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Sound Devices Mix Pre-3 and Mix Pre-6


afewmoreyears

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On 12/21/2017 at 1:26 AM, mjw353 said:

It appears, that when MS linking is enabled, the MixPre6 ( fw: 1.5.2 ) is recording the decoded mid-side signal to the ISOs as well as to the main LR mix channels.

According to the MixPre manual, it should leave the ISOs in MS format.

 

Hello M,

 

My Mixpre-3 functions as you describe, but I can't see the problem: if I am recording MS linked I want LR stereo on ISOs and on the main mix and likewise MS on both if recording MS unlinked and simply monitoring as LR stereo on headphones. If it only decoded MS to the mix then you would have issues if recording other channels at the same time, and plenty of scope for confusion. Looking at the Mixpre-6 manual (in case there is a difference) I can't see where it states that the ISOs will remain if MS linking and, indeed, I can't see how the gain staging with linking option (p. 21) would work: please could you clarify?

 

Cheers,

 

Roland

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On December 20, 2017 at 5:26 PM, mjw353 said:

Hello Everyone,

 

First time posting. Actually first time with a question worth posting:

 

I've just acquired a new Mid-Side setup (4017b + CCM8) and have run a few tests over the last few days.

It appears, that when MS linking is enabled, the MixPre6 ( fw: 1.5.2 ) is recording the decoded mid-side signal to the ISOs as well as to the main LR mix channels.

According to the MixPre manual, it should leave the ISOs in MS format.

 

Anyone else have a similar experience?

I called SD, it was the first they've had a report of this. They're looking into it.

 

FWIW:

If no linking is selected, everything works as one would expect. ( HP preset to decode MS also functions correctly ) 

 

Cheers,

-m

 

I've had the same experience on my Mixpre 10, and to answer the comment above, it's good to have the option of having EITHER "undecoded M/S" or "decoded XY from M/S" on the ISO's.  There are times when both ways are useful.  If just doing stereo recordings, its nice to have the ST outs as decoded regular stereo, and have the ISOs undecoded for later processing if required.

 

 

I find the Mix Pre series has other strange Mid Side issues.  Like having the gain trims linked, which would cause problems if you were to use mics with different gain structures and needed to balance them with the trims.  I've also talked to SD, so your report should not have been the first.

I think the M/S implementation on all the Mixpres needs further work!

 

Cheers,

Brent Calkin

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I agree Freeheel,

having the option to keep the M/S ISOs in their original format would be preferred.

 

Throwback,

With the MP6, I'm usually running two stereo pairs in tandem. With the M/S pair, I know I'll be processing the matrix in post, archiving my Polywaves in split pairs. But in the field I would prefer to monitor the decoded M/S mixed with the secondary stereo pair on the main LR bus.

 

FWIW: A double mid side routing option would be a welcomed addition to both the channel linking and HP presets.

 

-m

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As an option having MS ISOs and MS>LR for the mix would be welcome, of course, even if not something that I would use personally: this is rather different than mjw353's first post seemingly wanting this as the only option (and, indeed, suggesting that this was SD's intention and, by implication, another MS bug [there was, of course, a bug in the early firmware relating to use of the pan controls in both MS and stereo linked modes]).

 

Cheers,

 

Roland

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Guys,

 

I wasn’t asking for undecoded MS on the ISOs. I thought that I read that was the factory’s intended functionality ( but for the life of me - I can’t find the section of text in the manual that gave me that impression. )

 

i thought perhaps, it might have been in an earlier manual that I downloaded from SD when the MixPre series was first released, but still can’t find it.

 

weird that the SD support guy  confirmed to me over the phone that undecoded ISOs were what should be happening. He did say he would check with engineering however.

 

regardless, having the option of selecting either would be preferred & cover all uses.

 

Cheers,

-m

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On 12/16/2017 at 12:04 PM, chrismedr said:

 

might be worth noting that davinci resolve has support for audio LTC, so you can sync with that and export as XML/AAF to pretty much any other editor of choice.


I was fussing around DaVinci Resolve and Aux TC a few days ago, and yup, shouldn't have used that to export it to another editor!

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I'm trying to wrap my head around signal routing in the MixPre 3, and would appreciate it if someone could confirm this for me before I purchase:

 

Is it possible to have channels 1-3 iso'd and not sent to the L-R mix (faders at ∞), while routing channels 4-5 to the L-R mix- essentially turning the L/R into isos? I might eventually need more than three inputs and this seems to be difficult with the MixPre 3.

 

My thought was that I could get the MixPre 3 now and add an external submixer if I need more inputs later. But the more I look at the routing, it seems like I should go for the MixPre 6. It would provide six inputs as-is or four plus an external submixer later, all iso'd.

 

I'm trying to keep costs down, but I don't want to hamstring myself in the future. Any thoughts are appreciated!

