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Zaxcom Nomad ND4 vs. SD 552 with Zoom H4n ???
- Thread starter galustov
- Start date
Steve House
Veteran
You're comparing apples and oranges here, the Zoom doesn't even come from the same planet the other two do. What's your budget and what are your plans for the kit? Are you putting together a professional level kit to hire yourself out as a freelance location mixer or what?Hi, looking for a mixer and recorder to record sound for documentaries and ENG and am on a budget. What would you choose and why? Thanks! m
Note that if you elect to go with the SD 552 you ought to add an external recorder such as the 744t as well - I know it has stereo recording built-in but that is intended for dailies and transcription copies, not production sound. For serious location work you need to be able to record iso tracks from each mic as well as the rough on-location stereo mix. The problem with recording the stereo mix as your only production sound is you can't un-mix it. If it doesn't sound right when you're reviewing it in the leisure of the post suite there's nothing you can do about it. The Zaxcom is a hybrid with both the mixer and a multi-track recorder in the same box. So when you compare cost, compare the 552+744t with the Nomad 4 or 6. Toss in a couple of H4n's to use as audio sketchbooks, backup, or plant recorders, but if you're going pro, maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't even consider showing up on-set with Zooms as my primary recording device.
Awesome, thanks Steve. I'm planning to hire myself out as a freelance mixer, so far i did two documentary projects using a rented SD302 and my Zoom. I used 1/4 TRS ins and it worked OK. I didn't need to record more than two channels though. I'd like to buy my own mixer and recorder but I'm not ready to spend more than 4K on this part of the kit at the moment. If I go for SD 552, which I like better, I will consider Zoom as a temporary decision or will rent. But how about cheaper recorders like .... Roland R-4?
Thanks
Thanks