In 2018, CEntrance unveiled the MixerFace R4, a mobile, two-channel audio interface with high-quality preamps and converters. This year, the company debuted a new version, the MixerFace R4R, which comes with a built-in SD recorder, effectively turning the device into a portable recorder, minus the mics.
Late last year, CEntrance also released the PivotMic PM1, which, despite its singular-sounding name, is actually an XY-stereo matched pair of condenser mics with male XLR jacks. The mics are only about 1.5 inches long and plug directly into the R4R’s built-in XLR combo connectors. CEntrance offers the R4R ($479), and PivotMic PM1 ($199) mic pair together in bundle called the R4B ($549), which is the best value if you want both.
The PivotMic PM1 consists of a left and right mic, which, when plugged into their default position, create an XY pattern. But these mics are versatile. If you connect the left mic into the right jack and the right into the left, their capsules face away from each other, which CEntrance refers to as Interview Mode. In that configuration it could be considered a mini spaced pair.
You can use the R4R with the PivotMic PM1 for video (the R4R features a built-in tripod mount), podcasts, field recording, broadcast and music production. I captured clean-sounding stereo acoustic guitar tracks through it, and I would imagine you could use it—with its line outs connected to another audio interface—as a stereo room mic in a multitrack drum recording. An inexpensive tripod-to-mic-stand converter would make it easy to use in the studio.
The R4R records onto microSD cards that you load into a slot on the bottom panel of the unit. The unit captures 24-bit/48kHz audio and can handle cards as large as 256GB. According to CEntrance, the recorder uses up 1GB per hour, so even with an inexpensive 32GB card, recording time won’t be an issue.
If you want to transfer files recorded by the R4R into your computer, you can turn on the unit in Disk Drive Mode (when connected to a computer via USB), which allows you to access the recorded WAVs.
