Montebello, CA—September 2016… At the June 2016 InfoComm trade show in Las Vegas, rAVe Publications reporter Johnny Mota and podcasting partner Victoria Barela were having fun, as usual. The two had set up rAVe Pubs RADIO desk and were hard at work, creating podcasts from the show floor that featured interviews with a variety of exhibitors and attendees. Key to this year’s shows was a new tool: TASCAM’s MiNiSTUDIO Creator US-42 interface.

“We used the MiNiSTUDIO for over 50 live podcasts direct from the show floor, and the results were just amazing,” recalls Mota. “In a busy, high-traffic setting like that, it’s critical to have tools that are not just dependable but easy to use and really intuitive. With the MiNiSTUDIO as the hub of our system, we were able to focus our energies on creating a great show, not on engineering. It’s very straightforward and simple to use.”

Mota appreciated having a complete hardware solution. “The MiNiSTUDIO is an all-in-one unit so I don’t have to use multiple tools and open software programs to get the functions I need,” he explains. “I thought the MiNiSTUDIO would be very basic, and it’s not complex, but it’s more robust than I thought it would be. It really is a miniature studio, and it’s great.”

Having physical buttons and switches made a big difference for Mota, as well. “Whether triggering sounds from the PON pads or using the effects, the MiNiSTUDIO’s tactile controls rule over software buttons. My day job is as a systems integrator, working with smart homes and controls for commercial buildings, and I know that a tactile button is easier for people. You can memorize where physical buttons are so you don’t have to look for them; you just hit the button you want and go. With software, you have to look at the screen and find what you need. Using the MiNiSTUDIO is faster and easier.”

Of course what matters most is the results. “The TASCAM MiNiSTUDIO made our podcasts feel more lively and more realistic. When you go through 56 episodes, you can’t do the same things over and over. With the MiNiSTUDIO, we could trigger the built-in sounds and custom sounds at the press of a button. We could try a filter or effect, see if the change gets a response, and have fun playing with the device. It gave us the variety we needed, and that made people want to engage with us.”

Barela summed up the rAVe team’s experience with the MiNiSTUDIO. “I found that it is easy to set up, comes with software that has interchangeable sound effects, quick access to gains, and is portable friendly,” she blogged. “Johnny and I got a kick out of using this product, and I would highly recommend it to podcasters looking to spunk up their recordings.”