The Experts team wondered what we thought people would want to find behind the windows of a dream studio advent calendar. Some of the things we own, some we wish we did. Owned or not, we think any of the things we name in the next 22 days would be a gift to a professional studio owner.
Day 3 - Audient iD44 MKII
Luke Goddard chooses Audient’s iD44 MKII.
The humble studio interface has morphed into such a large subset of gear that one facility’s 3U, networked uber-hub has little in common with the single input desk-dweller, yet their function is broadly identical. From the early days of computer recording, where the audio interface was likely to be a fan-cooled line-level rack device, the industry has also seen in recent years the rise of larger ‘cigar box’ type unit with mic inputs and controls on the top. Many of these offer console-style monitor control, further helping the format’s popularity.
Audient’s iD44 MKII is one such interface that has recently found its way into my audio life for a number of reasons, with all of my favoured desert-island features on-board.
I would argue that any studio can benefit from some sort of independent monitor control that can be run without the computer. The iD44 MKII’s standalone functionality allows rehearsal sans-computer for musicians, as well as providing engineers with programmable console style buttons for mono, dim, and the all important kill switch, Cut. Any single room facility recording with mics without a way to cut the monitors needs one. Being able to dim the monitors to take that call is also so much better than losing your place on the monitor knob.
For small-scale (and not so small scale tracking), this box accommodates up to four cue mixes with talkback. While this doesn’t sound particularly groundbreaking, consider that many analogue mixers only allow comms with one or two auxiliaries with other band members in the dark. A second ‘phones output is ideal for overdub situations with a singer or similar.
Perhaps the biggest improvement to my workflow is provided by Audient’s iD44 MKII’s implementation of loopback. This ability to record application sound just like any other real-world input is far from unique, but having tried quite a few I can say that this is the one that made me ditch my old workflow that saw virtual sources taking an extra trip through the convertors into a field recorder.
iD44 MKII’s party piece has to be its ScrollControl feature. Pressing the ID button turns the monitor knob into a physical control for the software parameter of your choice - so good for closing your eyes and listening while you tweak, and the perfect way to end up spending another few hundred (or more) once you get the taste for a dedicated controller… While the unit is not quite unique, its audio chops are a cut above in this price bracket thanks to its bespoke design. This leans on Audient’s culture of in-house design, where others resort to buying theirs in. You can find out more about the iD44 MKII’s audio performance in detail in Julian Krause’s deliciously dry teardown of the unit below: