Equipment selection, part 1

First, some background: up until I started planning this trip, my primary DAW has been a Macbook running Logic Pro 8, with a PreSonus Firepod for Audio I/O. As I've said before, this rig has participated in some mobile recording, where mobile means "pack your car full and spend an hour beforehand setting up". Needless to say I found the system needed revision or replacement before it was fit to accompany me to Italy.

In choosing a new system to take along with me, I identified the following challenges:

-must fit in carry-on and checked luggage

-must record a maximum of two tracks at once -- the choir's director informed me that none of the pieces were accompanied by any instrumentation, so I choose to stick with a stereo mic pair

-must not rely on the availability of a power source AT the location; these churches are thousands of years old and I doubt they have conveniently placed outlets, if any, since that's a luxury we've just gotten used to over the past 100 years. 

-must be able to utilize Italy's 240v AC power when it IS present

-must set up and tear down quickly; no guarantee that I'll get any time in the space before the singers start warming up

The two options I saw here were to replace the Firepod with a smaller, bus-powered audio interface into the laptop, or ditch the laptop entirely for a portable recorder such as the Zoom H4. I've read lots of great reviews of the Zoom and know some people who use it personally, and the sound that comes out of it is really very high quality. Also it certainly is smaller and lighter than laptop + audio interface, and it runs on readily available AA batteries for hours on end.

Why, then, did I stick with a laptop-based system? Because a second, smaller audio interface is of much more use to me before and after the trip than a dedicated portable recorder, which I'm afraid would sit collecting dust after my return home. 

The market is pretty much saturated with small, bus-powered, 1 or 2 channel audio interfaces for all different prices. My first instinct was to go for the Presonus Firebox because of the great experience I've had with its bigger cousin. However, browsing at Guitar Center, I came across a unit that's not only $100 cheaper but has one huge differentiating feature that I literally benefit from every single day.

The Mackie Onyx Satellite is a mobile interface that not only has two of Mackie's really nice mic preamps in a compact package, but also has a tough metal housing that looks like it was meant to take a beating on the road, and most importantly includes a "base station" that it docks into, which give it additional monitoring and input routing flexibility, as well as the ability to quickly detach from the rest of your audio equipment without spending any time disconnecting cables. 

In my case it allowed me to set up a second set of monitor speakers on my desk for times when I can't or don't want to use the garage for mixing or editing work. When it's docked it even has a talkback mic for slating takes and 5.1 monitoring outputs!

In fact, I probably would have bought this thing even if I weren't going to Italy simply because it makes packing for any location gig that much quicker (saves me from having to pull umpteen cables out of the Firepod).

Macbook on the desk with KRK RP-5 monitors and docked Satellite.
Lots of lovely monitoring and routing options.
Very quick and easy to undock the Satellite and go recording! The Satellite is coming to Italy while the base station stays here in San Jose connected to my monitors.

Next time: Powering the whole mess!

Who are you and what am I doing here?

Both good questions. Let me address them in order.

My name is Ben Englert and I'm weeks away from turning 18. In the past three years or so, I've been active as a local amateur sound engineer, producer, and technician. I have a project studio in my garage where I've worked on EPs and albums with local high school bands like Echodelic and most notably The Pizookies. I attend The Harker School here in San Jose, CA, and as well as doing a lot of performing of my own (acting, singing, etc), I've been assisting with the recording of many live performances by various ensembles in the school's conservatory. 

And this transitions us nicely into the second question. This coming February, I will be accompanying Harker's classical women's choir, Cantilena, on a 10-day tour of Italy to record their performances and later sell a CD. Though I've done "mobile" recording in the past, it has usually involved luxuries such as readily-available power outlets and having an entire car to load up with gear. Through this blog I hope to both give and solicit advice on how to approach the challenge of TRULY mobile recording, by explaining my approach to certain situations and hopefully hearing about yours. 

At this point I've procured most of the equipment I hope to use on the trip, so over the coming weeks I will start by detailing how and why I chose it. I hope all this is helpful to someone in the same shoes in the future!