REAPER The reign of Pro Tools has been a long and frustrating one for radio producers. It’s not really designed for us, but it’s become the industry standard, so we use it. Every upgrade causes mass confusion. If, in the middle of the night on deadline, you forget one of the arcane commands or solutions to one of the dozens of error messages, you panic. But you keep coming back. Partly because the good parts are really good. Transom championed Pro Tools at the turn of the millennium, because there was a free version. There isn’t any more. And there are some worthy inexpensive competitors now. Tools Editor Jeff Towne and Guest Tester Nick van der Kolk got together to review one of the top contenders: REAPER. Their good cop/bad cop approach is fun, and they have great little narrated videos of the software in action. Even if you’re going to stick with Pro Tools until the walls come down, you should at least check this out.

iPhone Audio Editing For the past ten years, Transom has sought out and tested the best tools for audio journalists and producers. We’ve reviewed venerable, hardy cassette recorders and the latest, tiniest digital machines. A new category is emerging: audio editing and transmitting via cell phone. Jeff Towne has the latest on two amazing little apps for the iPhone: Monle from American Public Media, and Hindenburg Mobile from Nsaka. Jeff says, “It started as an Apple marketing slogan, then morphed into a pop-culture cliché: There’s an App for that. The idea that you can do pretty much anything on an iPhone has become an overused joke, but as we covered in a previous column, with the addition of some hardware, the iPhone can indeed become a viable field recorder, capturing good-sounding audio to its internal memory. Now, with the release of some new, affordable apps, it’s even possible to edit that audio directly on the iPhone, and to use its WIFI or 3G connections to send that edited audio to remote FTP sites, back to a host computer, or even as an email attachment.” Complete with screen shots, audio samples, and Jeff’s careful testing.

Blue Mikey Radio producers have long been intrigued by the idea of bootstrapping an iPod or iPhone to make legitimate field recordings, even if only for backup or emergencies. Kludges have fallen short, but they're falling a good deal less short these days. Transom's Tools Editor Jeff Towne takes a couple of new devices for an extended spin. He says, "The good news is that in some circumstances, the Blue Mikey and the Alesis Pro Track can capture audio that rivals stand-alone audio recorders. But let’s not get carried away..." Come check them out.

Zoom H4n Our Tools Editor Jeff Towne has subjected another new digital audio recorder to his rigorous examination. He says, “The Zoom H4n combines two strong points of the company’s previous audio recorders: XLR mic inputs on a small handheld device, and simultaneous 4-channel recording….Zoom made the H4n so versatile that the many options make changing settings more complicated than is ideal, but it still can operate fairly simply as a basic field recorder as well.” Jeff thinks it’s a pretty impressive machine for about $300. If you’re in the market, check his review, with lots of audio clips and photos, as usual.

Tascam DR-series Flash Recorders Jeff Towne reviews three new portable digital recorders from Tascam (The DR-07, DR-1, and DR-100): “Tascam has released three smaller, less-expensive SD card-based recorders, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, but all offering good functionality and decent sound quality.” I won’t give it away, but one of them gets the nod as the best new budget recorder. Jeff also includes a mini-review of a relatively inexpensive omni field mic to match with the new generation of recorders, the Audio Technica 8010.

Marantz 661 If they keep making them, we'll keep testing them. Jeff Towne has been working with the new Marantz 661 Digital Audio Recorder, an update of the 660 (also reviewed on Transom). For radio production use, this machine has nice features like XLR inputs, AA batteries, and a 1/4-inch headphone jack. Jeff says the pre-amps are much better than in the earlier unit and that the 661 now uses SD cards. While it's bigger than a lot of the tiny new digital recorders, this one looks to be a good workhorse in the field. Check it.

Recording Phone Calls At last! For years, people have been asking Transom for advice on recording over the phone. Slowly, we've been acquiring phone interfaces and software tools for Jeff Towne to review and incorporate in his primer, and it is finally done. Jeff covers high and low tech options--analog phone couplers and hybrids, digital hybrids, cell phone taps, computer-based telephony like Skype, taping little mics to telephones, and instructions on configuring "mix minus". Various hardware and software options are reviewed, with audio samples. There are links to other resources. This is a really good rundown. You can stop asking now. Drop by to tell us about your own tips and ask questions.

Pro Tools Shortcuts If you work in audio production, you end up having some kind of relationship to Digidesign's ubiquitous software, ProTools. Generally, the relationship is dysfunctional. We at Transom are no exception and we asked our TOOLS Editor to come up with a set of ProTools tips specifically for the public radio producer.

So, now we bring you the result of years of conversation and complaint about this powerful, troublesome software in a single guide, Jeff Towne's "ProTools Shortcuts," which comes with its own handy print-out to keep by your bedside. You know you need it.

HHb FlashMic DRM85 Continuing in Transom's tradition of reviewing the new digital field gear for radio reporting, our Tools Editor Jeff Towne has just finished testing the HHb FlashMics, in both cardioid and omni versions. He posits, "What if you could have a good interview mic, and not worry about cables, or phantom power, or whether the mic is compatible with your recorder? What if you could hold it and operate it with one hand? Well, you can." This is a unique field recorder, albeit expensive and with a few other downsides--but, depending on your requirements, certainly a tool you should check out.

Olympus LS-10 TOOLS Editor Jeff Towne has been living and working with another of the new little digital recorders and just added his review to our roster. Like all Jeff's reviews, it approaches the machine from the radio producer's perspective, complete with lots of photos, sound tests, and a comparision chart. The Olympus LS-10, depending on your needs, is pretty close to the mark... and it's cute, especially when it's wearing its little earmuff windscreens.