Product Reviews

Well, surely this is it: this is as small as Digidesign's Mbox line can get. Approximately the same size and shape as the original iPod shuffle (though slightly heavier due to its aluminium housing), it offers nothing more than a USB 1.1-compliant plug at one end and a 3.5mm headphone jack, volume wheel, power light and lanyard slot at the other. Note the lack of any audio input: this Mbox is output only.

For such a simple product, it's surprisingly satisfying to hold - clearly a cut above the plastic copy protection keys you may be familiar with. On that subject, however, due to the Micro's girth if you have a Mac where the USB ports are side by side, you won't be able to squeeze any copy protection keys alongside the Micro. This is doubly unfortunate considering that an iLok USB key is required to authorise many of Digidesign's own plug-ins. With the Micro explicitly positioned as a mixing tool for Pro Tools users on the move, this would explain the USB extension cable that comes in the box.

Also in the box is the full version of Pro Tools LE 7.4, including all the DigiRack and Bomb Factory plug-ins that come with bigger Mbox systems, plus Digidesign's own Xpand! sample playback and synthesis work station. It is the inclusion of this software that muddies the waters surrounding the Micro and allows Digidesign to additionally position the device as a diminutive music-creation

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tool.

It's not an implausible proposition. If you're the type of musician who prefers to trigger everything from samples, loops and virtual instruments (largely the modern way), the Micro and LE 7.4 - with it's new, impressive, malleably creative Elastic Audio time-stretching features - could be all you need.

With a pair of headphones or powered monitors attached to the Micro, you could be laying down tracks that are Pro Tools HD-compatible no less every time that you open your laptop.

Granted, there aren't huge differences sonically between someone using, say, Logic Express and the built-in 24bit audio of any recent Mac and someone using Pro Tools LE 7.4 and an Mbox 2 Micro, with its 24bit/48KHz output quality. But if Pro Tools is your bag, the Micro should probably be in it.

Depending on which Pro Tools users you asked, this review could fairly score either a one- or five-mouse rating. The one-mouse crowd would be screaming that this glorified dongle should be in the box in the first place or that Pro Tools could at least work in a record-disabled state when Digidesign hardware is not attached. The five-mouse crowd would be singing hallelujahs that, finally, here is the first truly portable, low power-draw Pro Tools interface that means projects can be edited and mixed away from the studio - plus you get the full version of LE 7.4 in the box as a bonus.

So what's not to like? Well, doubtless both parties would agree that £179 is too expensive for such a device - but that really is the Micro in a nutshell. It's definitely one answer to every Pro Tools user's communal wish but it's not necessarily the right answer.

The Micro ultimately addresses two distinct and separate needs: as the cheapest entry yet into the world of Pro Tools for newcomers, or as an expensive extension to an existing user's set-up.

Thus while we're sure the Micro will attract a lot of buyers, some of them are likely to come somewhat grudgingly.