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Edit Review — M-Audio FireWire Solo, Keystation Pro 88, Ableton Live 5

Sep 1, 2005 12:00 PM, By Gary Eskow

Together these reasonably priced hardware and software products could help get your audio for video studio started.

This month I'll take a look at three products marketed by M-Audio, a company that has created a niche for itself by manufacturing and distributing innovative audio hardware and software at affordable prices. The company's FireWire Solo, Keystation Pro 88, and Ableton Live products fit into this category.

FireWire Solo is an easy-to-use portable interface box for recording guitar, vocals, and other sounds on a computer. The Keystation Pro 88 is a USB master MIDI controller keyboard with 59 assignable controllers. Both of these products come bundled with the Lite version of Ableton Live music production software, now in version 5.

Together, these products could go a long way to getting your audio for video suite up and running.

FireWire Solo

FireWire Solo represents the low end of recording interfaces, in terms of price and feature set, for the professional. Perfectly suited to the musician or producer who travels, this device is cheap, has remarkably good audio quality, and may fit your needs. Let's take a look at it.

FireWire Solo is a small, bus-powered unit designed to let songwriters record guitars, vocals, and other sound to a computer. The box offers dual FireWire ports, is compatible with most popular music software, and is small enough to carry with you. Features include a 1/4in. input on the front panel, an XLR microphone input, and dual line inputs. The box's FireWire connectivity provides up to 24-bit/96kHz sample rate support and digital I/O. Ableton Live Lite 4 software comes bundled with the Solo, and the package prices at $249.95.

Installing the software and hardware for this device was simple. I tested it inside Cubase SX3, running on my new, awesomely cool dual AMD Opteron system. I simply removed the RME Fireface 800 that I own and replaced it with the Solo, which obviously connects via a FireWire port.

SX3 had no problem recognizing this device, and all I had to do was create a new stereo output, which I labeled “Solo Stereo Out.” With some minor variations, any software DAW you use will follow this same procedure. From this point, all software and hardware audio sources that pass through your DAW will simply be routed to the Solo, which throughputs signal to a pair of 1/4in. line outputs or S/PDIF.

How M-Audio manages to put the amount of connectivity into its products at the price points they sell for is something of a wonder. Of course, you can't bus to eight individual outputs, but chances are that all you'll ever need to do is monitor a stereo mix via the 1/4in. outs, or route your mix digitally to a mastering device by S/PDIF.

A button on the front panel lets you choose among the input sources that are on the front and back of the Solo. These include the XLR microphone input (phantom power included) and the 1/4in. line input for guitars and other sources. There are gain controls for these two sources, plus a headphone output. Rear-panel inputs include a pair of 1/4in. line inputs (for a stereo synth, for example), and an S/PDIF input, as well as the outputs we mentioned and two FireWire ports.

It offers quite a bit of connectivity, but how does the FireWire Solo sound? I tested the analog inputs by hooking up a Roland JV-1080 and routing its audio through the Solo and out to my Mackie 824 monitors. I was very impressed. The imaging detail may not match the quality of that provided by high-end converters, but the frequency response was good, considering the cost of the unit. The same goes for the mic pre.

The Software Control Panel is a basic utility that lets you control levels and assign outputs. For example, you'll pan the stereo inputs when you're working with a stereo synth to create a wide sound field, but bring them both to the center position when you're recording from a microphone.

The Solo does not have ADAT lightpipe connections, and for me that's its biggest limitation within the project studio environment. The only real problem I experienced in my studio involved the way the Solo interfaced with Cubase SX. The outputs of the signal that passed through the device from the microphone input showed up on the master fader I created within Cubase, and were controllable by it. For some reason, however, the signal that came from the analog input side of the box did not show up on this master fader, and was thus outside its control. M-Audio techs were unable to recreate the problem with the DAWs they had in house, which unfortunately did not include SX3.

The bottom line: The Firewire Solo, not surprisingly, offers great bang for the buck. If you don't need a lot of connectivity and are on a budget, you should consider it.

Keystation Pro 88

I can't quite believe the price of this 88-key controller. The number of features that M-Audio packs into this device is mind boggling at the price it sells for. The Keystation Pro 88 features 59 MIDI-assignable controllers and MIDI input and output. It is USB bus-powered, and comes with Ableton Live Lite 4 software. The unit is priced at $599.95.

A cautionary note: though the Pro 88 documentation does not mention it, do not install the software and fire up this keyboard for the first time through a USB hub. M-Audio says that future versions of the literature will state that it's acceptable to play through a hub, but that problems can occur if a hub is used during the initial installation.

