Recording your music – to hear how it sounds, work out an arrangement, build a demo, or release a polished composition – has become so much easier and more cost-effective in recent years. Anything from free mono/stereo recording apps for your phone to handheld digital recorders with integral microphones to multi-channel digital audio workstations for your computer can be had for a relative song. Now Izotope, known primarily for their professional audio production software, has released the powerful yet diminutive Spire Studio.
You can hold this solidly built recorder in the palm of your hand, and it only weighs about a pound and a half. Yet it boasts two combination XLR / quarter-inch inputs with pro-level mic preamps plus phantom power, eight studio-quality tracks at 24-bit/48KHz resolution, a transparent-sounding onboard omni condenser mic, rechargeable power for hours of unplugged operation, its own WiFi network to connect with a companion app on a phone or tablet, and the basic controls for setting up and recording.
The Spire Studio works stand-alone to capture your tracks, or with the app you can add effects, perform basic editing to the tracks, and create a mix – or export them into a DAW for final editing. For a music director experimenting with an arrangement, the praise band perfecting a song, developing a recording of music to release on CD or the Internet, or just to place in front of the choir to capture and evaluate a rehearsal, this studio is a great choice.
Small yet mighty
The Spire Studio is housed in a cylindrical form about 4 ½” in diameter, and 3 ½” high at its tallest point. The top surface is slanted so that the control buttons and status lights are more easily visible. That surface has a ring of multi-function LED lights around most of the outer periphery to indicate recording levels, mic levels, headphone output, tracks, and other recording / playback operations. This ring is touch-sensitive, so can be used to fine-tune the headset volume or the recording level of a track.
Three buttons along the outer edge start a New Song, activate Soundcheck (more on this powerful feature later), and adjust the headset volume. Two large buttons in the center start and stop recording or playback. Beginning a recording is as simple as pressing New Song, pushing Soundcheck while playing or singing to automatically set levels, then pressing record to start.
The microphone is located on the upper side just below the control buttons, and below that is an eighth-inch stereo headphone jack. The inset rear panel features two combination mic inputs with a phantom power button, power switch and recharge jack for the internal lithium battery, and an additional headphone jack. The integral battery will power the studio for at least four hours unplugged. Recordings are saved to the internal memory, which has the capability to capture six hours of recording. There’s a lot of hardware in this small package!
Soundcheck
Pressing the Soundcheck button before recording a track activates an algorithm that sets the perfect recording level for the particular instrument or voice. Through the integral mic or one plugged into the input, or an acoustic or electric guitar or keyboard plugged in, just begin playing after pushing Soundcheck. Do this simple one-push process before recording each track to automatically set the correct level.
The device “listens” for about eight seconds, and then sets the recording gain to a point where it will capture the signal with the best level and signal-to-noise ratio while avoiding clipping. While it’s at it, the algorithm detects whether the Spire Studio is recording a voice, an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, percussion, piano, bass, and so on – and using features from their professional Neutron 3 recording software, sets a custom EQ curve and other optimization for that particular instrument so that it sounds great. I’ve found that the Soundcheck feature is easy to use, reliable, and gives excellent sounding results.
The ins and outs
The two inputs will accept an XLR mic connector or a TS (2-conductor) quarter-inch jack. To power condenser mics, just push the 48V button. I’ve found that the inputs function well with a variety of dynamic and condenser mics, acoustic guitar pickups, and electric guitars – and likely with whatever else you throw at them.
The preamps were created by Grace Design, a company that designs and markets high-end microphone and instrument preamps for recording studios and professional musicians. According to Michael Grace, the Spire Studio’s preamps have a very similar “architecture” to their studio preamplifier line. They’re very clean and transparent, and are able take full advantage of the detail from studio-quality mics.
