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28
Mastering without limits; DAVE
FOISTER finds the ISA One is
an all-in-one tool that doesn’t
restrict its options and thus
appeals to all.
THE REVIEWER
Since doing the Surrey (UK)
Tonmeister course, DAVE FOISTER
has produced, engineered, and
played on innumerable recordings
in the classical, commercial, folk,
jazz, and TV music areas, as well as
live sound operation. He currently
manages the Guildhall School
of Music and Drama recording
department, and spends spare
time watching racing cars and
wishing he was driving them.
Focusrite’s reputation is founded solidly on a long
history of good engineering and no-compromise
audio quality. Fairy dust and snake oil do not feature.
The range that best exemplifies this is the ISA series, a range
of tracking tools now used extensively in studios and live
environments when pristine, reliable, reproducible signal
processing is required.
One of the more recent incarnations of the ISA
franchise is the ISA One, which features the renowned
microphone preamp from the range in an unusual
package that includes much more than just the preamp.
It sets out its stall as a serious piece of kit by contriving to
look more like a laboratory test instrument than a studio
processor; there’s no attempt at rack-mounting options,
but a sloping front panel, a tall narrow case, and a handle
on the top that make it clear this is intended for the
itinerant engineer/producer/musician to bring a major
part of their sound into any studio with them. It even
comes in a chunky flight case.
In ISA Control
The controls on the preamp
section will be familiar from
other ISA models. Gain is handled in two
ranges on a detented knob with continuous fine gain
available separately; there are front-panel illuminated
switches for phantom, phase, a high-pass filter and an
insert loop, and a selector for mic or line inputs or the
front-panel instrument jack (although there’s more to
that jack, as we shall see). A trademark of the modern
ISA preamp though is the impedance switch – a feature
introduced to the ISA pre-amp in 2002, and still rarely
seen on microphone preamps, despite the useful
variations it offers.
The manual gives a good explanation of how the
input impedance interacts with the microphone
characteristics to influence the sound, and what it says
in effect is that higher settings will produce higher signal
levels, flatter frequency response, and improved HF
response, while lower settings will bring out the inherent
character of the microphone, possibly even exaggerate
it. Thus it offers low (600Ω), medium (2400Ω) and high
(6800Ω) settings, as well as the distinctive 1400Ω setting
that characterises the classic ISA 110. Whatever the theory,
the experience of adjusting the impedance with a familiar
microphone makes you wonder why more preamps don’t
have this function, as it can tailor the sound to the source
in a very different and more subtle way than EQ, and
really bring out the best in the microphone. Working
with a fairly powerful male classical voice, it enabled me
to balance the fullness and warmth of the voice with the
detail of the upper end without having to consider using
anything else.
A Little Bit Extra-ordinary
Alongside this is the aforementioned instrument input,
and this is where the ISA One begins to depart from the
norm. As well as having access to the main preamp, the
instrument jack has its own separate circuitry delivering
a DI output on the rear panel, as well as a loop-through
for an amp. This means it delivers two independent
signal paths through the unit, both shown on separate
LED meters, although the main vu meter is dedicated
to the principal preamp. Suggestions in the manual for
exploiting this dual-path configuration include recording
AUDIO MEDIA MAY 2009
electric guitar and vocals simultaneously through it, and
recording a guitar using both a DI and a mic on the amp,
all through the ISA One.
With A Twist
Next up is even more of a twist on the basic package:
a headphone output with a mysterious switch labelled
‘Cue Mix’, and this too has a variety of uses. By default it
provides a fixed mono mix of the two input sources, but
for more sophisticated foldback use, it has a stereo cue
input that can be fed from a desk’s conventional foldback
send, giving the musician local volume control and the
option to switch to the source signals for checking if
required. A final option is the use of an additional mono
external input, which overrides the instrument input to
the cue circuit. This allows a mono foldback send from
the recording system to be heard alongside the signal
being handled by the main preamp, and Focusrite
suggests this set-up for latency-free monitoring when
using a DAW, as the live source signal will not have passed
FOCUSRITE ISA ONE
Dual Path Mic Pre/DI
through the DAW.
A thoroughly useful optional extra is a digital output
card, user-fittable, which provides AES/EBU, SPDIF, and
ADAT outputs all the way up to 192kHz 24-bit, including
two-wire mode. AES/EBU and wired SPDIF require
separate breakout cables, but optical output is switchable
between ADAT and SPDIF. The two signal paths through
the unit appear independently on whichever output
format is selected. Wordclock in and out are supported,
and a comprehensive section on the front controls the
digital setup.
One For All
I must admit to being slightly puzzled as to who the
intended market for the ISA One is. Some of its features
belong in the studio, some in the control room, and the
only place where you might use all the bits at once is a
project-type studio where everything happens in one
room, including loud guitar amps. On the other hand,
for somebody wanting to introduce a bit of Focusrite
ISA magic into such an environment, this is the ideal
way to do it. In any case, the quality of the design and
engineering, and the thought that’s gone in to the
features and functions, make this well worth having in
the arsenal in any context, and its portability means you
can use what you want, where you want, as circumstances
demand. �
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� GB£499.00 (inc.VAT)
INFORMATION
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Turnpike Road, Cressex Business Park, High Wycombe,
HP12 3FX
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