• Registered: 2011-04-29
  • Posts: 76

Topic: 1 x UFX & 1 x FF800 or.... 2 x UFX - for touring & studio rig??

HI guys,
Just looking for some advice....& stressing because I don't have much time to make a decision....

Building a studio/touring rig for a current project & had initially thought 1 x UFX for me (to be used with a 2.2GHz MacBook Pro (MC723LL/A) - live: running NI Guitar Rig 4 in standalone mode & Logic Pro) & 1 x FF800 for my writing partner (to be used with a (2007) 2.2GHz MacBook (MB063LL/B) - live: running NI Guitar Rig 4 in standalone mode).
Both setups will be built to be easily used in the live rig or in our studio environment (2 individual rooms as often we work separately) - i.e. in a rack, patch panels etc, no pulling gear out required or plugging in/out of the actual equipment once built etc.

As my partner is not an engineer per-say I figured a FF800 is industry standard & would be more than adequate ------ however in pondering this more & more, she is moving on in leaps & bounds with Logic (based around templates & prestes I've created for her) to the point where there are often guitar parts or vocals she has tracked when writing that are spot on & it's somewhat pointless within the demoing process to waste time re-recording these parts. ------ as we all know these days some of the most unlikely recordings are also ending up on albums, so every time that button is pressed one has no idea what might happen ;-/

That has gotten me to thinking why not just go for 2 x UFX's - that way we'll have complete consistency between the 2 recording areas, I can learn 1 interface inside out (rather than 2) & it will give us a spare unit live if needed (my Babyface could be used for her set-up as a "get out of jail card" as its only running a stereo instance of Guitar Rig).
 
Decisions, decisions.........
Would be good to hear from someone that has got both units........the price point is pretty close, but we have quite a lot of gear to purchase & none of it is cheap, so I'm really trying my best to keep on budget vs. listening to my heart..

Thanks, Geoff..

  • From: New Milford , CT USA
  • Registered: 2007-05-01
  • Posts: 347

Re: 1 x UFX & 1 x FF800 or.... 2 x UFX - for touring & studio rig??

Hi Geoff,
The UFX has quite a few more features for a only a little bit more money so for a long terms studio investment it would be perfect.
Either unit will work great on your Mac Book Pro. The FF800 does have the benefit of officially supporting adding multiple units to one system.
So if you plan on expanding the number of I/O beyond a single units worth then the FF800 would be the right choice on the laptop.
Of course either one of them can be setup as a stand alone AD/DA and plugged into the 2 ADAT ports that both units have.
If you or your partner plan to get a newer system MAC or PC then the UFX would be a more flexible choice since newer systems will have more USB ports than fire wire ports. On PCs fire wire is starting to disappear all together.
The added bonuses of DuRec and being able to control any of the routing worth it for the UFX alone.
Chris

On the PC fire wire is being

Chris Ludwig | ADK Pro Audio
www.adkproaudio.com
https://www.facebook.com/adkmg

ChrisADK's Website

  • Registered: 2011-04-29
  • Posts: 76

Re: 1 x UFX & 1 x FF800 or.... 2 x UFX - for touring & studio rig??

Cheers Chris..
No PC's here.. HeadScratch

In terms of price-point it certainly makes sense to go that little further & I'll never need more than one unit at a time (as in chaining) - I do all my mixes in the box - live it's all about less is more & well executed submixes so as few channels as possible......I don't envisage ever using more than a total of 8 outputs from Logic/Guitar Rig - in the old days maybe but these days it really is a rod for your own back. The other unit will do Guitar Rig L&R live.

Mmmmm I think I'm convincing myself now - 1 piece of hardware across the whole set-up is just a better idea & I wouldn't go for 2 FF800's now that the UFX is available.

Luckily I'm heading to the US on Sat for a short tour so a contact at Guit Centre who I often purchase from can hopefully make this hurt my wallet far less - the difference in UK price vs. the US price is quite a shock :roll

Cheers, Geoff.

4 Reply by neirbod (edited by neirbod 2011-07-29 00:39:02)

  • From: Washington DC, USA
  • Registered: 2007-08-06
  • Posts: 442

Re: 1 x UFX & 1 x FF800 or.... 2 x UFX - for touring & studio rig??

drainaudio wrote:

That has gotten me to thinking why not just go for 2 x UFX's - that way we'll have complete consistency between the 2 recording areas, I can learn 1 interface inside out (rather than 2) & it will give us a spare unit live if needed (my Babyface could be used for her set-up as a "get out of jail card" as its only running a stereo instance of Guitar Rig).

This statement above I think makes the added investment of two UFX units worthwhile.   Also, for me I never found the FF800 preamps very usable (although others may disagree), whereas the UFX pres sound great.  If you got the FF800 I think you would be looking for a an external preamp soon after, which would add cost.  I strongly suggest talking to at least a couple of dealers to see what kind of deal they can get you on two UFX units.  Feel free to PM/email me if you want contact info for my dealer, who is great.