Max Futterman

That's never happened, you lucky SOB.

I agree with Jeff. That said, the brightness mod requires a hardware update that can be done at the factory or at the dealer, the slate function for deletion was changed to lessen the possibility of operator error.

I don't ask, I would never accept it if someone offered me a cut. You pass me a job, next time I get double booked, I give you a job. If I don't get double booked for a while, you at least get a very sincere Thank You from me. But no cuts.

Love it. Such a tough decision for people who don't already own one or the other.

Just sayin'.

http://www.zaxcom.com/forum/showthread.php?16777-Nomad-Firmware-4.01-available-here

If you're recording any sounds at 137dB, I hope you have some serious ear protection!

Had some stuff for next week that got pushed back because of the storm, so now I'm available and looking to fill in some days. Happy to cover anyone or A2. Contact: Max Futterman (347) 525-7016 maxfutterman@gmail.com

Laser turntable or Sound Kit... Laser turntable or Sound Kit...

"Do you guys regret having to sorta slowly upgrade or do you wish you could have just bought everything that is the level of professionalism you grew to obtain after working to upgrade things. Is it better to take baby steps or just make a bigger, riskier, initial leap for more eventual gain?" I for one took a jump when I was starting out (and living with my parents) and bought a used FR-2, Wendt X4, a pair of used Lectros, Brand New Boompole and 416, later a Schoeps 441. I think it all came out to around 10k, and I honestly wish I had waited until I had learned what I know now about negotiating rates before making that purchase! Bought with leftover college money, I think it took the better part of a year to replenish it. So I wish I did things differently, but it all worked out in the end, so who really knows which would have been the smarter approach for me? Also, I managed to resell the used CMC4 and Wendt X4 recently at about a %30 loss on each give or take, which is a far better return than a lot of camera gear or just about any expensive computer. Something else to consider. High quality gear holds its value very well so if you find you are not making back your investment on anything, it should be pretty easy to unload.

To each his own. Crussel's philosophy makes sense, but this is a business investment and most businesses accrue a little debt getting started. That is, after all, what debt is for.

With a nomad or 664 and the rig you are looking into, I would recommend a hawk woods and NP1 batteries and charger. With the IDX N7, I can get 6 or 7 hours powering 2 Lectros and one boom on phantom plus the Nomad. I've never gone through more than one and a half batteries in a day.

According to him, he gets "better gigs." So I guess his rate is $175.

Nomad's fader nobs are silver. You can kill werewolves with them.

Have you had the Phantom Latching fix done? I used to have that issue on occasion pre fix.

Better yet, check in direct sunlight!

And if you really want a thorough test, you have to record a lot of different things. Male and female voices obviously. Quiet SFX such as leaves rolling, loud SFX such as a car horn... For our purposes, voices will probably be enough.

Who cares? You're their all time best seller!

I'm pretty sure that's a typo.

No problem. I would also add to that comparison that at the Gotham presentation, Jon was strongly advocating the 664s input limiters, while Nomad's NeverClip™ renders input limiters unnecessary (though the track and output limiters are still very useful). The option is there though. I don't have enough experience with Sound Devices recorders to comment reasonably on both approaches. However, reputation dictates that both machines sound excellent along the Input Stage.

Too much faith in the Cult Of Pluraleyes these days...

And yet we still call it the gas pedal. Change is inevitable, but nomenclature is eternal.

If you can slate I always push for slating. Post is happy. For run and gun where you can't slate, a lockit or SB3 is your best friend.

