Using unfamiliar gear can often present challenging situations for recording professionals. But taking that leap into the unknown can also lead to new experiences that help you to develop better quality recording solutions.
This is something that award-winning producer and engineer, Siegfreid Meier experienced when recording a new live album for punk icons, Face To Face, using the JoeCo BLACKBOX BBR64-DANTE recorder as part of his setup for the first time.
The 250-capacity venue of Saint Vitus presented a challenge for Meier’s usual recording setup. “The stage at the venue is tiny – there’s barely enough room for the band and their gear,” he explains. “I did a little bit of research beforehand and I thought the long runs of Dante would probably be the best way to record the show without leaving all of my gear on the stage.”
With this decision made, Meier turned to local audio specialists Gotham Sound to help him create a rig for the show. “Gotham set me up with this tiny little rack that they had built and it has the JoeCo BLACKBOX BBR64-DANTE on the top of it,” he recalls. “We spent a day going over the rig and they took me through all of the Dante stuff. They were extremely helpful, I got a crash course in it and the next day I was setting up with the band.”
Over the next three nights of recording live sets, Meier gained some real insights into the BBR64-DANTE and the advantages it could offer him: “The BBR64-DANTE records to an external USB device. It labels the files really nicely and it just goes. It’s one of those machines that just does its job and keeps going and never stops. The preamps still have a little bit of meat to them, but the gain staging is really, really sweet. The iPad level control is fantastic, and the whole thing just felt really rock-solid and smooth.”
Meier’s positive experience with the BLACKBOX BBR64-DANTE continued back in his Beach Road Studios in Ontario, Canada. “I never even noticed a shred of noise, not even listening back to the tracks afterwards. The tracks sounded absolutely stellar coming off the JoeCo machine, I’m extremely pleased with the sonics. The box is just phenomenal.”
