M-Audio Fast Track Pro Review w/ Sound Clips
The M-Audio Fast Track is a USB 1.0 audio recording interface, primarily for use in home recording studio applications. It is Pro Tools M-Powered compatible and a demo version of this program is commonly included with the purchase. Other software may be included, depending on the date on which a specific unit shipped from the manufacturer to a retailer. Mine also came with an entry level M-Audio microphone, mic cable & mic clip. The microphone is very basic and is comparable to an inexpensive karaoke mic. It’s useful enough to get you started. The Fast Track Pro also comes with a driver disk.
Installation:
Installing the Fast Track Pro is easy. Basically, you run the included driver disk and go through the installation steps. Then, hook up the Fast Track to a free USB port and you’re ready to go. There are a few snags that you may run into, most of which are easily remedied by going to the M-Audio website and downloading the most current drivers for your particular operating system. If you’re having trouble, you may also want to consider using the Fast Track as your only sound card. This works best if you disable your internal sound card. I’m using Windows XP with Service Pack 2.
Quality: For a mass-produced, near-consumer-level electronics device housed in a plastic case, I have very few complaints. The built-in preamps are a bit weak and may or may not be suitable for certain types of recording. Also, there seems to be a fair amount of background noise present while monitoring. This noise does not appear on my recordings so it could be my monitors or cables but I have no way to test this right now so I’ll leave it open. There is a bit of latency when using the included Pro Tools M-Powered 7.4 demo. However, when I use Adobe Audition, there is no latency.
Two things I would recommend to anyone intending to use the Fast Track Pro for hefty home recordings are 1) A Preamp & 2) A Headphone Amplifier. These two items will ensure that you get the input and monitoring levels you desire and are relatively inexpensive. I may post links to such products at a later time.
All in all, I feel this little box is going to serve my needs as an amateur musician who likes to record a wide range of styles and arrangements.
Sound Clips:
For the following sound clips, I ran my electric guitar straight into the Fast Track. The first is completely dry with no effects, eq, compression, etc. The second is another version of that same recording with some effects from the Waves GTR guitar suite, which I highly recommend.
m-audio-fast-track-pro-example-1
m-audio-fast-track-pro-example-2