When Kyle Seglin became lead audio engineer and Studio Manager at US politics and culture podcast-giant Crooked Media last January, he quickly began work updating equipment at the company’s two Los Angeles studios. Now, all podcasts produced in-house are recorded using a single piece of hardware he calls the ‘centrepiece’ of each – RME’s Fireface UFX+ interface.
Used in combination with RME’s TotalMix FX software, the interface can handle the complex monitoring and routing required for Crooked Media podcasts, without the need for a console. ‘I went with RME largely because of TotalMix FX, because it allowed me to do everything that I would do with a large-format console, but without the physical routing connections and massive physical footprint,’ he elaborates.
Seglin has used other interfaces in other applications before joining Crooked Media, but TotalMix FX, which is included with all RME interfaces, was a huge selling point. ‘A lot of the interfaces have high-quality preamps and conversion, and I found RME to be right up there with other high-end competitors, but it was the TotalMix FX Software that pushed the Fireface UFX+ over the edge, for me,’ he says.
Since its founding in 2016, Crooked Media has experienced rapid growth in the booming podcasting industry. With both of LA studios now equipped with a Fireface UFX+, Seglin’s current set-up includes four desk/host mics, which he sends to a separate four-channel mic preamp before feeding it into the Fireface UFX+ via the unit’s Adat input.
Of the four Fireface UFX+ preamps, Seglin plugs a talkback mic into one and a room microphone into another. ‘The other two RME preamps are open for whatever needs might arise,’ he adds. ‘In addition to the microphones, I have two phone lines coming line-in to the Fireface via a Telos unit, as well as a Skype feed, first using the virtual inputs in TotalMix to run directly off my main computer, then using TotalMix to route that signal wherever I need it to go. I also have a Bluetooth audio receiving unit and an auxiliary input coming into the Fireface through line inputs. All of these things are connected at all times.’
‘The outputs I use largely to send mix-minus feeds back to phone lines and VoIP lines. I love that the Fireface UFX+ used alongside TotalMix FX gives me the ability to have independent submixes for each and every output. Essentially, I can have my studio set up and ready to go with everything in place – and with no need to re-patch anything, due to the flexible, plentiful I/O.’
In addition to eliminating the need for a large-format console, Fireface UFX+ and TotalMix FX also allow Seglin to streamline the audio production. ‘Another huge selling point was the direct USB recording [DURec], because that eliminated the backup recorder that I used to use in my rack, which was only capable of taping a two-track recording,’ he explains. ‘With the direct USB recording in the Fireface UFX+, being able to record, multitrack, as a backup, independent of what I’m recording into Pro Tools, that’s huge. With the Fireface UFX+, I have all that within one rack space.’
Taking Crooked Media’s recording process one step further with RME, Seglin now also sends the audio from the media production company’s flagship podcast along to other members of the staff using TotalMix FX. ‘With TotalMix FX, I can also send a mix to the video team, who use the TotalMix FX iPad app to make an independent mix for the video feed that gets streamed live for Pod Save America.’
More: www.rme-usa.com
