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 <strong>for</strong> 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 <strong>for</strong> phantom, phase, a high-pass filter and an insert loop, and a selector <strong>for</strong> 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 a<strong>for</strong>ementioned 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 <strong>for</strong> 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 <strong>for</strong> exploiting this dual-path configuration include recording AUDIO MEDIA MAY <strong>2009</strong> 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 <strong>for</strong> 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 <strong>for</strong> 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 <strong>for</strong> 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 <strong>for</strong>mat 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 <strong>for</strong> 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, <strong>for</strong> 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. � ................................... � GB£499.00 (inc.VAT) INFORMATION � Focusrite <strong>Audio</strong> Engineering Ltd., Windsor House, Turnpike Road, Cressex Business Park, High Wycombe, HP12 3FX � +44 (0) 1494 462246 � +44 (0) 1494 459920 � www.focusrite.com � sales@focusrite.com
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