Once again I used Cubase SX 3 as my digital audio workstation. Setting up the Pro 88 as a device and establishing it as my MIDI input vehicle was simple. The Pro 88 comes with a set of valuable presets, including one that allows it to take over the transport functions of SX.

However, even after I followed instructions and established direct communication between the Pro 88 and my new dual Opteron, I was left with a niggling problem: The transport function buttons that control play, record, and stop had to be pushed twice before completing their tasks. There's probably a fix for this problem, but the M-Audio tech support person I spoke with couldn't solve it for me immediately.

Although the touch of the Pro 88 keyboard is a bit squishy for me, a number of Velocity Curves are offered, and these do change the responsiveness of the controller. If you're playing synths and samples, not Brahms, you should be able to find a Velocity Curve that matches your style.

The great value of the Keystation Pro 88 lies in the sheer number of assignable faders, knobs, and buttons. The nine faders can easily be set up to control the volume of a bank of your mixer faders (including a master), and the ability to save snapshots means that you can quickly call up multiple banks for editing.

This concept applies to all of the continuous controllers, including the 24 — that's right, 24 — knobs that are on the unit. You can easily set up snapshots for all of your favorite soft synths and recall them quickly.

M-Audio's Enigma software, included with the Pro 88, helps you send controller data out to your DAW (check to see how well it functions with your software of choice) and a number of popular soft synths instantaneously.

I couldn't understand why my volume and expression pedals didn't work until the M-Audio techs told me that the company went with the Roland protocol rather than Yamaha's, because there are more of Roland's products currently on the market. I own a Yamaha KX-88, and its pedals do not function with the Pro 88. M-Audio sells some inexpensive pedals of its own as add-on purchases.

In the whiny category, I was surprised to find that M-Audio ships the Pro 88 with only a 3ft. USB cord. I placed the unit directly next to my computer and the cord still didn't reach! Fortunately, I had a spare 6ft. cable. Otherwise, I would have had to go out and buy one. Also missing is a music stand, which would be nice to have. However, it's hard to complain about a controller that offers so much for the money. In short, the Keystation Pro 88 is an outstanding value for those who don't demand the most piano-like action on the market.

Ableton Live 5

It seems that Ableton didn't realize how well studio musicians would respond to Live when it was released it several years ago. Geared toward the DJ and performer who plays live, this software featured a radical, clip-oriented way of working that maximized the ability to improvise the structure of a piece of music on the fly.

One of Live's great strengths is its time-stretching algorithms. Most DAW applications these days offer this feature, but Ableton Live's ability to time-compress is among the most musical of them all.

When Ableton saw how Live was catching on with studio musicians (including the audio post pro), the company quickly began assembling features that would appeal to this segment of the market. These features have been a driving force in Live's evolution, especially from version 4 to the current version 5.

Perhaps the most important advancement Live 4 offered over earlier versions was the inclusion of MIDI. While the MIDI sequencing capabilities of the program lagged behind other dedicated programs (in the area of quantization, for example), MIDI implementation put Live in a new category.

Ableton Live 5 made these MIDI capabilities more sophisticated, with a seamless MIDI composing, recording, remixing, and editing environment. New features include MP3 support, clip freezing, new beat-synced effects, launchable arrangement locators, and Mackie Control support. Ableton Live 5 prices at $499.95.

Keep on eye on this intriguing, one-of-a-kind application. It would not be surprising if in the near future it develops into a first-rate DAW.

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BOTTOM LINE

Company: M-Audio
Irwindale, Calif.; (626) 633-9050
www.m-audio.com

Demographic: Music/sound producers and post professionals.

Product: FireWire Solo

Assets: Good-quality audio for the price. Small and easily carried.

Caveats: Imaging detail may not match the quality of high-end converters
Price: $249.95

Product: Keystation Pro 88

Assets: 59 MIDI-assignable controllers, nine faders, ability to save snapshots.

Caveats: Ships with only a 3ft. USB cable; volume and expression pedals use Roland protocol.
Price: $599.95

Product: Ableton Live 5

Assets: Seamless MIDI composing, recording, remixing, and editing. MP3 support. Mackie Control support.

Caveats: Lags slighty behind other programs in some MIDI capabilities.
Price: $499.95

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Gary Eskow, a contributing editor for Mix magazine, is a freelance composer and journalist who lives in central New Jersey. He can be reached thrugh his website, www.garyeskow.com

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