iZotope is seeking to remove the technological barriers between having a having a song idea and capturing it with Spire Studio, a new wireless hardware product that integrates with its Spire multitrack recording app.
Designed as an alternative to traditional recording setups, this portable device has a built-in microphone and runs on a rechargable battery that’s said to last for over four hours (a power supply also comes in the box). It offers six hours of recording memory and operates at 24-bit/48kHz. Two XLR/combo jacks enable you to plug in external mics and other instruments, and there are also two stereo mini-jack headphone outputs.
The hardware features iZotope’s “intelligent audio processing” and offers mic preamps from Grace Design. There’s a touch-sensitive LED display for adjusting the headphone volume and selecting/muting tracks.
When you want to go deeper, you can integrate Spire Studio with the Spire app using the built-in Wi-Fi. As well as being able to record, mix and share your songs, you can also collaborate with friends and export stems for importing into your main DAW.
“The product journey started on a personal note - playing music with my wife. We decided we wanted to make a recording but all of the technology got in the way,” explains iZotope co-founder and CEO, Mark Ethier. “What should have been a fun, creative moment turned into a headache, and in the end, we left for dinner without capturing a single note. Spire Studio was designed from the ground up to solve this problem. At iZotope, we’re using the latest technology to make high quality recording easy and inspirational with the goal to help musicians focus on their creative vision and not the technical aspects behind it.”
The key to a product like this is workflow: if iZotope really has simplified the recording process, it could be onto a winner. It’s compatible with the iPhone 6 and later and iOS 10 and later. Spire Studio will retail for $349 and be available exclusively in the US inititally, but will be rolled out to other territories in due course.
Find out more on the Spire website.
iZotope Spire Studio specs
- Internal studio-quality microphone for a professional sound
- Automatically set recording levels with a single button to eliminate set-up time and distorted sounds
- Record with a wealth of creative effects such as reverbs, delays, and amp models with zero-latency monitoring
- iZotope's award-winning intelligent sound processing technology gives recordings professional polish
- Add depth to your song by layering up to eight tracks per project
- Ditch the cables with a built-in Wi-Fi connection from Spire Studio to the Spire app
- Battery operated so you can record for hours on the go
- Grace Design preamps for pristine clarity Two combo jacks for plugging in your instruments or mics with +48 V phantom power
- Automatically sync tracks between hardware and software for seamless version control
- LED touchscreen to adjust volume, mute, and delete tracks without slowing your creative flow
- Intuitive mixing and editing helps create a polished song ready to share
- Collaborate on projects with bandmates anywhere in the world - straight from your iPhone
- Easily export your music to a computer or favourite audio editing software like Pro Tools, iMovie, and Logic, or upload to storage platforms like iCloud, Dropbox, and Google Drive.
