Unsure what to get. $2500 budget for starter audio kit.

mandrean said:
That's what I want to know. Is the control on the R-44 enough for field mixing or not?

4ch -20 dBu line out.

Thanks again.
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-20dBu? That is a weird number. The line out should be either -10dBV or +4 dBu. I don't have a converter handy but it looks like that would be a very low level for a line out.

Will it work as a mixer? I kind of doubt it. But that may also depend on what you are calling a mixer. Conventionally a mixer mixes and as far as I can tell the R-44 doesn't mix. You have four ins and four outs so you should be able to use the outs as "direct outs" and feed the four channels to something that can record four channels but there is no mixing going on. So if what you mean when you say mixer translates to four mic pres then yes. If you men act like an actual mixer then no.

So no mixing. No panning, to EQ, no routing and your outs are RCA jacks, not a good choice.

Also like the FR2 you have limited and hard to read at a glance meters. And it has really bad battery life.
 
Yes, -20dBu (-22 dBV?)


After much thinking, I will probably go with the SD MixPre-D.

Is the new MixPre-D worth the premium price over the older MixPre?
 
mandrean said:
Yes, -20dBu (-22 dBV?)

Is the new MixPre-D worth the premium price over the older MixPre?
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Premium price? It's just $100 more, or 100/650 = 15% more. And you'll get tons of recording options difficult or inconvenient to get with the old MixPre. Even if it's priced 50% more over the old one's, I'd still buy it without hesitation. And note I already have a DR-680 in my bag that works fine.
 
Mixer = smart move. When I began collecting sound gear as a noob (now I'm only half noob), I really choked hard to spend the $$ for a SD mixer. After having one for several years, it is the last piece of gear I would get rid of. Though you have to have someway to record, a mixer is IMHO, the heart and soul of audio.

Grant
 
ggrantly said:
Mixer = smart move. When I began collecting sound gear as a noob (now I'm only half noob), I really choked hard to spend the $$ for a SD mixer. After having one for several years, it is the last piece of gear I would get rid of. Though you have to have someway to record, a mixer is IMHO, the heart and soul of audio.

Grant
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Interesting you say this - I bought a good mixer about 8 years ago and have never had an occasion where I actually needed to use it.

I have never needed more tracks than the recorder had - and I often took the mixer with me to site, so it was there if I needed it, I just never needed to get it out.
 
John, you seem to have plenty of credentials which means you probably know more than me. But I do know if you are recording direct to cam, the limiters are marginal, there isn't any low cut, trying to ride levels on camera is (very) difficult, and the overall quality of my audio is improved by going "whatever mic" - SD302 - HPX170 line in. I have less to say about bag recording as I am just getting my kit fully assembled, but it would seem to be a similar circumstance. Could you describe what kind of kit you take to the field where a mixer wouldn't be an advantage?

Grant
 
John Willett said:
Interesting you say this - I bought a good mixer about 8 years ago and have never had an occasion where I actually needed to use it.

I have never needed more tracks than the recorder had - and I often took the mixer with me to site, so it was there if I needed it, I just never needed to get it out.
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This is why this list is actually a good resource, if you can wade through all the different opinions.
It all depends on what your doing and how you like to work. I have the MixPre (OP if you want to buy the MixPreD and trade down let me know, I'll double the difference) and I use it EVERY time and I'm almost always recording stereo. I'm also probably 90% recording FX not production. If I was using a SD recorder I probably wouldn't have it as the front end but I would still have it around. If your going to camera the limiters will save your butt. Many recorders have not very good limiters and the roll off is also iffy, depending on the make. The MixPre has made everything I put behind it sound better so... YMMV.

The weakness with books and videos is that you only really get one point of view. If it fits what you want to do great, if not... well your kind of SOL.

The hard part for someone starting out now is you get the chance to get a lot of stuff before you have time to figure out what your point of view is. And of course the temptation is to buy "the best". The catch is that there isn't a "best", but a bunch of "best for ...". A lot of the "for..." is very personal so all a newcomer can really do is try to find folks who seem to be doing what you want to do and find out what they think.
 
ggrantly said:
John, you seem to have plenty of credentials which means you probably know more than me. But I do know if you are recording direct to cam, the limiters are marginal, there isn't any low cut, trying to ride levels on camera is (very) difficult, and the overall quality of my audio is improved by going "whatever mic" - SD302 - HPX170 line in. I have less to say about bag recording as I am just getting my kit fully assembled, but it would seem to be a similar circumstance. Could you describe what kind of kit you take to the field where a mixer wouldn't be an advantage?

Grant
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If you are recording audio to camera I would agree with you.

I record to a Nagra VI which has better pre-amps than any mixer short of a top-end one costing many many thousands.

I can record 8 channels at once on this.

At the low cost end, the Tascam DR-680 can do a similar number of tracks.

Then you edit in post.
 
mandrean said:
Yes, -20dBu (-22 dBV?)
Click to expand...

What the heck is that supposed to interface with? That is an extremely low line level or a VERY hot mic.

I'm constantly amazed at the arbitrary choices companies make. I'm sure thee is a rationale, there always is. Like consumer CD players with their -7 "line level out" so they will play hotter. Until the customer turns it down...?
 
John Willett said:
I record to a Nagra VI which has better pre-amps than any mixer short of a top-end one costing many many thousands.
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Ah, you dog you. We have a Nagra V also and if I'm using that yes indeed I don't have the MixPre in the front. The only downside to the Nagra V is weight, with a battery it around 15 lbs and 12 - 15 hours over the shoulder and your in pain. Sounds great though.

I crashed the hard drive once recording F14's. The low end just made it shut down. One point for flash recorders!
 
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