3 channel audio recorder

Lucas Adamson

Lucas Adamson

Well-known member
I feel like what I'm looking for isn't being made right now, but I wonder why.

Field recorders with acceptable to very good pre-amps are all over the place. From the entry level Tascam DR100 & Zoom H4n to the Marantz PMD-661 and up to the Tascam HD P2.

The thing is that they are all stereo recorders, made mainly for radio journalists and musicians who generally work exclusively in Stereo, and rarely need discrete tracks.

In video, and especially drama production we all favour the boomed mic for dialogue of course, but later, many people like to supplement that with (ideally 2x) radio lavalier mics. These 3 sources will cover most of us working on dialogue for docs and drama, even shooting low budget features.

3 Tracks! OK, so often the way to do this is to feed the 2x radios and the boom into an SD302 and mix the radios into one track and record on a stereo (or should I say 2 track) recorder, or often the camera.

But I want 3 discrete audio channels recorded, so that I can mix them later. Is it too much to ask? OK, I realise that there are SD744s and the like, but what is there that's also affordable?

The new Fostex 302 looks great for a 3 input recorder, but again, it mixes down to 2 tracks! Why? It could be so much better than this with 3 track recording! They have the pre-amps already - surely it would be cheap as chips to give the option to record all 3 tracks to SD card!

The Tascam 680 seems like a real shoe-in, with 4x XLR inputs and 6 track recording, but i have read of some quite serious reliability problems, and am worried about that at the price it comes in.

Any suggestions? Should I just get over my desire for discrete channel lav recording, or my desire for twin radio back-ups, or is there a good solution you can recommend me?
 
Yes that is something I looked at already and forgot about. It looks like a fit for what I described, though still expensive, and a tad ugly interface, but hey, it's pretty good. Thanks for the reply.
 
Lucas,

What have you heard about the 680? There are several regular members here that use the 680, including myself, and the only significant issue reported has been shut down when the temps rise to over 100 which is specified in the operating instructions. This occurance seems to have been limited to cozy carrying in a field bag. If you have other info, offer it up instead of offering internet innuendo.

FWIW, the 680 has served me well.

Best Regards,
Grant
 
I'm no tech guy, but I would imagine it's a mix of:
You can't get everything you want and keep the price tag down. Like with the c300, you can ask for a lot of things, but when you get it, it ends up being more expensive than you wanted. Just because you want something for cheap doesn't mean you'll get it for cheap.
And... that the new "ultra ultra ultra low budget digital filmmaking" thing is still in its infancy... the hdslrs came out of nowhere and sort of happened by accident... give the rest of the tech manufacturers some time to catch up.
 
The issue is not that they dont manufacture the gear.. its that its just not affordable enough for everyone.

cant make a benz on corolla dough.. plain and simple.
 
OK, budgeteers, try this on for size:

Get a second hand (no longer made) 4 input 8 track recorder, like the Fostex MR-08 HD. £150 delivered (in UK).

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NY2eT-mcL.jpg

It has good pres, is A4 sized, 4x 48v XLRs, records all the channels discretely. Newer one only has 2x XLR inputs!

The issues are:
1. No battery option
2. 3.5" 40GB HDD recording (noise from physical spinning drive)
3. Functionally not quite tailored for Cine use

The solutions are:

1. Rig up an external V mount or Anton Bauer battery (may take some expertise, but it has been done.)
2. Fit a 32GB SSD "Disc On Module" from ebay HK £60
3. Deal with it. It works but requires a good knowledge of the recorder, not unlike video on a DSLR.

For a low budget 4 track field recorder, I don't think it can be beat, and it is a well reviewed machine.
 
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Oh and the DR680 does indeed look fantastic. I read all the reviews on B&H, Amazon etc. That is all. Yes it was mostly due to excessive heat causing switch off, but another reviewer also claimed severe flimsiness of switches, sockets etc. Sorry I can't provide a proper link.
 
Lucas Adamson said:
The issues are:
1. No battery option
2. 3.5" 40GB HDD recording (noise from physical spinning drive)
3. Functionally not quite tailored for Cine use
Click to expand...

4. Only records 16-bit/44.1kHz. Since sound for video is 16-bit/48kHz, and recommended recording is 24-bit/48kHz, this is pretty limiting.

The form factor is simply too clumsy for this kind of use, and there are so many better designs out there.

The lack of remote power is also a deal-breaker, in my opinion. Sure, you could get an Anton-Bauer or V-mount rig and some batteries... but once you've done that, how much more has it cost? Enough to get something new that will suit your needs?
 
Making a multitrack hard disc recorder requires a lot more "stuff" than just a mixer. There is software involved, file types, resolution, a/d converters...and the list goes on and on. The get a quality multitrack field recorder you are going to need to spend some dough, that's just the way it is. If you can't afford to buy, then just rent.
 
An a/b dionic is close to $400 and add several hundred for a charger.

