New Apogee Duet for iPad

[JoeCharter]

I finally took the plunge today. What a beautifully crafted unit.

I went home, connected the cables and the Duet was ready to go.

So far I've only tested with my old AT3035 and I can already hear a big difference over the Apogee MiC -- more clarity, more warmth, more bass, more headroom.

My next move will be to get a pair of C451 or KM184. Happy to hear your suggestions for decent microphones.

[mjz]

What file format is native for an iPad recording?
To what format will you bounce them for distribution?
I know nothing about iOS audio recording/mixing capabilities.
max

[Steve Berger]

Congrats on your new Apogee Duet Mau. You get such excellent results with your Apogee MIC, I'm looking forward to hearing your recordings with your new rig.

FWIW, I am really pleased with my Rode NT4 stereo mic. I use it when recording into GarageBand on my iMac via my 1st generation Duet. What you sacrifice in mic placement flexibility, (with a single XY stereo mic), you more than make up in simplicity and ease of use IMHO. Just set it 6" or so from the 13th fret and your ready to go.

[JoeCharter]

Originally Posted by mjz

What file format is native for an iPad recording?
To what format will you bounce them for distribution?
I know nothing about iOS audio recording/mixing capabilities.
max

I use GarageBand and I believe it exports AIFF files. Sorry I'm not the best person to answer technical questions.

Besides, there are many programs for recording/mixing on the iPad.

[JoeCharter]

Originally Posted by Steve Berger

Congrats on your new Apogee Duet Mau. You get such excellent results with your Apogee MIC, I'm looking forward to hearing your recordings with your new rig.

FWIW, I am really pleased with my Rode NT4 stereo mic. I use it when recording into GarageBand on my iMac via my 1st generation Duet. What you sacrifice in mic placement flexibility, (with a single XY stereo mic), you more than make up in simplicity and ease of use IMHO. Just set it 6" or so from the 13th fret and your ready to go.

Thanks, Steve.

I just posted a quick comparo in the Olson thread. I am happy with the results so far.

As for microphones, I must say I am partial to the old German brands. AKG if I'm reasonable, Neumann if I go nuts...

[ukejon]

The other thing about the Duet that you don't hear discussed as much is that it also is a wonderful headphone preamp. So whether listening to CDs or mixing/mastering your own recording, the music takes on a much more beautiful and well defined character.

(Warning: the Apogee software can be a bit dodgy and you may have to download the driver again if not working. No big deal but sort of a pain....)

Good luck on the mic search. I took my Duet to the store and brought a variety of mics into a back room to listen to them. Listened carefully for the way they colored the sound of my voice when speaking and the way they "heard" the room. I was keenly interested in the amount of self noise each one generated. I'm obsessed with finding very quiet, good sounding mics for fingerstyle recording and the Shure KSM 137s have proven to be nearly silent for my applications.

[Steve Berger]

ukejoh, I agree the Duet also works great as a preamp. I use it with my iMac and a pair of Adam Audio A7s and Sub and it sounds awesome.

You mentioned 'dodgy' software and I have a question. I'm still running Snow Leopard on my iMac because I heard that the 1st generation Duets like I have did not work well with Lion. Do you know if that situation has changed?

Sorry for the hijack Mau.

Originally Posted by ukejon

The other thing about the Duet that you don't hear discussed as much is that it also is a wonderful headphone preamp. So whether listening to CDs or mixing/mastering your own recording, the music takes on a much more beautiful and well defined character.

(Warning: the Apogee software can be a bit dodgy and you may have to download the driver again if not working. No big deal but sort of a pain....)

Good luck on the mic search. I took my Duet to the store and brought a variety of mics into a back room to listen to them. Listened carefully for the way they colored the sound of my voice when speaking and the way they "heard" the room. I was keenly interested in the amount of self noise each one generated. I'm obsessed with finding very quiet, good sounding mics for fingerstyle recording and the Shure KSM 137s have proven to be nearly silent for my applications.

[JoeCharter]

No problem, Steve.

The sales guy who took care of me at Moog Audio (great place to buy gear online, great service, great people) owned an early Duet which required some software updates to run properly.

Mine ran smoothly right out of the box (mind you I did not try with a "real" Mac although I don't anticipate it would be an issue).

[mjz]

Originally Posted by JoeCharter

I use GarageBand and I believe it exports AIFF files. Sorry I'm not the best person to answer technical questions.

Besides, there are many programs for recording/mixing on the iPad.

I only ask because if you were dealing with or distributing only mp3 files you shouldn't really concern yourself with the quality of mics. The extra that is in these mics gets lost in file compression imho. Sounds like you are working AIFF, though.

I own both mics you mentioned and both are very good choices for recording acoustics. The C451B's bring out a bit more chime and sparkle, ime. Love these for drum overheads and cymbals.

The KM184s are my favorite for recording acoustic.

max

[JoeCharter]

Originally Posted by mjz

I only ask because if you were dealing with or distributing only mp3 files you shouldn't really concern yourself with the quality of mics. The extra that is in these mics gets lost in file compression imho. Sounds like you are working AIFF, though.

MP3 or AIFF, I don't think any musician's world is limited to their iPad.

Besides, I could not distribute anything at all that I would still want quality microphones to play with.

As long as my bank account is ok with it, I'm cool with it too!

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by mjz

I only ask because if you were dealing with or distributing only mp3 files you shouldn't really concern yourself with the quality of mics. The extra that is in these mics gets lost in file compression imho. Sounds like you are working AIFF, though.



max

I'm not certain I agree with this. because when you listen to good pro recordings where good equipment is used throughout. Even in the MP3 format particularly @ 256 and 320 I think the better the original recording the better it sounds.

Dont know how you feel about used but I was perusing the Gear Slutz Classified and If I remember correctly there were some KM 84 pairs and some Mercenary Audio KM 69's (a modern mic based on the Neumann 84, some claim as good or better) pair for some where in the $1000 range
Also some AKG etc.

[louparte]

Is it a 30 pin connector to the iPad or the newer, smaller one?

[stevecuss]

The KM184 is a lovely mic for sure. The ADK A6 is also a killer acoustic mic and will leave some change in your pocket

[JoeCharter]

Originally Posted by louparte

Is it a 30 pin connector to the iPad or the newer, smaller one?

It's the old 30 pin connector.