finally, a dedicated Pro Tools control surface that's really affordable. This product is a benchmark for Digidesign because it truly brings the power of a comprehensive, professional-grade Pro Tools rig down to a price range that practically anybody can handle. The fact that the Digi 002 is also a fine stand-alone digital mixer is frosting on the cake. If you're in the market for a digital-audio sequencer and control-surface combination, or if you dream of owning a Pro Tools|HD system with a ProControl but really need to find something affordable now, the Digi 002 is not to be missed.
Product Summary
DIGIDESIGN
DIGI 002 > $2,495
Pros: Real-world controls for Pro Tools LE at reasonable price. Four onboard mic preamps. Stand-alone mode. Built-in monitor output. Alternate ins and outs. Many dedicated controls. Great sound.
Cons: Inexpensive-feeling faders. Slightly sticky knobs. No dedicated Edit or Save buttons. No jog/shuttle wheel.
Contact: tel. (800) 333-2137; e-mail prodinfo@digidesign.com; Web www.digidesign.com
System Requirements
MAC: G3 (dual-USB models only) or G4; OS 9.2.2; 256 MB RAM
PC: Pentium 4/2 GHz or AMD AthlonXP 2000+; Windows XP
(Pro Tools LE 5.3.2 does not support Windows 95/98/2000/ME/NT); 256 MB RAM
BUNDLE OF PLUG-INS
In addition to the standard plug-ins (such as D-Verb, EQ and Compressor) that come with Pro Tools LE, a special promotional bundle of the following plug-ins is currently included:
Digidesign D-Fi, D-Fx, Maxim
Waves Renaissance Collection
IK Multimedia SampleTank LE, AmpliTube
Native Instruments Pro-52
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