Multi-track recording options

FatDaddy

FatDaddy

Veteran
Picking up some equipment for a friend (in another country) and he wants to record 8 channels of audio (independent, xlr, phantom power). I am looking up some options for him and came across two from B&H and wanted to get thoughts and opinions.

Option #1
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...ck_Digital_Mixer_Recorder.html#specifications

Option #2 (I am recommending two of these and daisy chain together)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...4_R_44_Solid_State_Four_Channel_Portable.html

He will be on set as sound recorder for a national sit-com, they have requested up to 8 channels to record for post-production.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.
 
The Korg will be problematic because it only does 44.1 sample rate, and film sound is 48K almost as a rule. A pair of Edirols might be ok, but could be a bit of a kludge.

If the sound recordist can be stationary (as opposed to walking around with a boom and recorder in a bag) then I'd consider a DAW/Laptop/HD rig, (PC or Mac) and a MOTU interface like the 8pre:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._8pre_Audio_Interface_Converter.html#features

It's small, affordable, and will record in BWAV format, which includes time code information and is directly file-compatible with NLE's like FCP. It's got 8 XLR mic pres with 48v phantom power. Add a couple of $100 FW800 hard drives for recording and backup and you're set. MOTU's included Audiodesk software also has OMF export capability, which allows for quick and easy conversion to Pro Tools, Avid and other systems.

I've used a similar device, a MOTU 828 (along with an 8 channel mixer for the mic pres), and gotten excellent results, including OMF-to-Pro Tools conversion.
 
Thanks guys for the input. Ted, never thought of that option. He does own a pretty current Macbook Pro. That model looks like it is rack mountable, so not sure the best way to make that work. Wonder if they make a small light rack mount system. Something where he can put the laptop on top of the 1/4 rack?

Steve, nice options but out of his price range. He is from Nairobi, Kenya and has some money, but not top dollar for the best gear.

I am a little concerned about about having to drag his laptop around for recording. Might not be that good with lots of people running around (I've had two stolen in the last 7 years).
 
FatDaddy said:
Thanks guys for the input. Ted, never thought of that option. He does own a pretty current Macbook Pro. That model looks like it is rack mountable, so not sure the best way to make that work. Wonder if they make a small light rack mount system. Something where he can put the laptop on top of the 1/4 rack?
Click to expand...

Motu boxes all have removable rack ears, so you just can take them off and set it on the table next to the laptop. It's also small enough to fit in a soft laptop case as long as the latter's not super small. That's how I carry my 828/Macbook Pro/Glyph FW 800 mini-drive. Still plenty of space left over for the MBP power supply, cables, blank DVD's, etc. too.
 
If he has a MBP then I would highly recommend looking at Boomrecorder. It will work with just about any interface and is very optimized for production recording.

You should also take a look at this site. It has a lot of info on production recording and setups folks are using for shows like the one your friend will be doing.

Boomrecorder LINK.
 
Check out the Zoom R-16 as well it can work as a controller, mixer, recorder, and audio interface. I own two and can record up to 16 tracks simultaneously. Something to consider. They are also battery powered.

Nicole
 
Thanks Ted. Will ask to see how he feels about this option.

Niz2, looks like the Boomrecorder will not be developed anymore. Not sure what interface you have to use for it. Will check out the website for info.

Here is a picture of Ken with kids in Nairobi (he sent it to me this week)
1258572430.jpg


I'm heading out to Nairobi next month to work on a project together,
 
misscc803 said:
Check out the Zoom R-16 as well it can work as a controller, mixer, recorder, and audio interface. I own two and can record up to 16 tracks simultaneously. Something to consider. They are also battery powered.

Nicole
Click to expand...

Just a heads up, The R-16 can only do 44.1 if it's not hooked up to a computer.
 
@ Jordan- yep but if he has a computer I thought he might want to use it to a computer. But still nice machines and audio is very clean.


Nicole
 
misscc803 said:
Check out the Zoom R-16 as well it can work as a controller, mixer, recorder, and audio interface. I own two and can record up to 16 tracks simultaneously. Something to consider. They are also battery powered.
Click to expand...
If you're going to sync the audio, watch out for timing drift on the R16:

http://jamon.name/zoom+r16+timing+drift

I haven't tested this, but the reports of this problem have surfaced from several locations.

As others have suggested, if you're needing that many channels, a good Firewire board (the now-discontinued Alesis MultiMix 8, or similar) and a MBP running BoomRecorder is a pretty good option. - Tim
 
FatDaddy said:
Niz2, looks like the Boomrecorder will not be developed anymore. Not sure what interface you have to use for it. Will check out the website for info.
Click to expand...

Not sure where you got that from? There is a new version in the works that will record video also. It is being actively used on lots of projects and films so?

Well I found out where you might have gotten that from, the store which says he's not selling it anymore. I have an email off to the developer for some clarification. It might just be that the next version which includes video recording and has a new name is what is replacing BR. Or it may be another fine outfit trashed by the current depression.

I use it with a 12 channel Alesis board but a lot of production folks are using it wit MOTU interfaces. The Alesis is a great deal for the $ but I don't think it's robust enough to be dragging around in the field a lot and it wants AC power. I use it for concerts and conferences etc., pretty stable and "safe" environments. I've also used BR with an M-Box2.
Cheers
SK
 
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Speaking of Motu

Recently I purchased a Motu Traveler Mk3. This has only 4 preamps, but can be ganged with an additional unit I believe. Although similar to the other Motu boxes, the Traveler is designed more as a field unit in combo with a laptop and can be bus powered if need be. The Traveler plays nice with Apple stuff if that matters. So far, this has been a pretty good option.

Grant
 
@TimTheFoolMan yeah that is stated in the Zoom manual(small print). I haven't yet to have any major time sync issues but it can go off time. I recorded for an hour and machine 1 got ahead of machine 2 by a few minutes.

Nicole
 
misscc803 said:
I haven't yet to have any major time sync issues but it can go off time. I recorded for an hour and machine 1 got ahead of machine 2 by a few minutes.

Nicole
Click to expand...

I would call a few minutes over an hour a Major sync issue. A couple of frames over an hour is a big issue, 60+ frames is completely unusable. That is in the neighborhood of a 1% drift, I have an old cassette deck that does better than that.
 
@Noiz2 maybe I'm not understanding you or I possibly wrote it wrong. I was recording fine on sync for an hour with no issues and as it got closer to an hour and like 5 minutes machine 1 was up just a minute or 2. But this was recording something that went on for hours. I'm pretty sure if it was shorter(5-10 minutes) it would be ok. I mean it worked for me. But yea.


Nicole
 
Actually from the linked site it looks like the drift is a lot less than "a few minutes", as in probably closer to 5-7 frames, but that is Way too much for sync work. Also, and worse, it's not a consistent drift so you can't "fix it in post" by stretching it globally. You will have to go cut to cut and tweak each by eye. The drift in 15 min ranged from 38.8 ms to 106.7 or 275% variation between different 15 min sections.
 
misscc803 said:
@Noiz2 maybe I'm not understanding you or I possibly wrote it wrong. I was recording fine on sync for an hour with no issues and as it got closer to an hour and like 5 minutes machine 1 was up just a minute or 2. But this was recording something that went on for hours. I'm pretty sure if it was shorter(5-10 minutes) it would be ok. I mean it worked for me. But yea.


Nicole
Click to expand...

That sounds strange. For an hour they were in sync and then in the next five minutes one dropped two minutes? That would either have one machine stopping for a few minutes or one sounding either very chipmunky or very s-l-o-wwww. Either way what happened to you is drastically different from what is posted on the site.

And I would be very curious how sound being out of sync by two minutes would translate to "worked for me"? Even at 5-10 min takes you would be off by a frame or more by the end. That is really unacceptable for sync sound. If your not recording sync to picture you could get away with it but the musicians can probably hear that much pitch shift so ...
 
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