Having leaned his trade at New York City’s Sigma Sound Studios working on records for The Village People, Diana Ross, The Spinners and Ashford & Simpson and Stanley Jordan, Matthew Weiner has graduated from analogue roots to the network-based environment of his work at ShoreTel, a leading telecommunications developer.
‘You could say I’ve been in audio from the patchbay to the switch,’ he says.
Remote recording sessions of jazz artists have been a consistent part of his work, nad have seen him use a series of equipment set-up that now includes Focusrite’s Red 8Pre – a 1U-high eight-preamp interface that features 16 analogue inputs and 18 analogue outputs with dual Thunderbolt 2, Pro Tools HD DigiLink and Dante ports.
‘The Red 8Pre is amazing,’ Weiner reports, having used it both on location and at his Radiance Recording studio in Teaneck, New Jersey.
‘The efficiency it provides me is second to none – in a single rack unit, I can connect 24 channels of mics in addition to the eight it has built in, and use 32x32 Dante from anything to anywhere, routing any of the 16 analogue I/O and 16 Adat I/O as I need to without limitations. Also, I can provide a balanced analogue output and two unique headphone mixes with separate volume knobs. I can also pass through another Dante device as the 8Pre has a second network jack, making this like its own mini router.
‘As a result, it’s easy for me to hang another audio device that supports applications using the Dante audio-over-Ethernet media networking. I use as an additional way to drive a two-track output with volume control or to a router and my Yamaha DM1000v2, if that’s the right tool for the job.’
‘The Red 8Pre is Dante compatible, so my cabling can consist of inexpensive Cat cabling and an RJ45 jack – an equivalent Lightning/USB connection doesn’t go far, and for any distance you need to go optical, which costs way more to cover footage that is not even close,’ he continues. ‘Compare function, flexibility and cost, and the Red 8Pre wins out every time. It also has two Thunderbolt ports, so once again, depending on how you choose to work, you have options and you can send anything anywhere. This really could not be easier.
‘On my current project, I am overdubbing through the Red 8Pre and using it for routing as part of my Dante system. The delay is in the microsecond range, and it’s not at all noticeable to me or anyone that has been in the studio with me since I got it. With my Macbook Pro, two rack units and a few mics, I’m pretty dangerous. Congrats, Focusrite – I think you have a category killer here.’
More: www.focusrite.com
