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Tascam’s Portacapture X8 brings recording versatility to Melvin L. Butler
For Melvin L. Butler, PhD, Associate Professor of Musicology at the Frost School of Music, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, the ability to capture rehearsals, performances, location sound, and individual practice sessions is of paramount importance. With a busy schedule that encompasses a wide range of musical endeavors, having a compact, versatile recorder is crucial to his activities. His preferred product is the Portacapture X8 8-channel 32-bit float Portable Audio Field Recorder from Tascam.
Apart from being a saxophonist and ethnomusicologist at the University of Miami, Butler is the author of “Island Gospel: Pentecostal Music and Identity in Jamaica and the United States” (University of Illinois Press, 2019) as well as numerous articles on music, religious experience, and cultural identity in the Caribbean and North America. As a performer, he has worked with Betty Carter, Joey DeFrancesco, Christian McBride, Jimmy McGriff, Joni Mitchell, and others.
Further, he is featured with Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band on several albums, including the Grammy-nominated “Landmarks” (2014), “Body and Shadow” (2017), and “Kings Highway” (2023), and he is a featured soloist on the 2018 Grammy-winning recording “American Dreamers: Voices of Hope, Music of Freedom” by the John Daversa Big Band.
Butler discusses his fondness for the Tascam Portacapture X8: “I most often use the Portacapture X8 to record rehearsals and performances when I’m touring with various groups. With the Fellowship Band, for example, it helps me to document song sections and chord changes that I need to remember, and it allows me to keep a record of past performances, solo orders, and song forms - particularly if there is an extended period of time between concerts.”
“The Portacapture X8 is also quite helpful as a compositional tool”, he adds. “I’ll turn it on while I work out ideas on my saxophone or at the piano, and then later consult the recording to extract musical building blocks I can rework or assemble into a finished piece of music. As a researcher, I also use the device for ethnographic field recordings of church services and gospel music performances, along with one-on-one interviews.”
In addition to these activities, Butler also uses his Portacapture X8 in the creation of podcasts: “As a professor, I’m starting to create content podcasts for my students at the University of Miami. My African American Song Traditions course employs a discussion-based pedagogy known as ‘flipped learning’, in which students’ first exposure to content takes place before class. I can record my lectures ahead of time for students to access, and we can then use class time to discuss the material.”
The optional Tascam AK-BT1 Bluetooth adapter enables one to control the Portacapture X8 via the Portacapture Control mobile app. “I really enjoy the AK-BT1 Bluetooth adapter”, Butler reports. “Whether I’m using the device for ethnomusicological fieldwork or for a performance, it’s useful to be able to control the X8 from my iPhone. It means I can start and stop without having to bend over to touch the device or worry about handling noise. In addition, this feature makes recording a lot less intrusive since I can capture the sounds I need without distracting my interviewees or calling unwanted attention to the recording process.”
(Photos: Melvin L. Butler/Tascam)
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