What would you use to record someone stomping around in an airplane hangar-sized sound stage with 50-gallon oil drums strapped to his feet? Or the thumping sound a pickle barrel makes when whacked with a club? For me, the choice was either to settle for the cheap-sounding 16-bit DAT machine that lurks inside every DV camera, or find something to connect to my iBook that could fill my need for higher dynamic range and more bits. I found the perfect solution in an M-Audio Duo–and it worked flawlessly.

Upon entering the rehearsal space at Silvercup Studios in New York, the sweeping and banging of brooms and broom handles filled my ears. I couldn't wait to set up and start recording wild tracks for behind-the-scenes shots. I was on hand to record location sound and interviews for electronic press kits, DVDs, and B-roll reels to give to national TV broadcasters. I had two rigs: one a roving boom mic setup, the other an iBook rig for high-res wild track and sampling.
I immediately set up my high-res rig, using a matched pair of Earthworks QTC1 omni condenser microphones in a spaced pair arrangement (at about 10 feet up) connected to the mic inputs on the Duo. From the time I first turned it on and slipped on the cans, I could tell that once I got some reasonable levels, I could just let the system run. When I got back to the Dolby studio and could finally hear the samples made on the Duo in a controlled environment, I was thrilled to hear a great depth of sound that I attribute to the high headroom of the Duo and the ability to record in 24 bits.

How did I end up here? I make DVDs for Dolby Laboratories in San Francisco.
My primary role is that of in-house composer and sound designer, but I often find myself doing a lot of mastering work and video production as well. As someone who is used to spending days in the studio under optimal conditions for listening, I have been looking for a compact way to record on location with a wider sound stage and denser bit depth without spending a fortune. The Duo fit the bill perfectly.

Apart from my job at Dolby, I am a composer and studio percussionist in my spare time. Over the years, I have made about 35 CDs as a founding member of Trance Mission and Blue Rubies, and for diverse artists like Ira Stein, Stephen Kent, and Rasa. For years I have dreamed of a way to eliminate my huge battery of hardware samplers and synths and consolidate them into a software-based setup. Slowly, my personal rig is evolving into the ideal portable monster. I now have an Oxygen8 keyboard and a laptop in addition to the Duo.

I am also experimenting with playing live loops into the iBook with Ableton Live. I can listen through headphones to a premix of the new loop or lick I’m introducing to the mix, without it going to the main outputs until I’m ready. I used to need a pretty big board and a lot of outboard gear to achieve that kind of flexibility. I’m finally in hi-res heaven–and I’m not dragging a ton of gear around with me anymore.

Thanks M-Audio!