Michigan, US – July 2017…  Working on live events, studio and live recordings, and post-production projects, Bryan Heany has been active as a sound engineer for more than two decades. Throughout that time he has maintained a vigilant lookout for new tools that will help to streamline his workflow – a process that led to his first use of JoeCo’s award-winning BLACKBOX multi-track recorder, and his subsequent choice of JoeCo solutions ever since.

At that time he was working as a part-time sound engineer with Western Sound Studio (WSS) on the campus of Western Michigan University, recording 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 comprises 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 live and on-location recordings! Whatever the problem, the BBR1B has never failed and always sounds great.”

Since then, he continues, the BBR1B “has always been my first choice for simplicity and reliability, as well as channel count” whenever multi-track capture is required on live sound reinforcement dates. Heany adds: “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.”

Whilst Heany still freelances for WSS, his primary focus now is on his own company, 37.ENT LLC. Working across a wide variety of audio disciplines – including audio recording and production services as well as live sound reinforcement – Heany continues to put his faith in JoeCo technology, having recently invested in a BLUEBOX BBWR24B audio interface recorder. The most affordable BLUEBOX, the BBWR24B delivers 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 multi-track to a computer-based DAW whilst maintaining a backup multi-track. I also require more than 18 inputs,” notes Heany, whose impressively broad portfolio career also encompasses work as a drummer, composer and voice-over actor. “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.”

To find out more about 37.ENT, visit www.37ENT.com.