Washington DC, US – November 2018… Working across a wide variety of projects always brings its own challenges, but for well-known US-based location sound recordist Collin Warren, the priority is making sure no audio is ever lost despite his demanding and often relentless schedule. With a roster of clients that ranges from up-and-coming artists to international organisations such as The World Folk Music Association and The Chicago Children’s Theatre, Warren has placed his trust in a JoeCo BLACKBOX BBR1B multi-track recorder which he describes as “outstanding”.
Warren has been a recording engineer since 2010 and over the years has become involved in an array of high-profile projects. Most recently, he has made a name for himself in the podcast industry, working on the production of Trade Talks, a collaboration between the Peterson Institute of International Economics and the Economist magazine – a project he often “turns around within a day”.
In addition, Warren frequently works at front of house, recording live shows, including a current project with the World Folk Music Association, mixing a two-hour recording of a concert celebrating the life of folk legend Oscar Brand. Previous projects have included performances by the likes of Paul Yarrow, Paul Stookie and Tom Paxton.
On the horizon is a show with Porte Parole, a Montreal based theatre troop, who specialise in Verbatim theatre – a new genre that involves interviewing people and then creating theatre pieces out of their responses.
No matter the show, for Warren, there’s no room for slip-ups – hence why he has sought out a rig that will bolster him up: “the main thing for me always, was to have the best rig possible.”
Explaining how the BBR1B incorporates into his rig, Warren says: “I have two stand-alone computer interfaces with eight pre-amps in each box with a line level send off the mic preamps that goes directly into the BLACKBOX. It’s a very nice little redundant rig in a 4U portable rack case. So, I get a primary recording via USB on the computer and a totally independent line level recording of all the tracks going into the BLACKBOX.”
Warren was compelled to buy a JoeCo multi-track recorder after seeing them become ubiquitous: “everyone was using them,” he says. “I came into the world of recording when it was becoming a lot easier to do these things alone.”
Not only did the BBR1B make life hassle-free for solo operations, it was a high-quality solution: “I was looking to those recording orchestral performances for inspiration for my rig. I wanted something good quality.” However, ultimately, it all comes back to the BBR1B’s reliability. “The name of the game is it only happens once. You don’t get to go back – if you miss anything it really is kind of a nightmare. So, having something that’s really rock-solid is extremely helpful.
“It’s paid for itself so many times over and it’s got me out of a lot of jams. The idea that you can just switch it on, just a flick of a switch and it’s ready to go, is outstanding to me.”
For more information on Warren’s company, Lost in Transduction, visit his website at https://www.collinwarren.com/