Like many, I've always found the shape of the original Digidesign Mbox
case odd and inconvenient. It won't fit under a laptop, in a rack or
even in a carrying case all that well.

Instead of buying a new one that's shaped better, I wonder if anyone has
experimented with removing the guts of the original and putting it in
some other case.

Any tips, thoughts or links would be appreciated.



C.A.

I wouldn't think that would be a problem but I would be a little
concerned about screwing around with something that costs as much as
that does. Maybe you could build something for it to fit in that would
make it more convenient

Thomas
www.yourhomestudio.com

Free Home Studio Newsletter -

I wouldn't think that would be a problem but I would be a little
concerned about screwing around with something that costs as much as
that does.

As studio equipment prices go, the MBox has to rate as a consumeable,
like a toaster. I was thinking this would be a good project because if
you screw it up all you've done is wrecked a cheap little MBox. Anyway,
it seems like putting too much effort into what is in reality a fairly
cheesy bit of mass produced electronics probably isn't time well spent.
The MBox 2 has a much more sensible form factor, & the M Audio M
Powered boxes are all a bit more ergonomically useful.

Scott Fraser

Charles Adams wrote:

Instead of buying a new one that's shaped better, I wonder if anyone has
experimented with removing the guts of the original and putting it in
some other case.

I suspect that if you can get it open, you'd discover that it's all in
one piece, so the relative location of the controls and connectors are
fixed. I suppose you could put it in a more square box, but I can't
inagine that it would be worth the trouble. I'm sure you'd end up with
something larger than what you started out with, though that might not
be a disadvantage.

I guess $500 bucks doesn't buy what it used to.

Thomas
www.yourhomestudio.com

Free Home Studio Newsletter -

I guess $500 bucks doesn't buy what it used to.

I see them used all the time for a few hundred. Even new they were
often in the four hundred range. There aren't any mics or preamps I use
that I could get for that kind of money. The point is, this is computer
peripheral stuff, not a finely machined piece of hardware. At the point
that the software and/or OS no longer works with the MBox it is
essentially of no value whatsoever.

Scott Fraser

It is a decent box. I´ve opened mine up and it really should not be
any large problem to convert it into a better fit. I would recommend
keeping the steel frame where things are mounted and chope of the
"wings" it stands on and add a new enclosure. Not too diffucult if you
have the tools.

Gunnar

I should point out that the M-Powered software seems to yield much more
plug-in power than LE, in my case I'm getting 3x as many D-Verb plugs as
similar PC's to mine, although we're talking quad-core AMD Opterons. It's a
work in progress, but I'm using an M-Audio Audiophile 192, which along with
PT M-Powered costs about the same as an MBox with LE, and does more.

In article .com,
"gunnar" wrote:

It is a decent box. I´ve opened mine up and it really should not be
any large problem to convert it into a better fit. I would recommend
keeping the steel frame where things are mounted and chope of the
"wings" it stands on and add a new enclosure. Not too diffucult if you
have the tools.

Gunnar

Thanks to all for replies. The backpack idea is good. Id LOVE to just
fire up the Powerbook and work on a Pro Tools edit without having to
hook up the MBox. Oh, for a smaller LE "dongle"... or no dongle at all!

C.A.

Thanks to all for replies. The backpack idea is good. Id LOVE to just
fire up the Powerbook and work on a Pro Tools edit without having to
hook up the MBox. Oh, for a smaller LE "dongle"... or no dongle at all!

C.A.

If you like the backpack idea and you're handy with electronics you
might be able to pull this off. Only you can decide that. Otherwise
there is always a risk of damage to the equipment that you will have to
pay to repair.

It might be a good time to upgrade but of course, that's up to you.

Craig

http://www.pro-tape.com

Adobe - Apple - Avid - Canon - Denon - Digidesign - Fuji - JVC - Lacie
- Marantz - Maxell - Nitro AV - Panasonic - Primera - Quantegy - Rimage
- Samson - Sennhesier - Sony - TDK and more!

Sales/Rentals/Service

Authorized Apple Reseller and Service Provider