Regarding the build quality of the 680, it certainly isn't at SD quality. However, I can buy five model 680s for the price of one 744. I would love to have a SD recorder, but for most purposes, the 680 is a very decent recorder. For me, the biggest single issue on the 680 is the hoky-poky auxiliary power inlet plug. Otherwise, I feel I received good value.

Grant
 
While better suited for a cart than a run & gun bag, I have used Boomrecorder on a MacBook Pro for multi-track recording.

Just something to think about.

All the Best!

Dave
 
A little history.

Analog recorders came in many flavors including three tracks (sort of - Nagra had TC on a center track). Dubbers had replaceable heads and did 1, 3 and 6 tracks. Because of dubbers and the six track limit on 35mm mag we ended up with 5.1 track surround.
But digital works in binary and that made eight the new track count. Pro Tools used to be based on eight, as was DA-88, and the Alesis box.
And of course 7.1 surround.

Three doesn't work for digital smoothly at all so you will find 2 and eight and a few four track recorders. I suspect that the 4 trackers are actually using an eight track core and only utilizing 1/2 of the core. Analog stuff was able to be more unique because it was all essentially built from scratch. With digital you are dependent on the availability of DSP chips and those chips are made for the track counts that will sell the most. You could make a three track converter but as a custom chip the $$$$$ would put it out of most peoples range. There is a huge market for two channel systems, and a big market for eight channel systems. But virtually no market for three channel systems.

For what you want I would say one of the four track recorders is a close fit though an eight track one is around the same price so...

If your on a cart and have AC then BoomRecorder is a great choice. With an interface you are still under most four track recorders and you have the option to expand at will.
 
ggrantly said:
An a/b dionic is close to $400 and add several hundred for a charger.

Regarding the build quality of the 680, it certainly isn't at SD quality. However, I can buy five model 680s for the price of one 744. I would love to have a SD recorder, but for most purposes, the 680 is a very decent recorder. For me, the biggest single issue on the 680 is the hoky-poky auxiliary power inlet plug. Otherwise, I feel I received good value.

Grant
Click to expand...

I use Global Media Pro Gold Mount batteries, which are much better value, and I have them and a double charger already, so I think I may well go the Fostex MR-08 HD route. It is very similar in spec to the Tascam DR680 but less than 1/4 the price, even with the DOM 32GB SSD drive I mentioned. Sure, there are aspects that are not ideally suited to Cine use, but isn't that also true of other $300 recorders?
 
I need a three channel input/output recorder...

I need a three channel input/output recorder...

I need three channels as well...


I'm in the same boat but for different reasons. I need an inexpensive, (at least) three track recorder with discrete inputs and most important, discrete outputs. Yet everything I find mixes down to stereo outputs. I need to output a stereo soundtrack with a separate cue channel on track three. Keeping in mind I need three distinct outputs, any suggestions that aren't going to break the bank? Even outmoded stuff would be considered.....
 
markeditor said:
I need three channels as well...


I'm in the same boat but for different reasons. I need an inexpensive, (at least) three track recorder with discrete inputs and most important, discrete outputs. Yet everything I find mixes down to stereo outputs. I need to output a stereo soundtrack with a separate cue channel on track three. Keeping in mind I need three distinct outputs, any suggestions that aren't going to break the bank? Even outmoded stuff would be considered.....
Click to expand...

Your reference to needing a stereo pair plus a mono cue track at the output of a recorder is somewhat confusing. Are you looking for a multitrack recorder with 3 (or more) separate playback outputs, a stereo pair plus a mono mix, or are you equating some of the functions of a recorder with the function of a mixer? What exactly are you trying to accomplish?
 
Hi,

This is for playback of a fireworks show. The composite audio lives on the stereo pair and goes to the house public address system, and voice cues live on track three, and go to the director's and pyro crew's headsets. So I need at least three distinct playback outputs. The Roland R-26, as well as comparable units from Sony, Tascam, Edirol, etc. are all excellent recording devices, but again the problem is they don't have enough discrete analog outputs- Th Roland in fact only has headphone outputs. The problem with the Roland and the other contemporary multi-track standalone, is that they all generally mix down within the unit, providing only a stereo output. What I'm hoping to find is a reasonably (cheap) priced device that will output at least three completely iindependent, discrete channels. The only thing I've found is an analog/digital interface that has at least four output channels such as the Echo Gina, starting at around three hundred bucks. I found a legacy Gina, but it needs to interface to a desktop computer via PCI card. If I'm going to incorporate a PC, I need it to be a laptop,which means for me either USB or firewire interface. I'm hoping to find something either new or used, substantially inexpensive. It can either interface with a PC or be a "standalone" device. Even the old minidisc multi-track recorders would work, if they had discrete channel outputs instead of mixing down to a stereo output. In the meantime, Thank You for taking an interest in this quandary.....
 
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