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

Grammy nominee, This expert says that the use of this tool has meant a great change in his work with top-level international artists.

The interface Audient iD44 is now a permanent fixture in the producer and mixing 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 sounding fabulous right out of the box 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're constantly on the move. I could be working in a big studio one day, in a hotel room the next day or just at someone's house".

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

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

"ID44 allows me to keep everything in a dedicated entrance, so it's ready to use in ProTools at any time. The two I.Ds 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 I.Ds 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 set of ProAc Studio 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 rig, So when I do shoots in other studios, I'm working on the exact same system wherever I go”.

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

Plus a brief contact with the idea of becoming a professional ice hockey player, music has been Damien's life. He started out in a successful group playing in a bar in Detroit (USA.) While in high school – "I don't think they allow kids to do that nowadays", Stresses- and then go on 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 bands, as Mitch Ryder, Blue Oyster Cult, Foghat, he recalls. I began to learn how to handle the equipment by recording my musician friends in Atlanta and, shortly after, to improve and the mistake came. The whole house was a recording studio: the mixing console and the Hammond B3 in the living room and back bedrooms, that were soundproofed, they were used for amplifiers and drums".

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

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