Creative director, marketer & lifelong musician, Rob Lynn has upgraded to an Audient iD44 audio interface for his LA studio, where he creates content for his own marketing services agency, RLP Media. Over the last 12 years he’s worked on marketing campaigns with Hover.to, Google for Education and GoGuardian. Replacing his decade-old iD22 – “I used it nearly every day and absolutely loved it […] it held up incredibly well” – he decided to invest in Audient once again.
“I’ve always loved how clean and transparent the Audient pres and conversion are” ~ Rob Lynn
“I’ve always loved how clean and transparent the Audient pres and conversion are,” he says. Originally purchasing the iD22 to use as his portable setup alongside his larger studio, he eventually scaled everything down from a large digital console and a rack of outboard gear to a totally in-the-box setup focused around the audio interface. “It’s been a great transition and the iD44 feels like the logical next step. In general, the iD44 just has a lot of features that interfaces in this price range just don’t have,” adds Rob.
Professionally, he focuses on recording voice overs for his agency’s video content, for which some level of VO work and audio post production is required. iD44’s additional features have been invaluable for him. “When editing video, oftentimes different microphones are recorded to tracks 1, 2, 3 or 4 resulting in weird panning when playing back. I set the F3 button to sum mono, so when playing clips back via the source monitor in Adobe Premiere, I can just listen to the audio without being distracted by the panning. Audio is typically the last step in my editing process, so this little trick has made it a bit easier to stay within my preferred editing process.
“I didn’t realise how nice it is to have front-mounted headphone and DI’s”
“I specifically like the Audio Loop-back/talkback functionality, too,” continues Rob, commenting on the way iD44 can capture playback from multiple applications on the computer at the same time as the mics. “If I have an attended mix or edit session with a client, setting up the audio routing was always a pain. Being able to use my computer’s built-in microphone as the talkback mic has made this process way easier.”
Even the simple things have not gone unnoticed. “I didn’t realise how nice it is to have front-mounted headphone and DI’s. It seems trivial but not having to turn the unit around every time I want to plug in headphones or use the DI is awesome. A really thoughtful change over the iD22.” iD44 has two individual stereo headphone amps, including both a ¼” jack and a mini-jack on headphone output one, both providing further flexibility when monitoring.
When he’s not providing content marketing services to brands, Rob can still be found in a studio setting. Working together with James Meder at Pique Recording, they film live sessions of local bands. This special performance series entitled Under The Tracks has been filmed at James’ studio up until now, but more adventurous plans are afoot. “We’re hopeful that the iD44 will let us take production to other unique settings,” he says.
“With 4 onboard mic pres the iD44 covers a lot of basic scenarios without the need to utilise more preamps”
“With 4 onboard mic pres the iD44 covers a lot of basic scenarios without the need to utilise more preamps. Guitar, Vocal, stereo keyboard? Check. Basic Kick, Snare – OH drum kit? Check. Acoustic Guitar + Vocal with Mic + DI signal? Check. The list goes on… ”
When he’s not at work, Rob relaxes by playing guitar and drums, using his iD44 to track into ProTools. “I particularly love the JFET inputs. I’ve tried a lot of other interfaces in this price range, and the Audient’s instrument input is by far the best I’ve used.” His pared down setup which includes Waves, some UAD plugins and a pair of iLoud MTMs.
Find out more about Rob by visiting RLP Media.
