Welcome to the Fall 2016 semester!
New mobile recording equipment is available to check out for academic or personal recording at the Performing Arts Resource Center (PARC). Possible uses include field recording for classes, analog and/or midi recording of your own music, sampling, editing music, mixing, and mastering. We have enough microphones to record anything from one instrument to an entire band. Documentation is included with all of the equipment. You can also talk to me in the PARC or write me at joejaniga@reed.edu with any questions.
The list after the jump is ordered from entry-level to advanced; your needs will determine the best option for you.
iPads: Quick and simple: just record into the microphone on the iPad through the Voice Memos, GarageBand, or MultiTrack DAW apps. You can email the recording to yourself or upload it to Google Drive or SoundCloud. If you are using MultiTrack DAW, you can additionally send the recording to a lab or personal computer via a generated IP address (explained more in the documentation of the app and the handout included with the iOMix docking station). You can also use the Apogee USB microphones (see below) with the iPad for a more nuanced recording with gain control.
Apogee One: Can be used with a checkout laptop, iPad, or lab computer as a stand-alone digital microphone, or in conjunction with an instrument and/or an analog microphone to record two tracks.
MacBook Pro: Dedicated to recording, this laptop has 1TB of recording space on a solid state drive, FireWire 800 and USB ports, and applications for analog and midi recording and mastering, including Logic Pro X and the Izotope Ozone 7 advanced mastering suite.
MOTU Traveler-mk3 (audio interface): The MOTU Traveler is a highly mobile audio interface featuring eight XLR and ¼” inputs and up to a 24-bit, 192-khz sample rate with built-in DSP vintage effects. The MOTU Traveler is great in the field as it is computer powered, gets upwards of two hours on just laptop power while recording (also uses a plug-in adapter if needed), and weighs in at only four pounds. Connect it to your own laptop or the PARC MacBook Pro to record in a specific environment of your choice.
iPad Pro (9.7”): We will soon have a 256GB iPad Pro that is paired with the iOMix by Alesis (see below). The iPad Pro’s processor is as fast as or faster than many new laptops, making it ideally suited for recording. It will have both Cubasis and MultiTrack DAW installed as recording interfaces. It can only be checked out in conjunction with the iOMix by Alesis.
iOMix by Alesis: This is a docking station for the iPad. Just plug the iPad into the iOMix and you have a mobile four-track recording studio with four analog inputs (XLR and 1/4”). The iOMix has phantom power, independent gain control, a line level switch on channel 1 for guitars, channel sliders, panning, and latency-free input monitoring. Check it out in conjunction with a PARC iPad and you can record up to a 24-bit, 96-khz sample rate (depending on the app you use; MultiTrack DAW recommended) on the iPad.
Microphones, microphones, and more microphones: We have Shure SM57, Shure SM7B, Behringer small and large diaphragm condenser mics, and Apogee USB mics. They are all available for checkout along with stands, either alone or in conjunction with other equipment.
Coming soon: Mixing and Mastering at Reed in PAB 327.