Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Damian Taylor Employs Focusrite Red and RedNet at His New L.A. Facility

05/08/2020

--

When six-time GRAMMY -nominated record producer, engineer, mixer and remixer, songwriter and programmer Damian Taylor relocated from Canada to Los Angeles, he took the opportunity to streamline his production workflow. At Studio Bonsai, located at his home in L.A.'s Frogtown neighborhood, Taylor has built out a Dante -networked setup centered on a new Focusrite Red 8Pre 64-In / 64-Out Thunderbolt 2 and Pro Tools | HD compatible audio interface, and which also includes a pair of RedNet 2 16-Channel A-D/D-A interfaces and a RedNet AM2 stereo audio monitoring unit.

Taylor has been on the move for much of his life, ever since he was born in Canada to British parents. When he was 10, he and his family moved to New Zealand, where he later learned audio engineering. In 1997, he headed to the U.K., spending the better part of a decade working freelance in many of London's major recording facilities before spending six years as Bj rk's personal engineer and programmer, in the studio and on stage. While touring with Bj rk he returned to Canada, working out of a home studio in British Columbia before relocating to Montreal and custom-building a facility known as Golden Ratio.

Taylor is no networking novice, having used Focusrite's Dante-enabled equipment since the company's first RedNet units were introduced. I got the very first RedNet 5s, which tied in with the Avid I/Os. But I've been really happy switching over to the Red 8Pre and getting rid of all my Avid interfaces. It's a far more integrated and slicker way of being able to integrate Pro Tools, he says of the unit. Being based in L.A., Taylor has access to all of the city's state-of-the-art studios for the recording phases of his projects, so Studio Bonsai has a tighter focus on mixing, programming and writing.

Studio Bonsai is set up in an acoustically accurate mastering room that was built by the previous tenant of the house. Now focused on mixing, programming and writing, Taylor has pared down his racks of vintage synthesizers to a more focused collection, including a Eurorack modular system, which interfaces to the Dante network via the two RedNet 2 units. I just have one of each type of toy, so I have a much smaller setup now than I had in Montreal, he says. When combined with his outboard gear, which includes two Focusrite ISA 828 MkII microphone preamps and an ISA 430 MkII channel strip, I'm using all 48 channels of analogue I/O, which is very unusual in a writing environment, he says. But most importantly, I'm able to have all of my instruments patched in. Everything is immediately available all the time, and that's really wonderful, he says. When I was in Montreal, I had a whole bunch of stuff that I still hadn't plugged in. It's been nice just to focus down to a much smaller, yet still quite expansive, set of tools.

Taylor controls his Avid Pro Tools|HDX system, which is hosted on hardware from Pro Tools PC, with an Avid Dock. I have a set of Focal Twin6 Be monitors, which I mostly just use for loud listening. But I get most of what I need out of the tiny little Avantone speakers; I've been really into those for years and years, he says. A RedNet AM 2 stereo headphone device is available for visiting vocalists, he adds. With the hub of his setup, the Red 8Pre interface, offering both Thunderbolt 2 connectivity and dual mini-DigiLink ports, Taylor can easily switch between digital audio workstations. I can use the same setup really seamlessly and jump over into different DAWs. I do a ton of work in Ableton Live as well, so not having to run everything through the HDX Core Audio drivers allows it to work brilliantly, he says. Both in Pro Tools and Ableton Live I have templates with all my inputs, outputs and main routing there all the time. It really is a dream come true in terms of how smoothly it's all working.

During the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, Taylor has been hosting a webstream from Studio Bonsai on the Twitch platform three times a week, during which he provides insight into his creative process, speaks with artists and other creators and tests gear and technology. So I've just set up a streaming PC as well, he says. I'm now using Dante to link the two computers together. Dante Virtual Soundcard can handle some of my routing from my main workstation computer to that PC, which has all the broadcast software.

He has also implemented Rogue Amoeba's Loopback software. It lets me handle the additional level of complex routing between applications and between computers. But it's using the Red 8Pre's 64-channel interface as its journey in and out of the computer, and then Dante as the way to shuttle it over to the PC as well.

On that note, he says, The new RedNet control software that the development team at Focusrite made is really, really great. They've made an application that makes a lot of complex routing really, really simple.

Taylor is additionally sending eight channels of ADAT into his modular synthesizer, he says. It has a module by Expert Sleepers that allows me to use Ableton Live's control voltage tools. So the same system that's bringing in my vintage Russian microphones, Neve channels and Tube-Tech compressors is also sending stuff out to really weird, esoteric digital audio devices that allow me to control a huge Eurorack modular system.

As an early adopter of digital audio gear, Taylor says that he has long been wary of converters. I would avoid converters as much as possible, but I'm very happy with how these Focusrite interfaces sound. It hits a level of quality where I know it's not messing anything up for me - and I think people forget how easy it is for your audio to get messed up.

