Recording - December 2011 - 19

smaller DAW rigs. Both are bundled with Cakewalk SONAR X1 LE, a fullfeatured entry-level DAW to get you started. The first thing you notice about the DUO-CAPTURE is how darn small it is: with the USB cable removed, this buspowered interface is just a bit bigger than a smartphone, very light and portable... as my Editor would say, “Pocketsized if your pants have large enough pockets.” Its design is stripped to the absolute basics: input and output volume faders, two LEDs for signal peak and USB power, and switches for mic gain Lo/Hi (for line-level devices and Hi-Z instruments vs. dynamic mics), Hi-Z on/off, and zero-latency input monitoring on/off. There is a stereo 1/8" line-level input and a 1/4" input for a dynamic mic or a Hi-Z guitar or bass (mixed before A/D conversion), and two stereo outputs, one 1/4" and one 1/8", for line level output or headphones... or two sets of phones at once, if one or both have inline volume controls so the single output fader isn’t an issue (the KRK KNS-8400, reviewed February 2011, is a nice choice). You can’t plug in an XLR mic, there’s no phantom power, you’ll need a Y-cable to feed most powered monitors, the rear-panel buttons aren’t easy to see and read, and input levels and gains have to be set at the sources, but that’s all reasonable when compared with getting high-quality 24-bit/44.1–48 kHz DAW I/O in a package weighing only a few ounces. The QUAD-CAPTURE was a revelation: almost everything you get in the OCTA-CAPTURE, but with fewer ins and outs! The unit has two each of analog and digital inputs, the former on XLR/TRS combination jacks and the latter on coaxial RCA. Input 1 can be set for Hi-Z operation, and there’s global phantom power switching for both analog inputs. There are two analog outs on balanced TRS (mirrored at the front-panel headphone jack, which has its own level pot and DAW/input monitor blend knobs) and two digital outs as stereo coaxial RCA. Internally the unit can handle up to 24-bit/192 kHz audio, and features a slate of DSP-engine features like two channels of compression and internal signal mixing; these are controlled from a computer-based editor program rather than from the unit itself, as the QUAD-CAPTURE lacks its larger sibling’s LCD and data entry controls. The two front-panel Sensitivity (input gain) knobs are ringed by LEDs that act as input level meters. Other features like Auto Sens (automatic input gain setting), output ground lift, and MIDI I/O are taken straight from the OCTA-CAPTURE, and the interface also has its sibling’s impeccably clean sound. Whether you want to keep it simple or throw some heavy DSP at 24/192 audio recording, Roland has you covered with these excellent interfaces.

RocknRoller Multi-Cart
$139–$319 ($239 as reviewed); www.rocknrollercart.com

Last but not least, how about giving your aching back a present? In December 2008 and February 2009, Paul J. Stamler gave us “Keeping Your Hand In”, a 2-part article about avoiding health issues while living a musician’s lifestyle, in which he extolled the virtues of using a good rolling dolly cart to avoid arm strain and back injuries that can ruin a player’s night, if not his or her entire career. With that in mind, when the RocknRoller folks offered us one of their carts to try out, we thought of the 3-way midfield monitors we had to move from our storeroom to the shipping depot and said, “Sure, why not?” The Multi-Cart line has five models in a range of sizes; we received the R10 model with the R-Trac wheels, a relatively new innovation that gives the same smooth performance as balloon tires but without inflation hassles and with a lot less weight. It took about ten minutes to assemble the cart, said assembly mainly involving attaching the wheels and casters. After that, we just put the R10 to work around the office and learned to love it! The Multi-Cart’s front swivel casters have one foot-settable brake lever, and front and rear handle/rails that flip up or down with a simple pull on a plastic-coated metal cable; the load bed has nonslip coating and can be extended or shortened by releasing a spring-loaded button, and then secured with a couple of wing nuts. The cart can roll horizontally on four wheels or be tipped up on the two big wheels, and you can decide whether you need one or both rails for any given application. It can be a luggage cart, a flat dolly, a “hi-stacker” as used in hotel lobbies... you get the idea. We didn’t get to test any of the accessories that can be added to the Multi-Cart, but there are some intriguing options on offer. You can add solid decks for moving many small objects at once, removable shelves for double-decker applications, a mini-shelf for a laptop, cable spools, even a triple headphone hanger. (Note that if you want to use more than a couple of accessories at a time, you’ll need to order handle rails with extra mounting holes.) The Multi-Cart worked beautifully in all applications, reconfiguring in a flash and easily handling even really large loads (it’s rated to 500 pounds). Our backs and arms thanked us, and yours will too. Have a healthy New Year!
RECORDING DECEMBER 2011

http://www.rocknrollercart.com

Recording - December 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - December 2011