Sound engineer Damien Lewis explains the advantages of the Audient iD44 interface

Grammy Nominee, this expert assures that the use of this tool has meant a great change in his work with international artists of first level.

The interface Audient iD44 is now a permanent fixet in the mixing producer and engineer's 'audio tool suitcase' Damien Lewis. With a client list that includes Rhianna, Katy Perry, Lennon Stella, Mariah and Whitney, this expert points out that “find an interface that gives me all the I/O options I need, very easy to set up and that sounds fabulous from the get-go was a real change for me".

Lewin has been in this industry long enough to have seen how recording and mixing has changed.. "Where we used to be tied to the studio, now we are constantly on the move. I could be working in a big studio one day, in a hotel room the next day or just in someone's house".

In fact, Damien is a regular at many well-known Los Angeles studios., including Windmark, Paramount, East West, Record Plant and Westlake, and his Audient iD44 always accompanies him.

The four channels of this Audient interface, brand that markets Audio-Technica Iberia, and powerful I/O – twenty inputs and twenty-four outputs –, as well as the ability to provide the foundation of a full studio means damien has its perfect mobile setup..

"ID44 allows me to keep everything in one dedicated entry, so it's ready to use in ProTools at any time. The two D.I are a great feature. In my template I can have a dedicated channel for bass and guitar ready to use and not worry about routing anything, just activate it and everything I need is there".

One of Damien's favorite add-ons is Midi Guitar 2: "You can play any software instrument with a guitar instead of a keyboard and that opens up a whole new world in terms of performance and vocals.. So I use those D.I.regularly.".

The mixing equipment used by this expert "consists of an iMac, Audient iD44, UAD-2 Satellite, almost all plugins created, NS-10's and Reftone Mix Cubes. I have a ProAc Studio set 100 that I use occasionally, but I love the results I get using my NS-10 again. The amplifier is a custom Yamaha P2201 modified by JCF Audio. My laptop is a clone of my iMac mixing computer, so when I do sessions in other studios, I'm working on exactly the same system wherever I go”.

This sound engineer can use a wide variety of software and plugins during the course of a mix, but the 'old school' is still an option with iD44. "Every once in a while I feel like I need something a little more analog.. So, have a dedicated set of outputs sent to a re-amp box for use with guitar amplifier pedals, or maybe a guitar amp in the control room, it's always very useful"

In addition to a brief contact with the idea of becoming a professional ice hockey player, music has been Damien's life. He started in a successful group playing in a Detroit bar. (Us.) while I was in high school — "I don't think they allow kids to do that today.", Stresses- and then tour as a professional drummer.

It was inheriting his father's equipment that sparked his interest in recording.. "He was well known in live sound for many Detroit musical groups., as Mitch Ryder, Blue Oyster Cult, Foghat- remembers-. I started learning how to manage the equipment by recording my musician friends in Atlanta and, soon after, to improve and the error came. The whole house was a recording studio: the mixing console and the Hammond B3 in the living room and rear bedrooms, that were soundproofed, they were used for amplifiers and drums".

now, fifteen years later, is working from home again and uses as a reference of his mixes mainly his headphones. However, sometimes uses the iD44's second headphone output for your Bose speaker. “This way I can swap it very quickly and make references to the small speaker, which is very useful to have in a dedicated set of outputs". This interview has been filmed in the Dubway West studio in Los Angeles and is at this link.

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