Recording - December 2012 - 22

B Y PA U L V N U K J R .

MOTU 4pre
Hybrid Audio Interface
A giant leap beyond the conventional stereo compact interface
Choosing a computer audio interface is a pretty daunting task. Do you get USB or FireWire? What kinds of ins and outs? How many? Add in build quality, form factor, and of course cost... it’s not an easy decision. MOTU’s latest offering, the 4pre, may simplify your decision in a hurry. MOTU, once known as Mark Of The Unicorn, a Cambridge, MA based company, has been crafting audio and MIDI interfaces since the 1980s when computer recording was in its infancy. While also well known for its Digital Performer DAW software, currently MOTU offers no less than nine FireWire/USB hybrid audio interfaces among many other audio and video products. MOTU’s new 4pre packs quite a punch in a small package. It’s a 6-in/8-out device with both USB and FireWire connectivity, multiple input choices both analog and digital, rugged build, priced well and sounding great. 4pre ins and outs The 4pre is housed in the time-tested, half-rack metal enclosure that MOTU has been using for over a decade. It owes its name to its four onboard microphone preamps, a rarity in devices at this price point and input count. These are located around the back and make use of an XLR/TRS combination jack. Channels 1 and 2 accept line-level signals on their balanced TRS inputs, while channels 3 and 4 are high-impedance instrument inputs for use with guitar and bass.
22
RECORDING December 2012

Also on the back are a quartet of TRS balanced outputs and a pair of RCA S/PDIF jacks. The two 1/4" headphone outs on the front can be used to share a mix, or they can be set independently to monitor different mixes. The 4pre’s FireWire 400 connection uses a rectangular Type B connector that is usually seen on FireWire 800 units—a fantastic choice, as this connector is less prone to shorts and breakage than the standard FW400 Type A. When operated with FireWire, the 4pre can draw its power from the FireWire bus. When

the four high-quality mic preamps, these mix buses are the unit’s nicest feature, allowing four different mixes to be created and routed to the main outs, line outs, digital outs or headphones. Talk about flexible! This leaves two more knobs: The Master Output knob, and the Master Headphone volume knob that, when pressed and held, doubles as the power switch. The right side of the 4pre is dominated by a collection of LED indicators and meters that range from simple on/off status of each mic pre’s phantom power and pad to indicating which bus mixes and outputs are active. Next there are individual 5-segment level meters for each of the analog input channels, followed by a larger 10-segment output meter and a sample rate display. Speaking of sample rate: the 4pre has 24-bit converters and functions at 44.1, 48, 88.2, or 96 kHz with internal or external clocking. Sound We found the mic preamps to deliver excellent sound, with a respectable +60 dB of gain and handling pretty much any mic you can throw their way. They are of the uncolored variety and are quite clean. They will exhibit noticeable self-noise when pushed into their upper range to accommodate lowoutput passive ribbon mics, but to be fair, so do many of my standalone outboard pres. A big part of the good sound quality may lie in the fact that the 4pre’s trims are true analog and pre-converter, which offers better gain staging and yields a more solid, cleaner

operated on its own or with USB (2.0, backwards compatible), it requires power from the included AC adapter. Controls and metering Four multi-function input/trim knobs set input level; pressing them once engages a 20 dB pad, pressing and holding each one enables individual +48V phantom power. The Mix knob, when pressed repeatedly, cycles through and controls the level of the unit’s 4 internal mix buses. Together with

Recording - December 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - December 2012