Three-time Grammy Award-winning producer/mix engineer Dave Isaac has been upgrading his personal setup in recent years, most recently with a Red 8Pre 64-in/out audio interface from Focusrite.

Isaac has worked with a number of artists from the worlds of R&B, jazz and more, including the likes of Bruno Mars, David Sanborn, Luther Vandross, Marcus Miller, Prince, and many others.

He has also served as an audio educator for the last decade at the Musician’s Institute in Hollywood and UCLA Extension. After 20 years of working closely in Santa Monica studios with Marcus Miller, Isaac made the decision in 2007 to work more steadily in his own personal Los Angeles studio space.

“Not too long ago, I basically upgraded my whole setup from scratch,” noted Isaac. “I was looking to streamline, and to look forward to a simplified network infrastructure, and Red 8Pre was definitely the right interface for my setup. I can get frustrated with different pieces of gear and different software windows, when they don’t all seem to be speaking to each other. But getting the Red 8Pre as the hub has made that a non-issue. Now I can focus on the music.

“The Red 8Pre has allowed me the flexibility to do whatever I need as far as inputs and outputs, all with one Red 8Pre unit,” Isaac continued. “The range of options in connectivity is insane. If by some chance I want to move into more than 64 channel outs in the future, it’s really as simple as adding one additional Dante piece that won’t take up too much rack real estate. I love the thought of that! I’m not sure if you can get this many channel outs within two single rack space units anywhere else.

“Considering the range of work that I do, especially in the world of music for film, that had to be a serious consideration. And furthermore, it’s future-proof – if I’m looking down the road 5 or 10 years or longer, these tools can still be the foundation of whatever my setup has evolved into.”

Isaac said he likes to think of his gear as an extension of himself as an engineer: “I sometimes tell my students, find equipment that becomes such a part of you that you almost forget that it’s there until a visitor or collaborator tells you how pretty it is!” he chuckled. “When that is the case, that means you’re happy with the sound.

“Focusrite, in particular, is a brand that I associate with successes from early in my career,” Isaac concluded. “It feels good to go back to my roots in that way, with the new Focusrite tools for the 21st century as a cornerstone of my workflow.”

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