Ira Seigel

Thanks for these replies, guys.

My experience with a DNS 8live so far has been extremely positive. My usage so far has been to use the AES outs of Sennheiser receivers as inputs to the Cedar. Outputs from the Cedar into a Yamaha Rivage for live mixing in a very ambient symphony hall.

I've double-patched both the analog outputs straight from the Sennheiser receivers and the AES outputs from the Sennheiser/Cedar chain into the Rivage, just in case there were problems with the Cedar.

So far, the unit has performed splendidly. The amount of the room ambience being picked up by the mics - dynamic and condenser wireless mics - is has been dramatically reduced. Cleaner audio coming out of the PA and much improved gain before feedback in stage monitors. And these are the results while keeping the Cedar in "Learn" mode. I haven't delved into the manual settings yet. Overall, so far I'm very pleased with the purchase.

Ira

I’m interested in the Cedar units - particular their 8Live - for some projects. I’m disappointed that Cedar Audio’s User Manual or website doesn’t have some block diagrams or training videos. The only videos I’ve seen are more geared to marketing. Has anyone come across some information for actual usage - suggestions for settings, system setups, before and after sound clips, etc? I’ve seen discussions in other threads here about providing processed and raw tracks for clients, and that info is helpful to me but not quite on the mark for helping me figure out the best ways to integrate a DNS unit into the signal flow.
Thanks.

Hello OB1,

Thanks for your thoughts here.

Yes, for miking orchestras indoors - I usually work for the Seattle Symphony as my day gig - sectional miking is my preferred, with maybe a DPA4099 clip-on on the principals. But when I heard this performance was to be outdoors and the production was carrying SM-57s, I knew that wind and gain-before-feedback would be issues, so my intuition was to get mics as close to the instruments as possible. The very structured time schedule only allowed for 30 mins of soundcheck. With only 6 57s, that would have been more than enough, and I could have sussed out wind and feedback issues without the players on stage. But choosing clip-on mics for everyone necessitated everyone being on stage. My allotted 30 mins was barely enough, with the musicians also being pulled in several different directions in order to soundcheck playing the National Anthem on the soccer field (Lumen Field in Seattle) and hair/makeup/costuming necessities, all of which I usually don't have to deal with when working for the various touring musicians I've worked with over the years.

Next time (?) I'll consider bringing 6 MKH 8040s or KSM137s and my little 6 channel Sonosax mixer, instead of the 58 pounds of mixer/road case, mics, etc., that I loaded onto a bicycle trailer for the short ride to the stadium! And I'll remember that the stock foam windscreens might be good for air conditioning noise, but not for 10mph wind noise.

AND THANK YOU FOR THE WORD OF THE DAY - DUODECET!!

"Cardioid mics are inherently sensitive to wind (and handling) noise"

I did not know this. Thanks for the tip, Rick. I hadn't noticed the Rycotes you mentioned on their website. I'll take a look. Also the Microcats - thanks Syncsound (a fellow Pacific Northwester).

Ira

Recently I was tasked to do a live PA mix for Netflix of a 12-piece string ensemble. In the past, they'd had other engineers use 6 SM-57 on tall booms to mic this orchestra. I decided close-miking for an outdoor venue (a soccer stadium) would be better.

I used various mics in my inventory for the task - Audio Technica AT35 and ATM350, DPA4099 and Countryman. All except the DPAs could be considered lavs, with a diameter of 10mm for ATs and 8mm for the Countryman.

Because this was an outdoor venue and the performance was getting on sunset, the breeze was significant, and my issue was the uselessness of the foam windscreens for all those mics, including the DPAs, in a windy environment. The foam windscreens are OK in varying degrees for plosives but not for actual wind.

In some threads here there is mention of the Bubblebee Windbubbles. These are the only windscreens I can find that are designed for lavs or lav-sized mics. Can anyone comment on the effectiveness of the Windbubbles for this type of application, i.e., close-miking violins, violas, etc with clamp-on or strap-on clips?