As a Nomad user who attended Gotham's demo of the unit, I'll post my observations here. Nomad's card routing is far more flexible. 664 has 4 dedicated mix tracks that you can configure to your heart's content, but 6 dedicated ISO tracks that only correspond to their associated input. All of the Nomad's tracks are infinitely configurable so you could have 4 mix and 6 ISOs, or 9 mix tracks and 1 ISO (though I'm not sure why you'd want that, but you have the option). 664 without the CL-6 has 6 direct outputs for each input, which Nomad does not. Though could configure any of the Nomad's 6 balanced output busses to route individual inputs prefade if you wanted to. It seems the 664 was built more with the option of sending the ISOs to another recorder as well as mix outs to camera. Both recorders feature a plethora of output busses, so configuring your various camera sends shouldn't be an issue on either machine. 664 has analogue variable High-Pass Filters, while Nomad's are digital. Nomad also has 2 variable notch filters per input. I will say that having a pot is faster than pressing the Setup Button, the corresponding input and then selecting the HPF option. 664 has variable pans while Nomad has hard pans. 664 has dedicated trim pots while Nomad has the Autotrim feature. Once you get used to Autotrim, there doesn't seem to be any advantage to dedicated trim pots. Though I'm sure people who are used to working with SD recorders will find that a welcome feature of the 664. Nomad's faders and trims are all digital while 664s are analogue. In practical terms, 664's faders and trims are hardwired to their corresponding outputs while Nomad's are infinitely configurable. You can set Fader one on your Nomad to control the fade on inputs 1, 3, and 5 if you wanted and input 2 could be set to control the trim on and input. By default, Nomad's faders are routed to their associated inputs so as long as you don't change those settings, there is no chance for operator error. Personally, I have not encountered a need for this feature, but it's there and worth mentioning. From my eye, the screen on the 664 is slightly bigger. The menu on the 664 seemed pretty intuitive, as is the menu on the Nomad. However, I'd give the 664 points with their metadata management. There are more options with the current software than there are with the current Nomad software, namely circling takes and having changes instantly reflected on both cards after recording. On Nomad, that process is currently a bit roundabout, basically disabling mirroring then setting the Start Segment back to whatever one you made changes on, then re-enabling mirroring. 664 also has preset notes for metadata already built in. I know that Howy has been working on that with future Nomad software, but I can't compare what I haven't seen, so for now I'd give points to SD in the metadata department. The one advantage Nomad has there is that when you hold menu, you can scroll the keyboard vertically instead of horizontally. 664 is stuck with horizontal keyboard scrolling. Enabling tracks in Nomad involves enabling the record tracks in the Main Menu, then going into the Bus Routing Menu and configuring your tracks. Tracks that are not enabled on Nomad have a line through them on the Card Metering screen. On 664, you have to arm the tracks and then configure which tracks are routed to which cards. However, the 664 screen only indicates which tracks are ARMED, not what is being recorded to each card. That increases the likelihood of operator error, and 664 users need to be vigilant about checking those settings. Also, I'd argue Nomad users need to be vigilant about checking their Routing in the Bus menu as that is one area very susceptible to operator error. Both units have robust headphone monitoring options and infinitely configurable presets. Changing monitoring on Nomad (once the settings are configured) involves pressing the Back/Headphone button repeatedly until you get to the right one. On 664, you press the HP button and scroll to the appropriate choice. Nomad's meters are dBFS scale, 664's are dBu. Nomad is about a pound lighter and slightly smaller. 664 has the inputs on the side, Nomad recessed in the back. 664's solution I'd consider an advantage if you have to swap cables constantly, whereas Nomad's saves a lot of bag space. Nomad records to dual CF cards, one in the MARF system and one in bwavs. 664 records to one CF and one SD card, both in either bwav or MP3 files. 664's file management system is more sophisticated in that you can edit and delete individual files on either card. On Nomad, you can decide what gets mirrored on each card, overwrite files if you change metadata or mirror track count, and format the card. 664 has AES in and outputs. Nomad Lite does not, but 10 and 12 do (for more money of course). Nomad has the visual slate, which is VERY useful for run and gun situations. Nomad can record up to 96khz Sample rate, 664 48.08khz. You can plug a Mix-8 into Nomad. There is no announced linear fader option for 664. Recording on the Nomad (assuming you are using default settings) involves holding the TC button for one second. 664 has the joystick similar to the 552, though you get a nice big button if you purchase the CL-6 664 can have the CL-6 added on which adds 6 line level inputs on Ta3 and enables up to 16 tracks (4 mix, 12 ISOs), as well as the aforementioned big record button and LED meters for the mix track. Nomad Lite can be upgraded to the Nomad 10 which enables AES and built in Zaxnet and IFB. It can be further upgraded to the 12 for 12 tracks. Upcoming features of the Nomad include Automix, USB and MicroSD recording, MP3 recording, better metadata management and keyboard support for the Nomad 12 (and 8 ). 664 has keyboard support right out of the factory. I think I got all the major feature differences between the two units. I'd conclude that both machines are excellent and will find many happy users.

Even if their sound person didn't bring a spare #&$~ing xlr cable for some reason, you really couldn't send someone to a local radio shack for a cheap xlr?