Bryan Heany has been a sound engineer for more than two decades, working on a range of live events, studio and live recordings, and postproduction projects. Throughout that time, he has sought new tools to streamline his workflow – a process that led to his first use of JoeCo’s BlackBox multitrack recorder, and his subsequent choice of further JoeCo systems.
Working as a part-time sound engineer with Western Sound Studio (WSS) on the campus of Western Michigan University, Heany recorded performances by student soloists and ensembles, faculty groups and non-university clients. ‘We upgraded our mobile recording rig to include a multitrack backup system via a JoeCo BBR1B BlackBox Recorder,’ he recalls. ‘The rig comprised a True Systems Precision 8 Preamp with split line output; Output 1 feeding an A/D converter into Pro Tools, and Output 2 feeding direct into the BlackBox BBR1B. I would rather not admit how many times the BlackBox BBR1B has saved our on-location recordings. Whatever the problem, the BBR1B has never failed and always sounds great.’
Since then, the BBR1B ‘has always been my first choice for simplicity and reliability, as well as channel count’, for multitracking live performances. ‘The recordings I am usually asked to make under these circumstances do not require high-end preamps and overlapping or split signal flow, so direct outs from my Allen & Heath GL2400 mixer make for simple connection to the JoeCo via TRS-DB25 cables. The gain staging between the console and the JoeCo is a great match, too.’
While he still freelances for WSS, Heany’s primary focus is now his own company, 37.ENT LLC. Working across a wide variety of audio disciplines – including audio recording and production, as well as live sound reinforcement – he maintains to put his faith in JoeCo technology, and recently invested in a BlueBox BBWR24B audio interface recorder. The most affordable BlueBox, the BBWR24B provides 24 balanced line inputs, 16 Lightpipe inputs (with SMUXII support for higher sample rates) and 24 balanced outs, plus the same field recording capabilities as the BlackBox Recorder and simultaneous back-up of all source recordings.
‘Now that I am doing more work with my own recording rig on location, I also need to multitrack to a computer-based DAW while maintaining a backup multitrack. I also require more than 18 inputs,’ he notes. ‘Having seen the latest BlueBox interface with its backup feature [to a USB thumb drive], I knew that it would constitute the right choice for a system upgrade.’
More: www.joeco.co.uk
