The iRig Pro Duo USB recording device from IKMultimedia has been around a while but is still worth a review.
Read on for the full review, watch the video review here or pick one up on amazon here.
The iRig Pro Duo has since late 2015 and I’ve been using it in my home studio recording my music (check out Backroom Stereo) for the last year and so here are my thoughts…
First…Price
The retail price on Amazon is £150 but if you shop around or go second hand you can pick it up at a bargain price.
Design
The iRig Pro Duo is designed to be portable and so it’s a pretty small device, it’s also incredibly light.
The device has rounded edges and looks slick and modern. The top of the device has multi-coloured lights to show you things like gain, midi and phantom power information plus two gain controls.
In terms of inputs/outputs you’ll find…
- Two quarter inch/XLR inputs (allowing you to have two inputs at once)
- Midi in and out 3.5mm jack inputs/outputs
- A direct monitor switch, headphone output (3.5mm) and volume control for the output
- A left and right quarter inch jack output with volume
- A switch for the 48v phantom power
This device can be powered via USB or using two AA batteries. You can connect is via USB to your computer or lightning to your iOS device for using with apps like Garageband.
If you want to know all the really tech-y specs then you can find them on the IKMultimedia website
Using the Device
As it is a USB audio interface you simply plug and play. As a Mac user I just have to plug it in, open Logic Pro X (my recording programme of choice) and I’m away!
To use the device you add one or two recording channels and you can record both of the inputs at once onto different tracks.
I’ve found that there is no lag when recording or hearing playback in headphones and that when recording guitar you can hear what you’re playing through the headphone output with no delay.
I’ve also been really impressed with the sound quality (there’s a sample in my video review)
The lights on top of the device are really useful for having the information you need (e.g. if your instrument is peaking).
The only feature I haven’t tested is the Midi function.
Of course, once you’ve recorded something you can then use it as an audio output whilst you mix and edit your tracks.
So, what’s the verdict?
4 years on from its release the iRig Pro Duo is still a versatile, portable and great performing USB audio interface and (for me) there’s no downsides to it at all!
