Digidesign 003 Rack

I play every instrument I can get my hands on. Drums, bass, guitar, mandolin, classical, harmonica, piano, keyboards - you name it. I love to record and while I haven't really been in a band, per se, I've jammed on countless occasions with some of the best musicians out there. I can hold my own, but I'm not a professional.

Paid a little over two grand online for this Digi 003 Factory Pro Tools LE workstation. I needed something that could work with various levels of audio and MIDI, but that was fast and accurate and very capable. I got tired of messing around with the latest Cakewalk software and decided to go for the real thing - Pro Tools.

You can pretty much connect just about anything to this unit. It will take a guitar, a mic, MIDI cables, sPDIF, digital audio, and more. I also like the faders as they are touch sensitive and motorized, this unit is really slick. There is a nice LED display and lots of lights to let you know exactly where you are at. Sometimes a unit like this can seem overwhelming, and while the Digidesign digi 003 is packed with functionality, it's pretty intuitive to use. The Pro Tools LE software that comes with the unit is also top notch and will let you slice, dice, and mix down your tracks with incredible flexibility.

Even though I did mention that the whole rig is really flexibile and will let you do just about anything - and it's intuitive, you just can't get away from the fact that there's a learning curve. A really huge learning curve if you've never had this much power at your fingertips or if you've never worked much with recording equipment. Learning some of the concepts can be somewhat of a challenge, but like anything you take it a little at a time and pretty soon you're able to make simple multi-track recordings and before you know it you're on your way. Don't let this thing intimidate you though. While it's powerful, it can help you to make some of your best creations.

While the software, the workstation unit and all of the other included items seem really first rate, you still won't want to drop this thing if you can help it. If you're going to spend this much on a workstation, software, etc. you better take care of it. Having said that, I'm terribly impressed with the quality of this Digidesign product. The Pro Tools LE package simply rocks.

Overall, very expensive, but you've got to pay to play. Don't let the extreme flexibility and amount of control overwhelm you though, as this is a package that will keep you producing your own recordings for years.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I purchased the 003 rack because i use protools and because it has many in/outputs. And at the time protools only worked with a digidesign interface.

The 003 Rack has the following inputs:
Mic inputs:
Connector: Four balanced XLR jacks
Mic Phantom Power: 48V
Line inputs:
Connector: Four balanced 1/4" jacks
Frequency Response: +/- 0.1 dB, 20 Hz - 20 kHz
Di inputs:
Connector: Four balanced 1/4" jacks
Frequency Response: +/- 0.1 dB, 20 Hz - 20 kHz
Aux inputs:
Connector: Two balanced 1/4" jacks
Frequency Response: +/- 0.1 dB, 20 Hz - 20 kHz

And the following outputs:

Line outputs:
Connector: Eight impedance balanced 1/4" jacks
Frequency Response: +/- 0.5 dB, 20 Hz - 20 kHz
Monitor outputs:
Connector: Two impedance balanced 1/4" jacks
Frequency Response: +/- 0.5 dB, 20 Hz - 20 kHz
Headphone outputs:
Connector: Two unbalanced 1/4" jacks
Frequency Response: +/- 0.5 dB, 20 Hz - 20 kHz

UTILIZATION

The latency you get is depends on the buffer size you use, at a low buffer size you will not have much latency.

And the drivers are pretty stable depending on your computer specs.

I personally use protools the most with the rack.



GETTING STARTED

I didn't experience compatibility issues, and the manual is clear and provides all the information you need.



OVERALL OPINION

I dont like the AD conversion, and the mic preamps are waste of money as well, if protools wasn't restricted to a digidesign interface back then i wouldn't have bought it.

The Digidesign 003 Rack is an audio interface designed for use with Pro Tools LE. It has four pre amplifiers and four other 1/4 inch inputs, as well as ADAT optical and S/PDIF connections. I have ran the 003R with a Mac Book Pro that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM. Compared to the Digi 002R, it has a few extra features, like an extra headphone output and a much different look to the knobs, buttons, and overall look. I have used this to record drums, bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, vocals, and a number of other instruments.

UTILIZATION

Getting started with the Digi 003R was quick and easy, as the unit and Pro Tools software is pretty easy to follow and understand. I didn't have any compatibility issues with my computer and it has run smoothly for as long as I have used it. The configuration of the audio interface is easy to follow and won't take too long to figure out exactly what everything does. The manual for this is pretty complete, and is definitely helpful to have around while you are learning how to use this.

GETTING STARTED

Since this is a Digidesign product, it is design for use with Pro Tools LE, and in fact, Pro Tools LE cannot be run without this audio interface, or another made by Digidesign. I don't have any latency when I record with this and I am able to record up to sixteen tracks on this, depending on if I have external preamps and an ADAT optical unit.

OVERALL OPINION

I've been using the Digidesign Digi 003R for about a year and a half and have found it to be a pretty good audio interface. If I didn't need it to run Pro Tools, I would probably run it with a different audio interface, as this doesn't have as many preamps as I would like. Compared to the Digi 002R, it is pretty similar in overall make up and the difference in price for a used one of these and the 002R, is probably not worth it to buy the 003 over the 002. However, the price isn't too bad considering it comes with Pro Tools LE software. If you are looking to put together a Pro Tools LE rig, this is a good option to start with.

I use it for my project studio with RME Adi Converto 8DS.
PC win7 x64
I've had the PT LE8, and bought at the time for the largest hardware protools LE

The sound is good preamps that complete the connectivity troubleshoot if battery is included!

UTILIZATION

That's the concern ... drivers ... frankly it's shameful, especially if like me you're running win 7 x64 and you work for more than a protools software like cubase.
LE8 with only the beta driver 8.0.4 cs2 works. Except ... MIDI!
Then I added a midi interface cakewalk and I turned the problem.

Other drivers, always either a bug in cubase am PT.

Since Protools 10 and the latest drivers, everything works in protools, but in cubase I install the asio4all ...

Frankly considering the price of the machine it is shameful

GETTING STARTED

So some galleys related to drivers if the rack itself inspires confidence. MAC me it looks quite serious.

OVERALL OPINION

I've had a couple of years. I'm happy when it runs well, but what a pain to install.
Frankly, if at the time protools was open to other cards, I'll quickly resold.
However, I am very satisfied in protools 10 and I hope one day another driver who will also run the cubase, unless in the meantime I have the budget for a RME ora Apollo!