Multi-track recording options
- Thread starter FatDaddy
- Start date
I've tested a bunch of these and they all have strong and weak points. When I'm travelling, I take as many RME octamics as I need channels, e.g., 3 Octamics for big stuff, one or two for smaller stuff. One of the main reasons is that I can not only use any power supply I want. even just pull one from a laptop, but the 150 cycle circuitry is hum free, and hum is a problem on location. The Mackie Onyx 8 channel firewire interface is also a very good box, I can't stand Mackie but that is a very flexible, well made machine with great preamps. A tad heavy, however. The Grace 8 channel sounds amazing, but it is expensive.
As opposed to two years ago, there are now a lot of boxes that have decent preamps, so it is now starting to come down to reliability and features. For me, the hum and uneven voltage, bad wiring, etc, are problems I encounter all the time. Gear failure is usually more expensive than gear.
As opposed to two years ago, there are now a lot of boxes that have decent preamps, so it is now starting to come down to reliability and features. For me, the hum and uneven voltage, bad wiring, etc, are problems I encounter all the time. Gear failure is usually more expensive than gear.
The price range for a project like this could go all over the map, anything from $1000 to well over $10,000.
The cheapest solution I'd recommend would be Gallery's Metacorder (roughly $1500 from most big-city pro sound dealers), at this link. That plus a Mac laptop and a firewire-equipped mixer work fine, but you'll also need an external timecode source in order to lock to camcorders. My preference there is for the Denecke GR-1.
Most sitcoms I've worked on in the last ten years (including Will & Grace, That 70s Show, Third Rock from the Sun, Two and a Half Men, etc.) all used DA88 as an 8-track multi-track machine, usually split between a mono production mix, boom 1, boom 2, effects, music (rarely), and stereo audience.
My preference nowadays would be for either Sound Devices' 788T or a Deva 5.8 or Fusion, along with an outboard mixer. The 788T is down to under $6000 new, which is a bargain. Good studio digital mixers are plentiful; many of the above shows were recorded with the venerable Yamaha 03D (well under $1000 used on eBay) or 01X, or the newer DM1000.
--Marc W.
Ted Spencer
Veteran
Hey Marc, I see you're new here. Welcome! :beer:
PS: good info!
PS: good info!
Cedric Akins
Well-known member
If you are still looking at recorders and you want an inexpensive unit look at the Zoom H4N. You can record 4 channels of 24-bit/96kHz audio simultaneously.
Matt Gottshalk
Resident Preditor
He needs 8 channels.
I have used boom recorder and a firepod interface to do 8 channels EASY on a powerbook G4
JordanBlock
Well-known member
Correct me if I'm wrong, but in 4ch mode, the H4n can record 2 external sources, and then the built-in mics.
@JordanBlock-which is still 4 channels. 2 external mics and internal mics would still be only 4. Besides he would need something better than the Zoom for his application. They may request TC which the Zoom doesn't offer. I'm not knocking the zoom cause i have the Zoom H4(original) and the machine works great but I use that on smaller projects where there is maybe just a boom or two booms.
Nicole
Nicole
JordanBlock
Well-known member
Yeah, I'm aware he needs more than the Zoom, I was just pointing out that while they advertise it as a 4-track recorder, in reality it's only useful as a 2-track.
TimTheFoolMan
Well-known member
Actually, you can feed an 1/8" stereo (mic-level) signal into the jack below the built-in mics for recording 4 external sources. I did this recently, padding down the outputs of a couple of wireless lavs, and then feeding the XLR inputs from a pair of boomed Oktava 012's. - Tim
JordanBlock
Well-known member
That makes it a little more useful then. From reading the manual, I was under the impression that that 1/8" mic jack on the back was for the same channels as the combo jacks.
Wow Scott, your set up sounds really familiar.
BTW, Take has discontinued development of Boom Recorder, and is actively developing his new product. But, you can still buy the existing version, which will not work with the latest version of MacOS (I've lost track, I think it's Snow Leopard).
Phil