Digidesign unveils MBox 2 Micro

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Digidesign have added another product to their range of M Box 2 audio interfaces for Pro Tools LE. The latest addition is the M Box 2 Micro, their smallest interface (and indeed hardware product) to date. It's in a similar form to a USB flash drive, being approximately nine centimeters long and three centimeters wide, with a type-A USB connection on the end. Interestingly, it's an output-only device (it has no input), with only a single mini-jack headphone socket, and associated a thumb-wheel volume control, on the opposite end to the USB plug. Its D-A converter supports audio rates of up to 24-bit/48kHz.



The M Box 2 Micro is obviously designed for laptop users and mobile audio editors who need to be able to run Pro Tools on the go, with minimum fuss and the least amount of drain on their computer's power supply or battery. The device ships with Pro Tools LE which, as with other Pro Tools systems, is authorised by the hardware.
Digidesign's M Box 2 Micro should be shipping by the time you read this, at a cost of £182 including VAT.

In other news, Digidesign's latest plug-in is Eleven, a guitar amplifier and cabinet-modelling application that runs in Pro Tools, on Venue consoles and in Avid systems. Eleven emulates guitar amps and cabinets from the likes of Vox, Fender, Marshall, Mesa Boogie and Soldano, but also has some custom setups that Digidesign developers have created. The plug-in features convolution-based models of cabinet/microphone combinations, with popular ribbon, condenser and dynamic mics analysed in on- and off-axis positions in front of different cabintets.

The virtual rig displayed in the graphical user interface (GUI) changes depending on the amp and cabinet model selected, and the mic type can be selected using a menu on the front of the virtual cabinet. It is here that the mic can be switched on- or off-axis, although those are the only two settings. As expected, users can select their own combinations of amplifiers, cabinets and mics, to create their own favourite setup. However, Eleven ships with a number of 'great-sounding' amp and cab configurations, which should help to get you going.

Something that caught our eye is that the controls of Eleven only go up to 10! (One can assume the plug-in is named after the desire by guitarists to turn up the volume of their amps up to 11.) Of course, this shouldn't affect the sound at all (only, perhaps, on a psychological level!). The standard version of the plug-in is compatible with TDM and RTAS hosts, while a version for Pro Tools LE and M-Powered, calle Eleven LE is RTAS-only. For more information on Eleven, check out Digidesign's web site, where you'll find a free trial version of the plug-in.

www.digidesign.com

Courtesy: SoS
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Sudarshan
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