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2 hours ago, Allen Rowand said:

I'm trying to wrap my head around signal routing in the MixPre 3, and would appreciate it if someone could confirm this for me before I purchase:

 

Is it possible to have channels 1-3 iso'd and not sent to the L-R mix (faders at ∞), while routing channels 4-5 to the L-R mix- essentially turning the L/R into isos? I might eventually need more than three inputs and this seems to be difficult with the MixPre 3.

 

My thought was that I could get the MixPre 3 now and add an external submixer if I need more inputs later. But the more I look at the routing, it seems like I should go for the MixPre 6. It would provide six inputs as-is or four plus an external submixer later, all iso'd.

 

I'm trying to keep costs down, but I don't want to hamstring myself in the future. Any thoughts are appreciated!

 

No this is not possible. On the MixPre-3 you only have 3 inputs available at a time. In order to use the aux inputs, those channels must be assigned to one of the three faders first, replacing the xlr input on that channel. They can be iso'd or sent to the mix from there. 

 

The MixPre-6 can record all 6 inputs and the L-R mix simultaneously. 

 

-Mike

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4 hours ago, Mobilemike said:

 

No this is not possible. On the MixPre-3 you only have 3 inputs available at a time. In order to use the aux inputs, those channels must be assigned to one of the three faders first, replacing the xlr input on that channel. They can be iso'd or sent to the mix from there. 

 

The MixPre-6 can record all 6 inputs and the L-R mix simultaneously. 

 

-Mike

 

That settles that, thanks!

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  • 4 weeks later...

MixPre 3 setup

I got the MixPre 3 for small jobs and wanted a fixed setup.

An SRb with battery sled is attached to the top via the 1/4 inch MixPre3 screw. The leads have Remote Audio right angle XLRs going into the MixPre 3 inputs 1 and 3 and Lectro Ratpac right angle TA3s coming out of the SRb. Input 2 is used for boom or other wired mic. An Ambient NanoLockit is velcroed next to the SRb. The whole thing fits neatly into a ThinkTank Wireless bag that fits on my belt. Works pretty well on a couple of jobs I have done.

Back.jpg

Bag.jpg

Front.jpg

Inputside.jpg

Outputside.jpg

P1000349.JPG

Top.jpg

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22 hours ago, Allen Rowand said:

From the "I can't believe it took me this long to think of this" department:

 

Found a rubber grommet that fits the encoder shaft- now I can turn the encoder with one finger. There's enough clearance underneath to push the encoder in.

 

IMG_20180131_162025.jpg

Nice! 

 

Do you remember the size of the grommet that fits?

 

-Mike

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On 1/23/2018 at 11:49 PM, KRF said:

MixPre 3 setup

I got the MixPre 3 for small jobs and wanted a fixed setup.

An SRb with battery sled is attached to the top via the 1/4 inch MixPre3 screw. The leads have Remote Audio right angle XLRs going into the MixPre 3 inputs 1 and 3 and Lectro Ratpac right angle TA3s coming out of the SRb. Input 2 is used for boom or other wired mic. An Ambient NanoLockit is velcroed next to the SRb. The whole thing fits neatly into a ThinkTank Wireless bag that fits on my belt. Works pretty well on a couple of jobs I have done.

Back.jpg

Bag.jpg

Front.jpg

Inputside.jpg

Outputside.jpg

P1000349.JPG

Top.jpg

 

Very nice!

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1 hour ago, nevo said:

Is anyone using the unbalanced 3.5mm output to 2x TA5f and into lectro TX..... If so ,Does it work ok,interference wise


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I used the x1/x2 3.5 output to a Lectro Tx for IFBs on a 5 day shoot and they sounded fine. no problems with interference

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On 23/01/2018 at 1:49 PM, KRF said:

MixPre 3 setup

I got the MixPre 3 for small jobs and wanted a fixed setup.

An SRb with battery sled is attached to the top via the 1/4 inch MixPre3 screw. The leads have Remote Audio right angle XLRs going into the MixPre 3 inputs 1 and 3 and Lectro Ratpac right angle TA3s coming out of the SRb. Input 2 is used for boom or other wired mic. An Ambient NanoLockit is velcroed next to the SRb. The whole thing fits neatly into a ThinkTank Wireless bag that fits on my belt. Works pretty well on a couple of jobs I have done.

Back.jpg

Bag.jpg

Front.jpg

Inputside.jpg

Outputside.jpg

P1000349.JPG

Top.jpg

Very nice! Gotta say I'm tempted to pick one up myself for an ultra light rig...

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  • 3 weeks later...

back to the MS convo, it appears the latest firmware update v1.53 states under fixed "Incorrect gain values when channels are MS linked"   So I can only assume that the ISO's are still being recorded as decoded LR file when linked ?  To me this doesn't make sense since you already have the LR record bus for that option.  So you end up loosing the ability to monitor / preview a raw mid side to see how it's working when recording.

 

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