The JoeCo BLACKBOX Recorder (BBR1) is a single rack space, 24-track digital audio recorder that records to an off-the-shelf FAT32 formatted USB 2.0 drive. It features analog inputs with 24bit/96kHz conversion and records to BWF (broadcast wave format) for quick and easy transfer to a DAW workstation.
The BLACKBOX RECORDER operates in exactly the same manner as the standard BBR1 maintaining simplicity as its primary function. The only difference is the fully balanced i/o circuitry that allows the BBR1-B to interface with other balanced equipment. The front panel contains the familiar transport controls that every piece of recording kit contains so that basic operation can be very simply understood. This is important as the engineer's primary task during the performance has to be to concentrate on the live sound. Having plugged the unit into your console, the unit defaults to having all tracks armed and ready to record; just press record to begin the recording. Simplicity itself.
The LED meters show you the relative levels of each input so that you can make sure that you're not recording too "hot" (or too "cold") and can adjust the mic amps on the desk accordingly. Although there are only three LEDs on each channel, their brightness varies according to the level giving a much more accurate representation.
The main screen displays how long you've been recording and how much space you have left on the disk. The meters also have a sticky peak feature so that you can see how loud a recording has been and whether you have overloaded the inputs without having to study the unit while you're setting everything else up. There's even a keyboard input so that if you have time you can name every track and even every song to make life easier when you come to use the resultant recordings on your workstation to mix them.
In addition, there are 4 function buttons "Menu/Ok", "Loop", "Mark" and "Back" and a data entry / scrub wheel which control the more detailed settings of the unit and set markers for loop points so that you can loop round a particular bit of a sound check while you get the sound in the venue exactly right.
One very important feature of the BBR1 is that the inputs are normally looped directly to the outputs via relays in all modes except during playback. This provides an additional level of safety so that even if the power were to fail on the BBR, the audio through the PA will not be affected.
Inside the menu structure all the key variables can be modified: the sample rate, which tracks to arm when you press record, whether to use timecode, setting up the digital audio clocks, naming the recordings, setting your input and output levels, and setting up loop points.
By default, the unit enters "playback lockout" mode as soon as you enter record to make sure that you don't accidentally start playing back the soundcheck in the middle of the performance!