M-Audio Firewire Solo US35030 Firewire Audio Interface

by M-Audio

Product Features

• FireWire audio interface for recording guitar, vocals, and more on Mac or PC music software
• Front-panel XLR microphone input with gain control and clip LED
• Front-panel 1/4-inch guitar input and 2 rear-panel 1/4-inch line inputs
• Dual FireWire ports for easy device chaining; front-panel switch toggles between front and rear inputs
• Rack-mountable metal chassis; includes FireWire cables; 1-year warranty

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 13.5 x 9.2 x 2.8 inches ; 3.1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0006A9M3K
• Item model number: US35030
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,831 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)
  • #44 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Computer Components > Internal Sound Cards
  • #67 in Musical Instruments > Recording Equipment > Computer Recording > Audio Interfaces

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The FireWire Solo is designed from the ground up as an easy-to-use, high-quality interface for songwriters to record guitars, vocals and more on the computer. Compatible with most popular music software, this compact bus-powered unit is small enough to go anywhere you want to take your music. In addition to the 1/4" guitar input right on the front panel, a professional XLR microphone input also lets you record vocals and acoustic instruments. There are also dual line inputs for effects, drum machines and other outboard gear. FireWire connectivity, up to 24-bit/96kHz sample rate support and digital I/O all add up to outstanding sonic performance. As simple to connect and operate as it is powerful, FireWire Solo is the foundation of your computer-based songwriting studio.

FireWire Solo is the foundation of your computer-based songwriting studio. Click to enlarge.

Includes microphone, guitar, line and S/PDIF inputs. Click to enlarge.

XLR input with phantom power and clipping LED.

Analog and Digital Inputs
The FireWire Solo features two front-panel inputs, one XLR for microphones (featuring phantom power, gain control, and a clipping LED); and one guitar input (with gain control and clipping lED).

The rear of the device features 2 unbalanced 1/4-inch line inputs for connecting drum machines or other devices, and a front-panel switch toggles between front/rear inputs.

The rear also features a two-channel S/PDIF digital input and output. Connect another device and get four simultaneous in/out channels.

Headphone Output
Use the 1/4-inch stereo headphone output to monitor, or use the two-channel rear 1/4-inch outputs.

The front-panel knob controls both levels.

Mac and Windows Compatible
The FireWire Solo will work with both Macs and PCs with FireWire ports. It's powered by the FireWire bus (power supply included for use with 4-pin ports), and features an additional port for easy device chaining.

On either platform, you'll enjoy flexible software-based routing/mixing with near-zero latency monitoring.

Includes Ableton Live Lite
Ableton Live Lite delivers much of the functionality of Ableton Live—the revolutionary, multi-award winning music production solution that allows you to spontaneously compose, record, remix, improvise and edit your musical ideas in a seamless audio/MIDI environment. Live brings your acoustic, electronic and virtual instruments—as well as your digital audio recordings and MIDI sequences—together in a single interface with unparalleled ease of use.

What's in the Box
FireWire Solo Recording Interface, CD-ROM containing driver software and user manual in PDF form, Printed Quick Start Guide, 6 pin to 6 pin FireWire cable, 6 pin to 4 pin FireWire cable, Power Supply

Product Description

The FireWire Solo is designed from the ground up as an easy-to-use, high-quality interface for songwriters to record guitars, vocals and more on the computer. Compatible with most popular music software, this compact bus-powered unit is small enough to go anywhere you want to take your music. In addition to the 1/4" guitar input right on the front panel, a professional XLR microphone input also lets you record vocals and acoustic instruments. There are also dual line inputs for effects, drum machines and other outboard gear. FireWire connectivity, up to 24-bit/96kHz sample rate support and digital I/O all add up to outstanding sonic performance. As simple to connect and operate as it is powerful, FireWire Solo is the foundation of your computer-based songwriting studio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works great, sounds great, October 23, 2005

By 

M. Clarke (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: M-Audio Firewire Solo US35030 Firewire Audio Interface (Electronics)

I'm using this on an Apple PowerBook G4 with a 1.33 GHz processor and 768 MB RAM. I mainly record through GarageBand, and after about 10 hours of use, it has worked flawlessly so far.

Controls in front are intuitive. The clip LEDs let you know when your input volumes are maxing out.

Note that you can record only two sources at once: either the front two (mic and line in) or the rear two (two line ins). I initially thought you could record 4 simultaneous tracks with this. There is, however, a switch on the front of the unit that allows you to choose front or rear inputs.

There is an extra firewire plug in the rear of the unit, which allows you to daisy-chain several firewire devices. This works perfectly for me on my 12" PowerBook, which only has one firewire input.

Very low latency on this unit. I can play my electric through GarageBand's multi-effects units while listening on my headphones, and I notice almost zero latency. I'm anxious to try it on my amplifier, to see if it would be suitable for live performance.

I would recommend this for anyone who's thinking about getting into home recording. It's very well designed, well built, and should suit me well for years.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DOES THE JOB., February 2, 2006

By 

Sam - See all my reviews

This review is from: M-Audio Firewire Solo US35030 Firewire Audio Interface (Electronics)

This is great for plug and play. It didn't take me long to figure the ins and outs. I found the latency is reduced with the firewire connection compared to USB devices. I haven't used the mic input yet but the 1/4" input for guitar and bass I have and the latency is close to nill. I have also used the S/PDIF in with my 2-channel mixer with turntables and it sounds great. Worth the invesment.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very high quality product for price, February 9, 2006

By 

A - See all my reviews

This review is from: M-Audio Firewire Solo US35030 Firewire Audio Interface (Electronics)

The M-Audio firewire solo is a really great product for music creation and even for sound output to a stereo. installing the drivers can be tricky though unless you download http://www.m-audio.com/images/global/manuals/FWSolo_UG_EN01.pdf

The PDF explains exaclty what to do.

After I installed everything the M-audio worked flawlessly. I record my own music and also use it for better sound output to my stereo system. The result is clear proffesional recording sound quality.

I recommend it to anyone