Thanks very much,

Ira Seigel in the Pacific Northwest

For anyone that might be interested in this topic, here is the answer to my question from Danny Greenwald at Sound Devices:

Hi Ira,

Thank you for your email. Since the PIX-260i is no longer available, new firmware is no longer being created. Therefore, we can only work with what we currently have. I assume you are recording WAV MONO files so that you can see the track name for each file. Unfortunately, I don't see a more simplified naming convention than what you have mentioned.

If you are recording WAVE POLY, you could use the Scene-Take convention, naming Scene as "Drive 1," but that doesn't help if you have 2 drives recording....

Best regards,

Danny

I am using a Pix 260i as an audio-only recorder. I would like to simplify the file labeling that is used so that each of the tracks has the drive number and the track label, without options for scenes, reels, takes, etc.  In PixNet (or otherwise) is there a way to add a File Name Format option so that I only have the information I need?  As it exists on my machine, there's only one option that includes Track Name, but it also contains Reel-Scene-Take which is unnecessary and confusing when I'm transferring files and handing them off to a client.

TIA,

Ira

Hi. Does anyone know if these are being made by someone? NOLAfishwater's email address is kaputski.

Thanks,

Ira

7 hours ago, sciproductions said:

Is this for using in a sound bag or just for transportation?

 

Because its a rack mount recorder (generally speaking), there won't be any bags that will actually fit it properly. But looking at its specs it is roughly the same height as a SD 788T with CL/8. So maybe look in that direction and get it customized.

Sorry I wasn't clear. This would be for transportation only, not operating the recorder in the case/bag.

Thanks for the suggestion on the 788T/CL8. Great idea!

7 hours ago, IronFilm said:

Why not get one of those 2RU bag/racks? The SD970 would fit perfectly on one side, leaving the other half free to store whatever else you need. 

I have one of these 2U Gator bags laying around somewhere. I'll check it out. Plenty of room for a (Dante) switch, mini-keyboard, cans, too. Cheers.

I'd like to find a bag (preferably) or case for one of these Sound Devices recorders, plus its AC power supply. I've looked through the usual culprits - PortaBrace, K-Tek, Orca - but I couldn't find anything that looks like it would fit. Anyone have a suggestion?

Thanks.

What a great discussion! Thank you for the great read.

I discovered "Dark" way before I joined this forum. Because I didn't want to disturb my wife while watching it, I used my IEMs instead of my 9.1 system. Everything about the production was A++, the sound panorama was amazing as were those weird and ominous synth music FX. (I believe some of those same synth patches were used on a Norwegian show I just watched called "Equinox".)

Now I'll have to go back and listen again to the original soundtrack - maybe with my full speaker system - to be able to enjoy Matthias' work more completely. Money Heist, too, which we can't wait for a Season 4.

THANK YOU from the consumer side of the world.

I have been a big Eva Cassidy fan for a while. I believe that recording was made in my hometown, Washington, DC?

Can I ask why you posted this? Are you associated in some way with the production? Was it the anniversary of the recording sessions?

A.K.A. "Chinese handcuffs"

I'm coming a little late to this party, but I tried streaming Tenet a few days ago and after 15 minutes I gave up. I could hardly understand a word of the story. With such a hyped film, I was expecting to at least be able to hear the dialog.  I don't even know or care what the rest of the film contains. I've liked a lot of his stuff, but this one was unwatchable.

I think the only reason to record to a Poly WAV file is that it's a lot easier to delete! I was hoping that PIXNET would allow a deletion of multiple files at a time, but it doesn't. Is there any way you've found to delete tracks other than one-at-a-time, which is VERY cumbersome, AND you have to do it to all your drives.  What's the secret you've discovered?

I won't do the eSATA-to-USB adapter cable. Not worth the risk.

Thanks,

Ira

Thanks! This is all great info. Much appreciated. A couple of questions:

I’m guessing that when you said you hadn’t used an externally powered drive from the eSATA port, you meant that you’ve only used the port to power the drive, not a drive powered by a wall wart. Is that right?
 

How are you deriving your inputs? Dante?

Are you recording to 2 drives simultaneously, with one as a backup?
About how many tracks, on average, are you recording during a concert?
I’m just curious what is the output voltage of your main AC power supply. Mine is 12v, which is at the very low end of the 10-27v the recorder wants. When recording to 2 drives, I’m wondering if a 12v power supply is adequate.

