power trio

[beyond dead]

i went to a clinic for the power trio today (apogee, apple and euphonix) and they talked about using logic with apogee interfaces and euphonix controllers.

i was wondering if anyone has experience with the apogee duet http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/duet.php

it is said to have excellent mic pres and top notch conversion for $500!
it would be cool for reamping, recording bass, guitar and vox, and making drum samples. i could record drums using my firepod and make kick and snare samples using the duet. kinda interested in this puppy!

or the ensemble http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/ensemble.php
paired with an adat pre for a full i/o setup


apparently apogee has the highest quality conversion even compared to more expensive counterparts
(how would these compare to rme stuff?)

another thing worth mentioning is logics impulse utility and the mainstage application.

the mainstage app is pretty cool for performers wanting to integrate ampsims, impulses, samples ect. into their live acts.

http://www.apple.com/logicstudio/mainstage/

you could bring a firepod and laptop to a gig, run a preamp like the jmp into the firepod and use a combination of impulses to get a good tone.
you can also use a foot pedal to switch between amp sims. so if you like your preamp with impulses for distorted rhythms tones, a different impulse for leads, and you use guitar rig for cleans, you can switch seamlessly between them.
you could also use the sneap kick and snare, or which ever samples you like on your kit.
also, your plugins could be used to process vocals live.
then route the fp outs to the mixer and viola

i was fairly unimpressed with the euphonix control surfaces, but i guess that is because im used to working with a mouse cause thats how i learned

just thought i would share my experiences.
i appreciate any feedback on the apogee interfaces


peace
Liam

 

[Metaltastic]

One of the Audio Arts teachers at my school actually used to work for Benchmark, and told me about some rather questionable business practices and quality in some Apogee products - they're definitely good, but not the best by any means, Benchmark stuff is, well, the Benchmark, as well as lots of other companies to expensive for me to know about or be interested in And the Duet seems pointless to me, cuz you can't use it simultaneously with your other inputs - better to get a pair of good preamps, run 'em into a good converter, and then run that into your Firepod via SPDIF.

 

[beyond dead]

true, however it may cost more than the duet to purchase good pres and converters. also, im not necessarily looking to expand my i/o as i already have a 2 channel spdif pre. im more so looking to have a couple channels of better quality i/o for reamping, vocals, sample making ect.

to expand i would likely look at the ensemble, but not sure how it stacks up against rme or mackie.

could you elaborate on these questionable practices? i am interested to hear!
thanx for the reply
Liam

 

[beyond dead]

bumppppppp

 

[greyskull]

the duet is pretty cool.
If you use Logic.....
(i.e are insane)

 

[Metaltastic]

Haha, the name "Logic" always made me chuckle, given it's reputation of being anything but. And Beyond dead, sorry dude, forgot about this - I remember my teacher telling me that when Benchmark was developing a certain product (I think it might've actually been their half-rack DA converter), Apogee was publicly all like "that's crap, no one would ever want that," but then shortly after came out with their own. And he otherwise just had a general amount of contempt for the company, though having worked for a smaller rival of them like Benchmark, I'm not surprised. And yeah, the Duet would be cheaper than an equivalent quality A/D converter and preamp pair, so I guess as long as you don't mind using it by itself (and are on a Mac, which rules me out ), then it'd be good!