Few engineers share the breadth and quality of Adaq Khan’s classical recording credits. Counting massed choirs at the Royal Albert Hall, solo recitals at the Royal Festival Hall and chamber music in the Czech Republic, his back-up recording system is as important as his primary system – a JoeCo BlackBox BBR1B 24-channel multitrack recorder.
‘There is no way I would go into a live recording without a full and reliable back-up recording system,’ Khan asserts. ‘The previous recorder I used was about three times as large and had some real transfer issues, so it was something of a relief when I encountered the JoeCo BlackBox BBR1B recorder. As well as being highly portable, it is extremely reliable and means that I always have a safety net.’
He admits that there have been at least two occasions on which the BlaclBox’s recordings have been required to substitute for inadequate tracks captured by the primary system. It also provides security should there be problems during postproduction: ‘I keep all recordings from the BlackBox BBR1B for about 18 months, so if for whatever reason something goes wrong with the main system during editing I still have a back-up to work from.’
The 24-channel BBR1B with balanced I/O enables high0quality, reliable audio capture in industry standard Broadcast WAV files via a mixing console with balanced insert points or direct outputs. Khan believes the system’s innate reliability and portability means it has a unique standing in the field of classical recording.
‘There is nothing out there that I would count on to replace the JoeCo – to me it seems like the only solution for the task of redundant recording,’ says Khan, who has recently engineered a CD of works by composer Benjamin Britten at Winchester College and is currently recording a box set featuring Warren Mailley-Smith performing the complete piano works of Chopin. ‘If I were to make a change to my set-up, it would be to add another JoeCo recorder for more channels. It really is the best option for me.’
More: www.joeco.co.uk
