So I upgraded my DAW to MAC OS Catalina. Consequently I had to update my DAW I/O device drivers; my primary I/O device was an Antelope Orion Studio. As soon as the driver update was completed- my audio had digital pops & clicks in it. To make a very long story short- I went through the usual work of searching knowledge bases, user forums, etc. for any kind of remedy or recommendation; unfortunately- there were none to be found. All paths led back to installing the latest drivers (which I just did). As it turns out- I had just started a collaboration project and couldn’t waste a lot of time trying to get my rig working. So I pulled out my old UA Apollo Twin. I purchased the Apollo when they first came out, now years ago, and it didn’t survive the first session; both mic preamps overheated and blew out. However the line level in’s & out’s still worked and that is all I needed to get my collaboration rolling.

I knew I was going to need a more complete fix though, as my collaboration was going to require a lot of instrument recording. Hence I started the long journey of digging through storage and resurrecting my studio DAW that used to roll around with me, back when we all used to use recording studios. It’s a little over-sized for my room- but it’s exactly what the doctor ordered and it sounds amazing! This rig uses an RME MADIFace I/O unit, driving a Solid State Logic Alpha-Link MADI-AX. I patch 16 of its MADI channels through a Rupert Neve 5059 Satellite Summing mixer. With all of the I/O channels I have I can also use my 500-series racks for outboard processing. Now we’re cooking with fuel!

Ciao for now- sg