Stand-alone hardware recorders are making a comeback because they offer simple and reliable operation in a rugged format that can be rack mounted, perfect for regional and touring companies. They offer recording to internal or external media, or even both.
JoeCo offers up the BLACKBOX recorder series in a variety of 24- and 64-channel units with each unit able to switch between 44.1, 48, 88.2 and 96 kHz sample rates.
The new flagship BBR1MP supplies 24 channels and has 24 integrated microphone preamps (96 kHz). With balanced inputs and outputs plus user-installable MADI and DANTE card options, it provides a lot of connection options, and is fully controllable via the JoeCoRemote app for iPad.
A variety of other BLACKBOX options are available, including models with 24 channels of unbalanced I/O, 24 channels with balanced I/O on D Sub connectors, 24 tracks with ADAT and unbalanced analog I/O, and 24 channels with AES/EBU and unbalanced connections. Need more tracks?
The larger BBR64MADI offers 64 channels and sports coaxial and optical I/O for MADI with an 8-channel balanced line input option. Meanwhile, the BBR64DANTE offers 64 channels with Dante I/O and also has an 8-channel balanced input option.
Cymatic Audio just released the uTrack 24 that records at 96 kHz sample rate directly to off-the-shelf USB hard drives. It’s just 1RU and provides 24 channels of balanced input/output through 25-pin D-Sub connectors.
The Roland Pro AV R-1000 is a rack-mountable, dedicated 48-track unit that can record and playback audio directly from the REAC network. It offers a removable hard disk that can integrate with DAWs, with about 20 hours of 44.1/48 kHz recording using a 500 GB HDD. Coupled with an S-MADI REAC bridge, it can easily integrate into a MADI network.
Allen & Heath offers the ICE-16 stand-alone recorder, which can record 16 tracks of audio directly to a USB key or hard drive, and up to 6 hours of 16-channel audio can fit on a 32 GB USB stick. It has 16 analog inputs and outputs and offers both USB and FireWire connectivity, and can also function as a 16 x 16 interface to a computer, streaming 96 kHz over FireWire or USB 2.0. Units can be linked to expand channel count. The ICE-16D, a balanced I/O version, has fully balanced inputs and outputs on standard D Sub connectors.
At the other end of the spectrum are several stand-alone 2-rack recording options, that record directly to USB, CD, solid state media, or a combination of all three. The TASCAM SS-200 records WAV & MP3 files to compact flash, SD/SHC, and USB sticks in a 1RU format. The unit has XLR balanced and RCA unbalanced I/O, coaxial S/PIDF and AES/EBU connections.
The Denon Professional DN-700R Network SD/USB can record to SD/SDHC and USB media in MP3 and WAV at 96 kHz. The unit includes a dual record feature that allows it to simultaneously record to two media options for primary and backup recordings.
iPads are everywhere, with a variety of apps available that foster recording and mixing, but getting audio in and out of the iPad requires an interface. That’s where dock-style interfaces come in.
Alesis offers two dock units, including the iO Dock II that works with iPad, iPad 2, iPad 3rd generation and iPad 4th generation with 30-pin or Lightning connectors. The unit offers two combo XLR-1/4-inch input jacks and works with virtually any Core Audio or Core MIDI app available from the App Store. And the Alesis iO Mix delivers a bit more functionality by adding faders and recording up to four channels at once.
The Focusrite iTrack dock accommodates iPad, iPad Air and iPad Mini that have Lightning connectors. Equipped with Focusrite mic preamps and 96 kHz recording, it can charge and power an iPad at the same time, and it too works with Core Audio apps.
Finally, Apogee Electronics makes a desktop interface for iPad called the Quartet that provides 4 inputs and 8 outputs, and it also includes 4 mic preamps. Being a non-dock style unit, you can leave your iPad in its case during use.
Senior contributing editor Craig Leerman is the owner of Tech Works, a production company based in Las Vegas.