Author: Steve Duncan

  • Excessive interviews could save you

    I see a lot of posts & comments where folks are complaining about having to interview with more than a few people for a new position at a company. It seems like these folks think just the future boss, and maybe one other person should be enough. Since interviews are hard, we should have less…

  • Solution for iPad that won’t charge

    Got an iPad Pro that won’t charge? Tried resetting it and that didn’t work? Same here. I can’t guarantee a fix, but this worked for me and has a few times now: Let the iPad die – all the way. This may take a day or so, but let it get down to where it…

  • Zoom H1n As Only Recorder

    In late 2021 we took a trip to my wife’s childhood home of Miami, Florida. We spent several days see some sites, visiting some folks, and spending time with her mother. After the trip to Maine earlier that year where I brought the MixPre6ii and multiple mics, I decided to try the other end of…

  • Tascam DR-10x Review First Looks

    Just got a Tascam DR-10x to play with. I was looking for something with lower handling & wind noise than the H1n, less size than the MixPre, and wasn’t concerned with stereo for a lot of what I do. $137 delivered. Mixed bag so far, but I don’t think I’ll be sending it back. Size…

  • What do you call the audio equivalent of home movies?

    So we’re back from our trip and I’ve got several hours of recordings. Something I’ve been trying to figure out is how to turn the recordings I make of my family into more of a finished product. Over the years I’ve accumulated something over 600 recordings. Just like a huge stack of photos or a…

  • Powering the MixPre – reconsidering the options

    The SoundDevices MixPre recorder comes with a battery ‘sled’ that holds 4 AA batteries along with an AC adapter. A set of 4 Alkaline batteries might power the MixPre for maybe 20 minutes, which isn’t really useful for anything. Four rechargeable batteries fair a lot better – over an hour in my experience – and…

  • Recording lighthouses

    What do you do when your spouse wants to see a bunch of lighthouses? Well if you’re me you record them! And since we’re on vacation I’m trying to record the trip in the same sort of way that a photographer or videographer would. Getting family banter is easy. Getting good sounding family banter while…

  • More on The Strut Case

    I decided to take the strut case on our trip, and it’s working out fairly well. I’ve got the Talent cell in the bottom battery wrap, and it’s had more than enough power for my needs. The AT4022 is plugged into mic 4, and I can keep the mic wrapped under the cover for storage,…

  • Scrapsounding? Sonic Journalism? Snapsounds?

    In photography we call it photojournalism, but in audio is it sonic journalism? If scrapbooking is arranging photos into an album, does it become scrap sounding when you do it with audio recordings? Do snapshots become snapsounds?

  • My guitar practice routine

    Current situation & goals I’m learning travis picking, and I’m getting through Mark Hanson’s second book, The Art of Solo Fingerpicking (affiliate link), along with a few tunes from other places. Right now my short term goal is to learn a basic repertoire of tunes I can perform. Not soloing, improvisation, songwriting, etc. Those will…