Skip to content
Influencer StackWhat the influencers actually use.
Gear$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.Sound Devices

Sound Devices MixPre-3 II

Field recorder and USB interface that writes its own backup track to an SD card

Three XLR inputs, a headphone output and an SD card slot, in a metal box small enough to carry. It works as a USB audio interface for a computer. At the same time it writes an uncompressed track of its own to the card, which means a crash on the computer during a recording costs nothing. Podcasters buy it for that. They also record on it in rooms with no computer at all. Getting it to do both jobs at once means a trip through the menus.

Who backs it

Sorted by strength of stance

  • Federico ViticciDoes it

    Apple writer · founder of MacStories

    Records his shows through a Sound Devices MixPre-3 II. It writes his microphone track to its own SD card while the iPad handles the Zoom call. He describes that as handing the recording to hardware, because iPadOS cannot capture two audio sources at once.

    Source: MacStories: iPad Pro for Everything

    “rather than trying to make iPadOS hold a Zoom call and record my audio at the same time, what if I just used iPadOS for the call and delegated recording to a dedicated accessory?”

    MacStories: iPad Pro for Everything (opens in a new tab) · 18 Dec 2024

Aimed at the same thing

Other entries filed under productivity.

  • Gear$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.

    Home gym

    A private training space at home, from a garage rack to a fully equipped room

    Backed by 7 of 62 stacks: 5 do it, 2 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
  • Gear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.

    Kindle e-reader

    Amazon

    E-ink reader that makes a daily reading habit easy to keep

    Backed by 6 of 62 stacks: 6 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
  • Gear$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.

    MacBook Pro

    Apple

    Apple's laptop, used as the one machine that runs the talk and the studio

    Backed by 4 of 62 stacks: 4 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
  • Gear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.

    Standing desk

    A desk that raises, so part of the working day happens on your feet

    Backed by 4 of 62 stacks: 3 do it, 1 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
  • Gear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.

    iPad

    Apple

    Apple's tablet, used here as the device the reading app runs on

    Backed by 3 of 62 stacks: 3 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
  • Gear$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.

    Paper notebook

    A bound notebook for thinking on paper away from a screen

    Backed by 3 of 62 stacks: 3 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it

Gear entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.