Women’s Audio Mission Thrives with TASCAM

Women’s Audio Mission (WAM) is a San Francisco-based nonprofit dedicated to the advancement of women/gender-expansive people in music production and the recording arts—fields in which they are chronically underrepresented. Each year, WAM provides 2,000+ girls and women from under-resourced communities with free music production classes, hands-on training, and mentoring, as well as artist residencies in the only professional recording studios in the world built and run by 100% women/gender-expansive staff. And at the heart of it all, WAM relies upon a wide assortment of recording tools from TASCAM.

WAM’s award-winning recording and production team has had numerous major accomplishments, including having recorded Beyonce’s band, vocalist Toro y Moi, the Kronos Quartet, comedian/actress Margaret Cho, as well as 5-time Grammy winner Angélique Kidjo to name but a few. Arielle Flinkman, Studio Manager and Engineer, is actively involved in most everything that takes place in terms of production at WAM. She discussed her experience with TASCAM.

“At WAM, we rely on the TASCAM US-2x2HR USB Audio Interfaces, and we’ve been using them for over two years in our studios and across various programs” Flinkman explained. “These units are integral to our training, offering the versatility needed for teaching core audio production skills such as signal flow, gain structure, editing, podcasting, and microphone techniques. Our setup includes an interface with iMac Education Lab Computers, which are connected to monitor speakers, a microphone, and a MIDI keyboard.”

Flinkman continued, “The TASCAM interfaces are used by thousands of women, girls, and gender-expansive students in our WAM Education Lab, where we provide audio certification training in everything from Pro Tools to vocal production. In WAM’s professional studios, TASCAM interfaces have been used in our remote audiobook and podcast sessions for books by Hachette, Penguin, and others.”

When queried about those attributes that make the TASCAM US-2x2HR USB Audio Interfaces so important to their activities at WAM, Flinkman offered the following thoughts, “The TASCAM US-2x2HR interface is a valuable tool at WAM. Its user-friendly design and durable construction make it suitable for various audio tasks—making it useful for both our educational sessions and professional projects. It simplifies the process of achieving high-quality sound for both our students and professionals alike. The MIDI I/O and mic/line inputs are particularly beneficial, allowing seamless integration with the various electronic instruments and microphones we use in our educational workshops and professional recording sessions.”

In addition to their audio interfaces, WAM uses a considerable amount of additional TASCAM gear. This includes DR-40 Linear PCM recorders, a Porta 02 mkII Ministudio, two DP-006 Digital Portastudios, an assortment of TASCAM TM series microphones, TASCAM headphones, and more.

As is the case with many electronic products, questions periodically arise, so responsive and capable customer support services are crucial for today’s equipment manufacturers. In this regard, Flinkman is equally pleased with TASCAM. “We’ve been fortunate not to need support services for our TASCAM equipment, as it has been completely reliable. However, our interactions with TASCAM, especially during collaborative events like the giveaway with the Linda Lindas, have been exceptionally positive. The TASCAM team is great to work with!”

Before shifting her focus back to the business of the day, Flinkman offered these parting comments regarding her TASCAM experience, “TASCAM has been instrumental in our educational initiatives, reliably supporting our efforts to train the next generation of audio professionals. We are grateful for the role TASCAM products play in enabling us to ‘change the face of sound’ and provide top-notch audio education to thousands of women, girls, and gender-expansive individuals every year. We look forward to continuing our partnership. Thanks, TASCAM!”

To learn more about the Women’s Audio Mission, visit https://womensaudiomission.org/.