Indeed, he has confidence in the accuracy and transparency of the signals in his m
LINK: https://news.creativecow.net/story/901562...
See more stories from creativecow

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

31/03/2026

MeyerPro Delivers LED Production for Microsoft Ignite 2025

MeyerPro delivered the LED production for the Microsoft Ignite 2025 keynote at Chase Center in San Francisco, using more than 2,700 ROE Visual panels across mul...

31/03/2026

MC-IF Expands Membership to Include Smaller Technology Companies to Drive VVC Adoption

The Media Coding Industry Forum (MC-IF) is expanding membership outreach in 2026...

31/03/2026

ViewLift and MyOutdoorTV Launch Conversational AI Search

ViewLift and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) have announced the launch of ViewLift Conversational AI Search on the MyOutdoorTV platform. The feature enables natural language...

31/03/2026

Atlanta Braves and Gray Media to Simulcast 25 Regular Season Games on Over-the-Air Television

The Atlanta Braves and Gray Media have announced a multi-year agreement to simul...

31/03/2026

Gravity Media to Deliver Broadcast Coverage of the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival

Gravity Media has delivered broadcast services for TAB Golden Slipper Day at Rosehill Gardens on March 21 and will now cover The Star Championships at Royal Ran...

31/03/2026

Mileto Tecnologia Selects Synamedia Go for OTT Expansion

Synamedia has announced that Mileto Tecnologia, a Brazilian pay-TV operator, has selected the Synamedia Go platform for its OTT expansion. Mileto is also deploy...

31/03/2026

NAB 2026: KMH Integration to Present AV Casting Philosophy

KMH Integration will attend NAB Show in Las Vegas with a focus on what the company calls AV Casting - an approach built on the idea that professional AV and bro...

31/03/2026

Prime Video to Air First and Second Rounds of 2026 Masters Tournament

Prime Video will carry live coverage of the first and second rounds of the 2026 Masters Tournament, beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 9 and Friday, A...

31/03/2026

NHL, ESPN, TNT Sports and Sportsnet Launch Joint Marketing Campaign for 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The NHL and its U.S. and Canadian broadcast partners have announced a collaborat...

31/03/2026

Daktronics to Install New Video Display and Show Control System at Wake Forest's Allegacy Stadium

Daktronics has partnered with Wake Forest to manufacture and install a new end z...

31/03/2026

NFL Announces Las Vegas to Host Super Bowl LXIII in 2029

The National Football League has announced that Las Vegas will host Super Bowl LXIII in 2029 at Allegiant Stadium. The announcement was made at the NFL Annual M...

31/03/2026

NFL Partners with TMRW Sports to Launch Professional Flag Football League

The NFL has announced a partnership with TMRW Sports to develop and operate a professional flag football league for women and men. The league will launch with i...

31/03/2026

Zac Brown Band and Blake Shelton Deploy Sennheiser Spectera at Las Vegas Residencies

Sennheiser's Spectera wideband bidirectional wireless system was used by bot...

31/03/2026

Sports Studio Forms Advisory Board for Free Live Sports Platform

Sports Studio Inc., the company behind Free Live Sports, has announced the formation of an Advisory Board with five media and technology executives. Each of o...

31/03/2026

PSSI Deploys Appear X Platform for Mobile Fleet and Teleport Upgrade

PSSI and Appear have announced a new phase in their collaboration, with PSSI deploying Appear's X Platform to upgrade its mobile fleet and PSSI Internationa...

31/03/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Flowstate AI's Sahiah Shah on Transforming Video Content with Intelligent AI Agents

As sports media organization continue to seek out new ways to streamline their p...

31/03/2026

NWSL Scales Up Production Ops to Match League's Exponential Growth

With two new expansion teams and viewership/attendance on the rise, the league's production/broadcast arm and its partner NEP Connected Solutions are busier...

31/03/2026

Spotify Introduces New Formats, Tools, and Research to Help Brands Become Part of the Fan Experience

Spotify has evolved from a streaming platform to an interactive, multiformat eco...

31/03/2026

Make Noise Music introduce the GTE

Lastest New Universal Synthesizer System module announced Make Noise Music have recently announced the launch of the latest addition to their New Universal ...

31/03/2026

Two notes unveil the Captor X+

True Stereo DynIR Engine, Virtual Load Shaper & more Two notes Audio Engineering's Captor X reactive load box and cabinet simulator has built up a solid...

31/03/2026

Welcome Young Entertainment Professionals Class of 2026

By Kiera Williams Every year, a new group of emerging media and entertainment professionals steps into the HPA community - curious, talented, and ready to grow...

