Having worked on countless campaigns over the past 12 years, marketing services agency RLP Media has replaced a decade-old Audient iD22 audio interface with a new iD44. Based in LA, the man behind the operation is Creative Director, marketer and musician, Rob Lynn.
‘I used it nearly every day and absolutely loved it,’ Lynn says of the retired iD22. ‘It has held up incredibly well.’
Originally purchasing the iD22 to for a portable set-up alongside his larger studio, he eventually scaled down from a large digital console and a rack of outboard gear to an in-the-box set-up focused around the interface. ‘It’s been a great transition and the iD44 feels like the logical next step,’ he says. ‘In general, the iD44 just has a lot of features that interfaces in this price range just don’t have.’
Lynn focuses on recording voiceovers for his agency’s video content, for which some level of VO work and audio postproduction is required. Here, the iD44’s additional features have been invaluable: ‘When editing video, oftentimes different microphones are recorded to Tracks 1, 2, 3 or 4 resulting in weird panning when playing back. I set the F3 button to sum mono, so when playing clips back via the source monitor in Adobe Premiere, I can just listen to the audio without being distracted by the panning. Audio is typically the last step in my editing process, so this little trick has made it a bit easier to stay within my preferred editing process.
‘I specifically like the Audio Loop-back/talkback functionality, too,’ he continues. ‘If I have an attended mix or edit session with a client, setting up the audio routing was always a pain. Being able to use my computer’s built-in microphone as the talkback mic has made this process way easier.’
Even simple things have not gone unnoticed. ‘I didn’t realise how nice it is to have front-mounted headphone and DI’s,’ Lynn observes. ‘It seems trivial but not having to turn the unit around every time I want to plug in headphones or use the DI is awesome. A really thoughtful change over the iD22.’
When he’s not providing content marketing services to brands, Lynn can still be found in a studio setting. Working with James Meder at Pique Recording, they film live sessions of local bands. This special performance series entitled Under The Tracks has been filmed at Meder’s studio up until now, but more adventurous plans are afoot. ‘We’re hopeful that the iD44 will let us take production to other unique settings,’ Lynn says.
‘With four onboard mic preamps, the iD44 covers a lot of basic scenarios without the need for more preamps. Guitar, vocal, stereo keyboard? Check. Basic kick, snare, OH kit? Check. Acoustic guitar, vocal with mic plus DI? Check. The list goes on. ‘
When not at work, Lynn frequently plays guitar and drums, using the iD44 to track into Pro Tools. ‘I particularly love the JFET inputs,’ he says. ‘I’ve tried a lot of other interfaces in this price range, and the Audient’s instrument input is by far the best I’ve used.’
More: https://audient.com
