![]() ![]() The ZenBook Duo has a pair of high-bandwidth USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports, one of the Type-C variety and the other Type-A, and a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port. I find it easy to load up a laptop’s ports once I start recording music in earnest. ![]() Since the laptop is equipped with NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX MX250, I could edit videos of my latest projects, as well, and even play a light game or two during my downtime. A 16GB pool of RAM let me take full advantage of the multitasking potential of the ScreenPad Plus, and it also gave me the freedom to load up multiple plugins on all of my audio tracks as I was mixing down my latest audio project. That chip’s maximum turbo frequency of 4.9GHz lets this system tackle demanding workloads with alacrity. The ZenBook Duo harnesses the four cores and eight threads of the Intel Core i7-10510U for plenty of audio-production power. I can recreate classic reverb sounds through a variety of excellent plugins, for example, but to get a full, rich sound I need a CPU that can keep up. The basic hardware requirements for DAW software typically aren’t that steep, but the world of FX plugins is full of CPU-intensive effects and virtual instruments that require high-end PC platforms. The trackpad sits underneath my right hand with the keyboard to its left. Since the ScreenPad Plus occupies a prominent position on the laptop’s lower half, the keyboard and trackpad find new homes along the front edge of the chassis. Whether I was adjusting the volume of a track, panning through the timeline of a project, or just skipping ads on YouTube, the ScreenPad Plus was perfectly positioned for quick taps and swipes. With not one but two touchscreen displays at the ready, I found myself controlling the ZenBook Duo with touch controls much more often than I usually do on a Windows machine. The included stylus let me take advantage of this potential right away. ![]() It’s also positioned perfectly for pen input. ![]() The ScreenPad Plus stretches across the full width of the notebook, and it’s big enough and its resolution is high enough that you can arrange two or even three windows on it. Right where you’d find the keyboard in a conventional laptop, the ZenBook Duo has a 12.6” touch display. The bright 14” Full HD touch display and its vanishingly small 3.5mm bezels are worth a glance all by themselves, as is the unique ErgoLift hinge that raises the rear of the chassis for better airflow and a more comfortable angle for typing.īut it’s the secondary ScreenPad Plus display that everyone wants to check out. The ZenBook Duo never failed to turn heads when I opened it. The chassis has just about the same profile as a standard 8.5” x 11” piece paper, just about 1” wider. It’s a compact notebook that’s easy to slip into a backpack or satchel. With its deep blue finish and concentric circle design on its lid, the ZenBook Duo makes a solid first impression. I put the ZenBook Duo at the center of my workflow to get a hands-on look at its music-creation chops. I’m no professional musician, but I’ve been playing guitar for over twenty years and enjoy sharing my projects with friends and family. Its capable 10th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU, spacious 16GB of RAM, and long-lasting battery all add up to a music studio that easily fits into my bag so I can deploy it whenever and wherever creativity strikes. Its ScreenPad Plus display can provide everything from extra screen space for my DAW software to a touch input device for mixing controls. This dual-screen laptop gave me a unique opportunity to pack up my home studio and take it on the road. That’s why I was eager to get my hands on the new ASUS ZenBook Duo. DAW software will quickly fill a whole display by itself, and that’s before you start looking for a place to put your FX windows, music sheets, and miscellaneous browser tabs. These creators look for laptops that can handle their recording and editing needs wherever they go, whether that’s at a corner table in the college cafeteria or at a hotel room desk after a show on the road.Ī laptop screen can be a constrained space for music production, though. They want a studio that can travel with them. Yet even the freedom to make music at home isn’t quite enough freedom for many of today’s musicians. And as your skills and knowledge grow, there’s high-end equipment ready to help you take things to the next level. With a PC, cheap or free digital audio workstation (DAW) software and plugins, a basic USB audio interface, and a halfway-decent microphone, you can record, mix, and export from the comfort of a home studio. Time was when musicians needed access to professional studios to create cutting-edge sounds and high-quality published music. ![]()
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