Aaton Cantar

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dre83

Veteran
I will be manipulating the Aaton Cantar X2 mixer/recorder. I don't know if it's known very well but it is in Europe (mostly in France).

If you like I can tell you some advantages/disadvantages as a "new user".

The Cantar is not mine...But yeah, it's easy to play with stuff bought by others :Drogar-Kriz(DBG)::-HeadPhones(D:-Laugh(DBG):
 
I've never operated one, by the reputation is stelar. Please post your experiences with this. Thanks.
 
Not sure if this would be what you are looking for but check out Margus Juukum's blog:

http://margussound.blogspot.com/

He uses a Cantar regularly and there are some useful bits in there. Really enjoyed reading about his adventures. :)

dre83 said:
I will be manipulating the Aaton Cantar X2 mixer/recorder. I don't know if it's known very well but it is in Europe (mostly in France).

If you like I can tell you some advantages/disadvantages as a "new user".

The Cantar is not mine...But yeah, it's easy to play with stuff bought by others :Drogar-Kriz(DBG)::-HeadPhones(D:-Laugh(DBG):
Click to expand...
 
I've used it in the past. It's quite a capable machine. There is a strong Deva vs. Cantar thing going on with the high end production guys. I personally found the Cantar to have a steep learning curve. I remember, early on in the software, I was reading the manual about how to format the internal hard drive, and at that time, it literally, at one point, said "with your third hand", because formatting the hard drive required three buttons to be pressed simultaneously that were not close together. I think they've since changed that. The general consensus is "once you play with it for a several days, you'll have the hang of it". That works for some people, and not for others. It's definitely not intuitive. That being said, it sounds really good, is well designed for over the shoulder work, and the dual battery system is a brilliant idea. Plus, as was said in another thread, it's built like a tank, which for some people, is a high priority. In terms of price, it's very expensive, more so than other options out there. Since Aaton is a French company, I can see why it is popular in France. I'm curious as to what the cost of a Deva vs. a Cantar in France is, what with all the import duties and all.
 
The Cantar is superb, but it's also very French.

It is expensive, superbly built and probably about the best around, but it does take getting used to. Once you have mastered it, It's probably about the best there is.

Comparing the Cantar with a Deva is comparing chalk and cheese - the Deva has excellent digital design and ergonomics - though I hear from many sources that the analogue side (mic. pre-amps etc.) is way behind. The Cantar takes a lot of learning, but the quality is excellent.

Though, personally, I would go with Nagra or AETA. :thumbsup:
 
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I have played a bit with it and I think in about 5 minutes I knew it (with manual). It's indeed quite expensive, but at the other hand you don't need to put a mixer in between like you have with sound device for example.

There are some advantages like adapting filenames, or when you have a "false take".
 
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