So I almost crashed and burned a session the other day.
I went down to the booth about 45 minutes before a scheduled 10am session. Get in the booth, open my usual stuff: DAW, email, meeting software but my DAW (and computer) could not find my audio interface.
No problem. This has happened before and last time I just tell my DAW to 're-check' and it pops right on.
BUT THIS WASN'T LIKE LAST TIME!
uh-oh!
I started checking connections, power-cycling, even pulled the interace out of it's rackmount to make sure the USB cable was seated properly.
But nothing was working. As time was ticking by, I had to figure something out. Luckily, the client is super-understanding and really nice so they were patient.
It just so happened that I have another audio interface sitting in the closet. The Presonus Revelator io24 I bought for a live Twitch show I used to do was just sitting there collecting non-audio input.
So, I plugged it in, opened the software and after a couple tweaks I was up and running and doing my session with the client.
Whew.
Semi-crisis averted. And, on that note, let me point out this wasn't a 'do-or-die' situation where if I wasn't able to get my audio going in time, I'd be fired. Not even close. Based on the person and client I was working with I'd guarantee that if I couldn't make my audio happen, she would have very gracefuly suggested we reschedule.
I don't bring this up because it's a 'OH WOW! I ALMOST GOT FIRED!' type of post. I bring it up to serve as a reminder to my fellow voice actors (who work from home studios) to have a backup plan in place. Even if that backup only includes a backup UPS power supply. You should have a an even tacit backup plan in place.
