I was fortunate enough to get an Apogee Duet 2 recently. This device hooks up to your computer's USB port (and is powered from there) and allows you to monitor audio. I'm not gonna go into all the details, see our review of the original Duet. At first I thought I'd never really need it, but after a few rounds of stem mixing and editing in Pro Tools on my laptop via the headphone jack it became obvious that something had to give. I set it up on my desk and hooked up my tiny Tascam VL-M3 monitors. Even my wife noticed the change in sound when we put on music in the background. And the nice big volume knob made turning listening levels up and down much nicer than buttons on a laptop. But this week the Duet 2 hit its stride. During a recent mix sesion my laptop became the "nitpicky editing suite" on the producer's desk, and man, did the Duet make this job a lot easier. And this weekend I'm taking it, along with a tube mic and headphones, to a client's house to retrack some vocals (it even has built in mic pres!) as my studio is booked up. I love my Dangerous D-Box, but it's currently in another state, sitting in a rack and doesn't feature the handy remote like its big brother the Dangerous Monitor ST. Having the small Duet on the desk with excellent sounding converters and headphone jack and a big volume knob saved my ass. An excellent tool... Good job Apogee.
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Lies Engineers Tell Us
by Larry Crane
I ran the end rant about "Lies" I hear in the studio from musicians. I asked for "Lies" that engineers tell people, but only got these two. But they're pretty good! Please take with a sense of humor, according to Arthur, but there may be some truths...
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The Hurricane Sandy relief auctions we posted raised over $42,000! THANK YOU!!!
by John Baccigaluppi
A huge thanks to everybody who participated in the Hurricane Sandy relief auctions we posted last week. Thanks to you and our advertisers, Sound Toys, Avenson Audio, Dangerous Music, Placid Audio, and Universal Audio, we raised $42,578...
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How Did Tape Op's Owners Meet? Find Out!
by Larry Crane
So here it is. The fateful letter that relentless talent scout and A&R honcho John Baccigaluppi sent to my band Vomit Launch back in 1988. Little did we know that soon we'd be holed up in his studio making records, and less than a decade later...
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Free Video Tutorials from one of our Contributors
by Larry Crane
Matt Fordham did the great interview with Buddy Miller in Tape Op #34. He also has this great blog, Record Ready, with video tutorials on recording techniques and tips. Many are Pro Tools based, in case you're looking for help in that department. He...
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End Rant #106: Making Records in the Age of PONO
by Allen Farmelo
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The Telephono Recording Project
by Larry Crane
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Free Passes to AES Show 2020
by Geoff Stanfield
Hey Tape Op Readers! The AES Show will be online this year and you can get your FREE AES SHOWCASE pass (Showcase is from Oct 19 - 23 and will be on-demand until January) by using VIP code AES2020TapeOp at checkout! Offer good until Sept...
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Our Friend, Ed Ackerson, Has Passed at Age 54
by Geoff Stanfield
by Alex Maiolo The term “linchpin” tends to get chucked around pretty liberally when we discuss music scenes, but Ed Ackerson, who succumbed to pancreatic cancer on October 4th, was the very embodiment of it. Ed was one of those...