Product Description for the M-Audio Fast Track USB Interface

Turn your computer into a powerful music production studio with the M-Audio® Fast Track®—the best-selling recording interface in its category. Featuring a simple "plug-and-play" USB connection, Fast Track is the easiest way to record guitar, vocals and more with your PC or Mac. Simply plug in your instruments and you’re ready to rock. Fast Track even offers phantom power so you can use professional-quality studio condenser microphones like the M-Audio Nova®. Fast Track is compatible with most popular music recording applications from GarageBand to studio-standard Pro Tools® M-Powered™*, and includes easy-to-use Pro Tools M-Powered Essential recording and effects software so you can start making music immediately.

Studio-Quality Features

Fast Track delivers all the studio-quality features and tools you need to make professional-sounding recordings right out of the box. With clean preamps and 24-bit/48kHz sound quality, you can be sure your instruments and vocals are captured with better-than-CD quality sound. High-gain speaker and headphone outputs further ensure you’ll hear your recordings with the utmost fidelity.

One for All Compatibility

In addition to being compatible with GarageBand, Cubase, Live, Logic, SONAR, Reason and other music production software, Fast Track also works with Pro Tools M-Powered 8*—the same recording platform used in countless professional studios around the world to make award-winning albums and film sound.

Record Your Guitar

Want to record guitar with your computer? How about recording bass or keyboards? Fast Track is the answer. Simply connect it via USB to your PC or Mac, plug your instrument into the convenient 1/4” input and you’re good to go. You can also use the included Pro Tools M-Powered Essential recording software and effects to layer tracks with your instruments and create professional-sounding mixes.

Record Vocals and Acoustic Instruments

Just about every recording interface has a mic input that accepts dynamic (unpowered) microphones—the kind most bands use on stage. Fast Track is one of the few in its price range that also features switchable +48V phantom power—allowing you to connect a studio-grade condenser (powered) microphone like the M-Audio Nova for pro-quality recordings. The Fast Track interface’s 2-input, 2-output design even lets you record a vocal mic and another instrument simultaneously so you can capture song ideas or collaborate with other musicians.

Make Music Immediately

Make music immediately with the included Pro Tools M-Powered Essential—a powerful recording application that enables you to get started creating right away. Based on the same Pro Tools software platform used in pro studios around the world, Pro Tools M-Powered Essential features professional effects like reverb, delay, and more—allowing you to polish your mixes. You also get the Structure® Essential virtual instrument, which offers an easy way add instruments like drums, piano and more to your compositions. Finally, a comprehensive library of included loops helps you construct song ideas quickly and easily.

Direct Monitoring

All digital audio recording systems introduce a small delay between the instrument input and the output coming from the computer. This “latency” can be distracting enough to cause pitch and timing errors when you’re recording. Fast Track solves this latency problem with a direct monitor switch, letting you hear your instruments directly through the interface before they go into the computer.

Next Gen Technology

Fast Track builds on the success of the popular Fast Track USB—one of the products responsible for the personal and mobile studio revolutions. We’ve listened to our users and added some really cool improvements, including a simplified direct monitoring system, top-mounted knobs that provide easier access to important controls, and a more powerful headphone output level. With a sleek, redesigned chassis, the all-new Fast Track looks and performs better than ever.