JoeCo BBR1-B Balanced I/O 24 Track Analog "Blackbox Recorder" for Live Performance Recording

The BLACKBOX RECORDER with Balanced i/o adds the ability to capture your performance from a Mixing Console with balanced audio insert points or balanced group outputs.

JoeCo's BBR-1 Blackbox Recorder plugs into any standard live mixing console via the normal insert points and not only allows for the capture of the performance but will also record the sound check to help set the foldback mixes and allow the performers to hear the live mix for themselves. In difficult acoustic spaces, it also lets the sound engineer achieve the best balance without exhausting the band with endless rehearsals before the gig.

The Blackbox Recorder provides 24 tracks of audio recording directly onto a removable USB2 disk drive that can be immediately plugged into your Digital Audio Workstation after the gig.

Recording the audio at up to 96kHz and at 24 bit resolution into standard Broadcast Wave (BWAV) files on a standard FAT32 formatted drive allows the user to replay the material on any workstation. Just unplug the disk from the back of the lackbox Recorder and plug it into your workstation as an external disk. No copying or reassembling your studio is required and you have every mixer input recorded and available to create the perfect live remix.

For really large multi-track recordings, multiple Blackbox Recorder units can be chained together and operated from a single control surface.

Having connected the unit to the desk, the BBR1 defaults to all tracks being ready to record; just pressing Record will start the recording. If the record button is pressed again whilst in record, the Blackbox Recorder will automatically start a new recording so that each song can be easily identified later. To end a recording requires the Stop button to be held for 2 seconds to ensure that the recording cannot be stopped accidentally.

A foot switch input is also provided and can be set up to duplicate the record button function so that the engineer doesn't even have to move away from the console.

The BBR1-B uses the lower three 25 way female D-type connectors as balanced inputs and the upper three 25way female as balanced outputs. The unit can use the same high quality D-type cables as for the unbalanced BBR1 but these are not supplied as there are too many different types of termination (1/4" TRS, XLR male, XLR female, 25way D-type, etc.). The cables conform to the standard 8 way balanced analogue cables as used by Tascam, Digidesign, Radar, and many other organisations for analogue i/o.

In the same manner as the BBR1, the BBR1-B loops the inputs directly to the outputs via relays when in record or stop so that even a power failure on the BBR cannot affect the audio through the PA. All other features of the BLACKBOX RECORDER unit remain unchanged.

The Balanced i/o interface uses high quality balancing receivers and transmitters and has been designed specifically for the BLACKBOX RECORDER to be fully transparent.

Key Features:

• 24 channels of balanced inputs
• 24 channels of balanced outputs
• 24 track audio recorder
• Virtual Sound Check Facility
• 24bit/96kHz conversion
• Simple User interface
• Zero Latency: Inputs routed directly to output during record via relay for safety against power failure
• Keyboard input for naming tracks and songs
• Data entry wheel for navigating menus and making adjustments
• MIDI Machine Control (MMC)
• Rear Panel Connectors
  • Analogue i/o
    • 3 x 25 way Female D-type (lower row = inputs, wired to TASCAM standard pin out for balanced i/o)
    • 3 x 25 way Female D-type (upper row = outputs, wired to TASCAM stadard pin out for balanced i/o)
  • The loop through insert points are not available on the BBR1-B Balanced i/o version as the outputs can be wired directly into the downstream equipment. Note: The BBR1-B is not supplied with cable looms as there are too many variations that might be required. JoeCo or your local dealer will be able to supply you with the right cable looms for your installation.
  • Monitoring
    • 1 x 1/4" stereo TRS jack socket: Headphone output
  • Control and Synchronization
    • 1 x 1/4" TRS jack socket: Linear Time Code (LTC) Reader / Footswitch
    • 1 x 5-pin DIN: MIDI Time code (MTC) and MIDI Machine Control (MMC)
    • 1 x 9-pin Male D-type: SONY PII protocol
    • 2 x RCA sockets: AES/SPDIF word clock reference input / communications to auxiliary units
  • Other Connectors
    • 1 x USB2 (480Mb/s) interface to disk drive
    • 1 x mini DIN: PS2 keyboard socket
    • 1 x 2.5mm dc inlet (9Vdc power) - power adapter supplied
  • AES / SPDIF word clock
  • Linear time code (LTC) & MIDI time code
  • SONY PII (9-pin) control
  • Records to standard USB2 drive in BWF format - Instant import into DAW
  • Multiple BLACKBOX RECORDER units can be chained for really large multi-track recordings
  • Uses the same standard i/o cables as BBR1