EDIT

I forgot one question. Any reason an eSATA to USB-C cable can’t be used to record to the newer SSDs from Sandisk, etc?

Could someone please offer some opinion or advice on the advantages or disadvantages of recording audio only using a drive mounted to a PIX-Caddy vs via the eSATA port?

Thanks Patrick and Doc. I appreciate your insights and suggestions. Wired certainly seems the most practical and foolproof. And I hadn't considered PIXNET. I'll check out that option. Cheers!

I'm hoping to use a wired or wireless keyboard with these Sound Devices recorders to help with track labeling and other functions that are slower to do with the OSD. Has anyone had success with a mini or foldable USB keyboard, or a Bluetooth keyboard using a dongle?

Trey, Dane Lonsdale in the forum here is a great source for info on the SX-ST. I almost bought his a few months ago. I know he told me that the pres, EQ and limiters in the SX-ST were "superior" to those in the SX-S. Fabrice Junod at SONOSAX said that the ST pres were the next evolution up from the SX-S. Geoff Maxwell (here in this forum, as well??) likes the faders in the SX-ST much more than in the SX-S, but he said he likes those in the ES best. Write to those guys for their first-hand opinions. My only experience is with 2 SX-S8s, and I really like them for live concert mixing.

Hi Brian,

Thanks very much for your response here. Yeah, every day or so I check in on this board, notice another "view" or 2 on my post, but no replies. So THANK YOU!

I'm glad to know that you, too, know the difference between variant 212 and 214 of the Input Module. Yes, the gray vs red button is one indicator; also the recessed Pan and Aux Send pots are another indicator of the 214.  But then the wonderful part, of course, is when you open up the unit and see those 3 great S4, S5 and S8 switches. And the S4, as you mentioned, in effect chooses between POP and no pop at the outputs, which is exactly what I want for live mixing with the SX-S.

Glen Trew recommended I take a look at the SX-ST and even the new ES mixers, but, and correct me please if I'm wrong, upon looking at closeups of the modules, I don't think there's an "off" button on either model, much less a Mute button. So I think the 214 modules of the SX-S might be the ONLY way I can get the function I need.

I got a reply from Jacques Sax last week. He says they'll check to see if they have any in storage. Fingers crossed!!

Cheers,

Ira Seigel

I'm told that there are 3 different variants of input modules for the SX-S, and maybe others. There is a Model 211, 212, and 214, according to Adam at Liberman Sound. I just purchased an SX-S8 from Trew, and I'm fortunate (?) to have all 3 of these variants in my mixer. The only distinguishing feature seems to be the switches at the top of the module for phantom power, or lack thereof.

But I have seen photos of SX-S mixers in which there are no insert or direct out jacks on the back of the modules. Can anyone tell me about these modules? Are they common? Any idea what model number they are?

Thanks,

Ira

On 9/30/2019 at 6:50 PM, Mike Sexton said:

Ira I’m so glad she founded new life 😊👍

 

i never had much of a need for the mute switch in production mixing (but those faders were sooo nice). Those momentary PFL switches got alot of use as you can tell by the worn rubber tips. Both your ideas would make for great mods, but maybe not cost effective.

 

I found my original Operators Manual, circa 1999.

if you’d like for me to mail it to you,

pm me your address.

 

enjoy the Cooper!

 

Hi Mike,

Received! Many thanks for your time and trouble to send it to me.

Regards,

Ira Seigel

I have to say that in all my years mixing REO Speedwagon or Barry Manilow or etc, I never had to deal with any of these problems.

ira

On 9/29/2019 at 2:38 PM, TVPostSound said:

This is about indoor shotguns!!

 

But since you brought it up, as a re-recording mixer, I cant stand the way lavs sound!!

Boom me up Scotty!!!

My understanding of the OP’s question was basically - how do you get a mic close enough to the talent to minimize room ambience. One solution, obviously, is to get the actual mic element as close as possible to the talker, and not bother with overly technical mic choices and kludgy workarounds. A lav is one of those simple solutions. I apologize, however, for not intuiting that the talent was on camera.