CEntrance Bouncer is a new 10-channel analog summing mixer and 2-track recorder made for mobile musicians that fit in your pocket.
The US-based company CEntrance has launched various handy audio recording products with a big focus on mobility in recent years. Many of their products offer features rarely seen on other audio interfaces or mixers. For example, the MixerFace is a USB-C audio interface, mixer, and recorder in a small device.
Their latest product, Bouncer, is aimed at DAWless music producers.
CEntrance Bouncer
Bouncer is a new portable analog-summing mixer with 10 channels. These are actually 5 stereo channels on mini jacks, which you can split with cables giving you easily 10 channels. The first four stereo inputs each have their own volume knob, accompanied by signal and clipping LEDs. Interesting, the last pair doesn’t offer instant controllability. Plus, you get two knobs for controlling the master and monitor levels. A big LED meter is located on the front of the unit.
The highlight, especially for DAWless musicians, is the ability to record all 10 channels on a stereo track (2-track mono) onto a microSD card. So you can record your jams with synths, grooveboxes, drum machines… straight on the device without using a DAW. It’s also handy for video production, and field recordings… And it supports a resolution of 24-bit/48kHz.
It’s a shame it’s just a whole mix. Recording all the tracks individually would be much more interesting, which would give you more flexibility later when processing the sounds.
Two USB-Ports
The Bouncer is housed in an aluminum enclosure that looks sturdy and nice. Also neat are the available connections: you get five stereo inputs, one stereo output, and a headphone output for monitoring your signals. There are also two USB-C ports, both designed for power. You can power it with a USB charger or power bank and the second gives you an option to daisy-chain several devices. Unfortunately, they don’t transmit audio so it’s not a USB-C audio interface.
I particularly like the stereo audio output, which makes the device not only suitable as a DAWless mixing/recording tool, but also for video productions. So you can route the audio instantly in the audio input of your camera. And with the tripod mount on the bottom, you can also mount it in your video setup.
This looks like a very interesting audio mixer for the on-the-go. Especially useful in situations where you have little space.
CEntrance will be available in Q4 2022 for $599 USD.
More information here: CEntrance
Nice idea, but with no stereo panning, there’s no way to situate the individual instruments in the stereo field. It would work well for instruments (like the Volca Drum, off the top of my head) that have built-in panning options, but for any mono instrument, it would be very limiting.