Input/output



Downloads

Midi and audio I/O are handled by a Tascam US-428 USB control surface, supplemented with a little Edirol UA20 interface.  There’s the usual array of patchbays, studio amps, monitors and cans, and a tiny 4-channel Fostex mixer, largely for aux routing to and from hardware FX. 

Almost exclusively audio is recorded to PC hard disk, but sometimes I use a Nomad Jukebox3 (which has rather good AD convertors for this kind of thing) firewire-linked to the PC, or now and then I go to minidisk if I’m not being too fussy about audio quality.  I have a few microphones of varying pedigree.  Mostly I use that old warhorse, the AKG C1000S, running through a Samson C-valve pre-amp. 

I master through the PC (SoundForge) and burn albums with CD Architect.  I use a little TDK gadget for on-disc printing and the usual kinds of scanning, image editing and drawing utilities to design CD inserts.  Notation, promotional material, album covers and suchlike are printed by laser or colour inkjet printer.