REVIEWED
Prodipe Studio 12 USB PRODIPE Studio
If you’re looking to get started in the world of home recording the obvious route is to utilise your existing PC or laptop. You will probably already have a few bits and pieces you can make use of: speakers, headphones or even a microphone but you will very quickly realise that the built in audio on most (if not all) PCs is pretty ropey, particularly the insipid sounding microphone socket sadly languishing on the front of your laptop! Fortunately, you can utilise your PC’s USB sockets and plug in an external sound interface which will allow audio signals to travel in and out of your PC far more efficiently. The virtually limitless choice of interfaces can be a real minefield to circumnavigate but the new Studio
PRODIPE Studio 12 USB
SRP
All prices include VAT CONT
ACT
Zen Audio T:
W: 01924 476533
zenaudiolimited.co.uk 38 3pickup £49.99
12 USB from French audio company Prodipe is purpose made for those of us who are just starting out or whose requirements are a little more simple.
Get connected
The Studio 12 USB itself takes the form of a USB cable with all the action taking place at the interface, which is a small plastic box with an LED that lights up once connection to your PC is established, a pair of phono outputs, a stereo headphone output and a single jack input designed for guitar, keyboards and microphone. In addition to this, the package comes bundled with a copy of Steinberg’s Cubase LE5 digital recording workstation, which is a highly capable albeit scaled down version of the industry standard Cubase software. Also included is Prodipe’s own VE Professional Expander, which is a tone generator that runs either standalone or as a VSTi format plug-in (i.e. you can run it inside of the included Cubase LE5). The disc also includes the ASIO drivers required so that your PC can send and receive the audio information quickly by bypassing Windows own drivers. Currently at least, there appears to be no drivers for Apple Macs so as it stands the Studio 12 USB is definitely a PC only device. By the latest standards this
Prodipe unit’s 16-bit resolution and a sampling frequency of either 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz might seem a little sparse. Bear in mind, though that these are the very specifications of CDs and for most applications this will sound fine. It is possible that you may notice the sound slightly degenerates after recording 48 tracks but to be honest this isn’t really what the Studio 12 USB is about! The one notable omission is that the shared input jack socket does cut down one’s options with regard to what microphone you can use and with no phantom power either you are going to be limited to using dynamic mics. For the review I used the Prodipe
predominantly with the included Cubase LE5 but also checked compatibility with Cakewalk Sonar, Cockos Reaper and Ableton Live. The included ASIO drivers (once updated via the Prodipe website) worked flawlessly with all the systems I tested. I was surprised how robust they seemed for a newcomer and provided very low latency with very little strain to the host PC. The screen control panel for the 12 USB is very simple as it only has to deal with one mono input and a stereo out. Another useful thing is that the mono input can be ‘doubled up’ to make your chosen DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) believe it is receiving a stereo signal. Not a big deal, but handy on some occasions nevertheless. The quality of the audio going in is pretty good too. To be fair, it’s never going to set the world alight but it is perfectly adequate and quiet enough for most applications. On electric guitar the sound was a tad woolly but nothing that couldn’t
12 USB
This entry level studio interface from French audio specialists Prodipe is perfect for those looking for an affordable way to begin computer recording… Words: D.P. Wilson
be remedied with a bit of EQ and as long as you have your microphone quite close to a good strong source, that sounds OK too with noise not being too big a problem. For those just starting out the included VE Professional Expander software is a nice little addition, with plenty of Pianos, organs, strings, brass, choirs etc and whilst none of these sounds are top of the league they will certainly do a job until you are ready for an upgrade. Cubase LE5 as previously mentioned is the included MIDI and audio recording software and although it is a so called ‘lite’ version it still does pretty much anything you’d want and its feature set is perfect for entry-level recording. PM
SHOULD I BUY ONE?
So there you have it, the Prodipe Studio 12 USB is actually very good. When you factor- in the price and the included software this package is very usable indeed. I have saved the best for last though, and that is the price. The Prodipe offers great value for money and is truly a little diamond in the rough! For those of you looking to dip your toe into the recording water or where you just don’t need all the bells and whistles, the Prodipe Studio 12 USB represents a pocket money purchase that shouldn’t be ignored, at any price.
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