Zotope has today announced a new hardware product, Spire Studio.  They have designed this to be a versatile, wireless system enabling songwriters and musicians of all genres to capture, edit, and collaborate seamlessly – at home, or on the road.

When I ran the story about iZotope updating their Spire iOS recording app with collaboration features I finished the article saying...

It seems a strange thing for iZotope to do when you consider their product range like RX, Ozone, Neutron and so on, but when you get to know the team at iZotope so many of then are musicians and passionate about making music and this seems to be a response to that passion to help fellow musicians to capture and share ideas as simply as possible.

I am left wondering if this is it or if this is the start of something new, time will tell...

Well, time has told and here we have iZotope presenting the Spire Studio.

What Is Spire Studio?

Spire Studio works together with the free, integrated iOS app to deliver a new take on the 'Portastudio' model in a coffee cup-sized device and mobile phone. The wireless system is designed to solve the technical and logistical hurdles that can get in the way of capturing creative ideas – making professional quality, multitrack recording spontaneous and simple.

With iZotope’s automatic audio processing, Spire Studio’s hardware and integrated app allow musicians to mix, layer, edit, and wirelessly share music with collaborators, send to hosting and discovery platforms, or upload to storage services to access the music from anywhere.

Many of the team at iZotope are musicians and they have tried to produce a system where you have a compact and convenient solution to be to record anywhere and anytime. iZotope co-founder and CEO, Mark Ethier explains...

The product journey started on a personal note – playing music with my wife. We decided we wanted to make a recording but all of the technology got in the way,” explained “What should have been a fun, creative moment turned into a headache, and in the end, we left for dinner without capturing a single note. Spire Studio was designed from the ground up to solve this problem. At iZotope, we’re using the latest technology to make high-quality recording easy and inspirational with the goal to help musicians focus on their creative vision and not the technical aspects behind it.

Spire Studio has been designed so you can start recording right out of the box. Just turn it on and hit record to get going. It has a high-quality built-in microphone and is battery-operated with hours of recording memory.

It has two XLR/quarter-inch combo jacks with phantom power to plug in external mics and other instruments. there are also two stereo mini-jack headphone outputs making it easier for two people to work together.

Under the hood, Spire Studio has mic pre-amps designed by Grace Design. On the surface, the LED display is touch-sensitive so you can quickly adjust headphone volume and select and mute tracks.

For deeper editing and to control onboard effects, you can open the free Spire iOS app. The app will integrate with Spire Studio over high-speed Wi-Fi. 

4X GRAMMY-Winning Recording Engineer and Producer Chris Shaw Talks Spire

You’ve definitely heard his work. Chris Shaw, is a four-time GRAMMY-winning producer, engineer, and musician who has worked with the likes of Wilco, Weezer, Bob Dylan, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, and countless other artists.

iZotope visited him in his home outside of Austin, Texas to get his thoughts on Spire—the portable, wireless, professional-quality recording studio. Check out the video above to hear his take!

Spire Studio Key Features

• Internal studio-quality microphone

• Automatically set recording levels with a single button to eliminate set-up time and distorted sounds

• Record with effects such as reverbs, delays, and amp models with zero-latency monitoring

• iZotope's award-winning intelligent sound processing technology helps to give recordings professional polish

• Layer up to eight tracks per project

• Ditch the cables with a built-in Wi-Fi connection from Spire Studio to the Spire app

• Battery operated so you can record for hours on the go

• Grace Design preamps

• Two combo jacks for plugging in your instruments or mics with +48V phantom power

• Automatically sync tracks between hardware and software for seamless version control

• LED touchscreen to adjust volume, mute, and delete tracks

• Collaborate on projects with bandmates anywhere in the world — straight from your iPhone

• Easily export your music to a computer or favourite audio editing software like Pro Tools, iMovie, and Logic, or upload to storage platforms like iCloud, Dropbox, and Google Drive. 

Price And Availability

Beginning in Fall 2017, Spire Studio will be available for $349 at Spire.live and at select retailers but ONLY IN THE US Initially.

Spire Studio On Tour

To help introduce Spire Studio to the world, iZotope will be on the road in a retrofitted mobile recording studio set up to be as comfortable and compact as a domestic living room.

The Spire Studio tour will be stopping off at US events including the Hopscotch Music Festival, AmericanaFest, and Bourbon & Beyond. iZotope will also be collaborating with NPR Music using the Spire Studio in field recordings and intimate performances along the way. iZotope co-founder and CEO, Mark Ethier explains...

Spire Studio’s support of NPR Music is in perfect alignment with iZotope’s belief that great music can come from anywhere. Public radio [in the US] has and will continue to have an important role in the discovery and development of talented up-and-coming artists, wherever they may originate from or find inspiration.

Spire.Live

You can follow Spire.live to learn more about iZotope’s evolving route and see the latest behind-the-scenes tour content along the way.