Plugging an external microphone into Input 1 disables the internal omni microphone, while plugging a mic or quarter-inch instrument connector into Input 2 allows you to record on two channels – from both the internal mic and the second input. You can also plug microphones and/or instruments into both inputs to record two tracks at once. And pressing Soundcheck will set the correct level for both signals. So, for example, if you wanted to record a choir or group of singers accompanied by guitar or piano, you could use one channel for the voices and put a mic on (or directly connect) the instrument to achieve a better blend and more isolation for the instrument.
Simple muti-track recording
With the onboard microphone, the Spire Studio is ready to record as soon as it’s turned on. For use stand-alone, just plug in a pair of headphones if desired, press New Song, press Soundcheck and play / sing for a few seconds as it sets levels and other parameters, and then press the record button. When you’re done with that track, press the button again to stop, and that track is saved and the next one is ready. Set the level with Soundcheck and press record again to add the second track while listening to the first. And on it goes for up to eight tracks.
Each track, as you finish recording it, is designated by a group of three LEDs that light up with different colors per track. Without connecting the Spire Studio to the app on a compatible Android or Apple device, you cannot adjust the level of what you’ve recorded, but can mute tracks if desired or select a track to be recorded over.
Connecting with the Spire App
Using the Spire Studio connected with an iPad, iPhone, or compatible Android device expands the possibilities for recording and mixing. The Studio broadcasts its own local WiFi network, to which you connect your mobile or tablet, and the app syncs with the Spire Studio – giving it direct control over its operations. Also, the recorded tracks are “uploaded” to the app to allow further processing or sharing them with DAWs or mixing and exporting your mixes.
The Spire app is fairly basic compared with a full-function DAW, but has the capabilities to display up to eight tracks, adjust record and playback levels, mute and delete, audition and select effects (though only before recording a particular track), mix, and export individual tracks or a full mix. The track waveform images are also much less detailed than in a DAW, yet enough to see what’s happening, and correspond in color for each track with the LEDs on the Spire Studio. At the side of each track, an icon designates the basic content of the track, with the image of a microphone, guitar, bass, drum, or keyboard.
The selectable effects, which may be added before recording a track, are divided into four categories: Spaces, Vocals, Amps, and Pedals. Each offers two adjustable parameters, and are able to be auditioned and set to taste before recording the track. Effects range from more conventional to more “experimental,” to complement what you’re trying to achieve. Or record without any effect on the track – especially if the plan is to export it later for final processing.
Once a track is recorded and stopped, the next track is opened and available for recording. If two microphones or other inputs are connected at the same time to the Studio, two tracks are opened. You can initiate the Soundcheck function, Record and Stop, and Playback from either the app or the Spire Studio. There is also a Tempo function that adds a click track which is not recorded.
Once you’ve recorded tracks, you can go to the Mix page of the app and adjust levels and panning. Each track in the rectangular mix window is shown as a colored icon inside a circle. With a fingertip, move an icon up or down to change level, and right or left to pan. As the track is playing you can move each icon around to achieve your desired balance. When ready, touch the upload icon to go to the export page – where your recording can be sent with an e-mail or text, uploaded to social media, exported as a mix or as high-resolution individual tracks to a DAW, or saved as a Spire project.
Multi-track recording on the go
I’m quite impressed with the capabilities of the Spire Studio, despite its limitations compared with a full-featured DAW on a powerful computer and coupled with a multi-channel recording interface. It is easy to use, quite portable, able to capture high-quality recordings in a variety of settings from living room or rehearsal room to the sanctuary or out in the forest, and connects quickly to your mobile device. One can achieve a very good sounding multi-track recording and a decent mix with a minimum of setup and time between recording each track. And if desired, you can export the raw tracks to a DAW for further enhancement.
Where does it fit? If I just wanted to put a recorder on a chair and capture a performance from the air, I might use a small handheld digital recorder. For a complex multi-channel recording I’d use a professional DAW and take the necessary time for each track. However, to achieve a good sounding multi-track demo built a track or two at a time with an easy-to-use interface, the Spire Studio is hard to beat. The studio is available from a variety of music and pro audio dealers or directly from Izotope, and retails for $349.
