Lot #32: Digidesign Digi 001 ProTools add on effect unit Recording Music Studio Rack Effect Pro Audio DAW outboard assist gear

Digidesign (now Avid) released its 24-bit, host-based Digi 001 system at just the right time. The DAW market was about to go ballistic, host computers were becoming capable of handling the DSP dirty work and ProTools the aspirational software of choice. It wasnt the first prosumer interface but it did have connections in high places. A network of professionals were already hooked on the ProTools drug, and their bona fides rubbed off on the 001, and home studios. The Digi 001 gave access to the same kind of toys as the big boys and girls of the recording world.Priced at sub $2000, the system consisted of a PCI card capable of eight channels of digital I/O, an eight-channel breakout box with six analogue line inputs, plus two mic inputs and stereo S/PDIF. To encourage familiarity with the software, Digidesign gave away an early version of ProTools (v3.4) and the 001 itself came with a lite version of the software entitled ProTools LE it handled MIDI decently and shipped with a bunch of RTAS plug-ins to get you going.There were some limitations: the LE software had a non-expandable maximum of 24 audio tracks (plus MIDI) and was limited to 48k sampling. The 001 I/O was intentionally hobbled, including a lack of wordclock.None of this would have mattered to the home/project studio owners but if a project did expand beyond the capabilities of the 001 it could be transferred to a TDM system, plug-in settings intact, and continued. Whats more LE gave home studios a tantalising glimpse at what life might be like with a full-blown TDM system.