mixer for freelance/personal projects

R

rcolazo89

Active member
hey all,

I am interested in finishing up my small production kit and audio is the next thing on my list. I would like to know what mixer is an ideal choice for me. Price ranging anywhere from $1-1500 preferably. I am a student and I have an awesome serving job that I plan on keeping until I have a nice full production kit. Personally, I will just be using a boom/shotty for my films. I am unsure of what most clients are looking for when hiring a freelance audio mixer, so I would appreciate any input anyone could possibly give me.

Thanks much!

Reuben
 
Sound Devices 302 would be the way to go. Fits in your stated budget, has a great reputation, and is a pro-level piece of equipment. It will serve you well on your own projects, and will get you through some freelance gigs as well.
 
Thanks much, I was actually considering that one or the shure fp33. I was reading and looking at the specs of both and both seem like they would do the trick, I just wanted some outside recommendations as I have no real way of testing them out before I buy one.
 
The FP33 is certainly a very useful mixer. The one I have now, I bought in 1997 and have only recently had to have it serviced (solder points are deteriorating... pretty common in most electronics after a few years). The Shure was the hands-down field standard for quite some time, and there are quite a few that are still in daily operation.

SD mixers have taken the market, though. The meters are easier to read, and the pre-amps are a bit better.

But there's one thing that the Shure still has over the SD302: pan pots. It's a shame that the 302 doesn't have this feature since it's bigger sibling, the SD442, does. Instead, the 302 has hard L-C-R switching.

Why does this matter? No panning flexibility. Example: if you're in a situation where you have only a single mic running, you can use a rotary pan control to create your safety channel (pan left to about 10:00 and you have the right channel running about 5dB lower).

But even without rotary pan, the 302 is a solid, well-built beast that'll last you quite some time.
 
rcolazo89 said:
Thanks much, I was actually considering that one or the shure fp33. I was reading and looking at the specs of both and both seem like they would do the trick, I just wanted some outside recommendations as I have no real way of testing them out before I buy one.
Click to expand...

Do a search on here for "best field mixer"
or do a google groups search for the same on r.a.m.p.s.

Its been discussed time and time again.
 
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