31/03/2026

L3Harris Sets Date for First Quarter 2026 Earnings Release

MELBOURNE, Fla., March 31, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its first quarter 2026 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, A...

31/03/2026

Millions of Miles from Home: How Perseverance Stays Connected

Photo courtesy of NASA. An illustration shows NASA's Perseverance rover operating on the surface of Mars....

31/03/2026

L3Harris and Comtech Introduce First-of-Its-Kind Tactical SATCOM Modem

L3Harris Technologies and Comtech Telecommunications Corp. have collaborated to introduce the next evolution in resilient multi-orbit capability for today's...

31/03/2026

Nielsen data shows NZ retail brands are changing strategies to win over outdoor enthusiasts

Rebel Sport leads ad investment as brands compete for a large, active and qualit...

31/03/2026

Spectrum TV App to Launch on Amazon Fire TV Devices

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

31/03/2026

CueScript to Showcase Innovations at NAB that Add Mobilit...

CueScript, a leading international developer of professional teleprompting solutions, is enhancing its platform with three innovations that elevate flexibility,...

31/03/2026

GALSNGEAR Returns to the 2026 NAB Show with Expanded Meet...

#GALSNGEAR will host a series of meetups, panel discussions, and networking events during the 2026 NAB Show, taking place April 18 22 in Las Vegas. The organi...

31/03/2026

Imagine Introduces AI Assisted Scheduling at 2026 NAB Sho...

At the 2026 NAB Show (April 19-22, Las Vegas Convention Center, Booth #N1328), Imagine Communications is introducing AI assisted scheduling capabilities within ...

31/03/2026

PSSI boosts live sports flexibility and security with the...

High-density upgrade for mobile fleet and PSSI International Teleport gives PSSI more flexibility for premium live event coverage PSSI and Appear today announc...

31/03/2026

Solid State Logic Enhances Virtualized System T Platform to Deliver Scalable Cloud and On-Prem Production for NAB 2026

Solid State Logic Enhances Virtualized System T Platform to Deliver Scalable Clo...

31/03/2026

OWC to Showcase Storage, Workflow Acceleration, and Reliability Solutions for Creatives and Post-Production Professionals at NAB 2026

OWC to Showcase Storage, Workflow Acceleration, and Reliability Solutions for Cr...

31/03/2026

PSSI Taps Appear X for Live Coverage of FIFA World Cup

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

31/03/2026

OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business...

OpenDrives, a leader in software-defined video and rich media storage management solutions, will demonstrate several new innovations at the 2026 NAB Show in Apr...

31/03/2026

SDVI to Showcase Platform Enhancements New Technology Int...

At the 2026 NAB Show, SDVI will demonstrate how its Rally media supply chain management platform continues to give media operations teams the tools they need to...

31/03/2026

Boland Communications Introduces QD4K315HDR10 QD-OLED Ser...

Boland Communications today announced that at the 2026 NAB Show, it will introduce its new QD4K315HDR10, a 31.5-inch QD-OLED monitor delivering exceptional colo...

31/03/2026

NUGEN Audio CEO Dr Paul Tapper to Lead Presentation About...

Dr. Paul Tapper, CEO of NUGEN Audio, will lead an essential industry discussion at the 2026 NAB Show, examining whether dialog intelligibility is poised to beco...

31/03/2026

BCNEXXT at NAB 2026 - Turning Industry Pressure into Oppo...

BCNEXXT will use NAB 2026 to focus on how broadcasters can turn today's operational and market pressures into opportunity. Meeting with customers in the IAB...

31/03/2026

Mediagenix Showcases Semantic Intelligence Powered Title...

Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, will showcase its latest innovations at th...

31/03/2026

DHD Introduces AI-Based Audio Noise Reduction to XD3 IP C...

DHD announces that AI-based audio noise reduction is now available as a powerful new option for its XD3 IP Core. Developed in cooperation with ai-coustics, audi...

31/03/2026

PTZOptics to showcase intelligent video and camera contro...

PTZOptics will showcase its vision for intelligent video and advanced camera automation at NAB Show 2026 (#N1902). Through immersive demonstrations and technolo...

31/03/2026

Experience Commerce Wins Social Media Mandate for ICONIQA...

Experience Commerce, a leading full-service digital marketing agency and part of the Cheil SWA Group, has secured the social media mandate for ICONIQA Hotels & ...

31/03/2026

Fabric to Showcase Cloud-Native Origin Platform and Next-...

Fabric, the entertainment industry's leader in data and operations solutions, will showcase a major expansion of its media technology platform at NAB 2026, ...

31/03/2026

Boland Communications Introduces New QD-OLED Series Monitors

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

31/03/2026

Carr Warns NFL Over Streaming Rights, Consumer Costs

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...