Alex Mitchell

I'm looking to gear up for a feature in late June. I'm guessing they won't be out of beta by then?

I have wanted a Cantar ever since I laid eyes on one but it seemed too heavy to fit my style of bag-work. I've been hoping beyond hope that an X3 would be released with a lighter frame and a few extra ISO tracks because the controls are perfect for winter in Canada, not to mention that the overall design is a work of art.

I was expecting comments on the build quality of the TRX series, and a comparison between the ERXv.1 and the TRX900LA/LT--both of which have been provided. Do you have anything to contribute to that discussion or were you just planning on being a pedant?

LOL, I forgot about the potato canon thing...

C'mon you guys, I don't want this to turn into a Zaxcom bashing thread. I like their products and while I haven't historically been 100% confident with some of them I can see that Glenn and Howey are working their asses off to make stuff that makes our lives a lot easier. I kinda feel like my question has been answered though. Thanks everyone!

Thanks Glenn. I was thinking of having my ERXTCD upgraded to a ERXTCD2 but I'm not sure if I send it to you guys or to Trew in Toronto. I have to get the screen-brightness mod done for my Nomad anyway so I was hoping to do both at once...

Hey guys, I'm gearing up for a feature in June and I need to expand my wireless capabilities. Right now I'm using Lectro and Sennheiser pairs, though I'm obviously very eager to replace the Sennheiser equipment with something much, much better. I am familiar and comfortable with Lectro gear but because I have a Nomad I am intrigued by the extra capabilities I'd have with the QRX and TRX equipment from Zaxcom. The only thing that is keeping me from buying Zax gear right now are my concerns about build quality. I have an ERXTCD v.1 and if TRX900LAs are built to a similar standard then I'm not comfortable using them in a production setting. I know that it's hard to have a system that feels as robust as Lectro's SMQVs without milling the whole thing from a block of aluminum but the battery door wont even close on my ERX. I know my best bet would be to see it in person but the closest rental house is a thousand kilometres away (Trew Audio in Vancouver) and no one in Calgary has any TRX gear, so I kinda have to make the choice based on word of mouth. So with that in mind, can anyone on this board comment on the build quality of the TRX900LA?

This is a fascinating setup. I wouldn't have even thought of it but I can see why it would have its advantages.

When I saw the headline I thought I was pretty dumb for picking up a PCM-D50 right before NAB but now that I've seen the pictures I'm not so fussed. This thing looks like a bit of a monstrosity. It's a neat idea but it looks too bulky and awkward for field sound gathering adventures, and having XLR inputs on both sides seems like it'd make it messy to have in a bag or on a camera. I like the idea of interchangeable mic modules though. Still, who is this for?

I like the "Make your own," idea. Time to, I dunno... Carve some rubber?

Hey guys! I just got a Sony PCM-D50 for doing some gorilla sound collection, which means that I'll be exposing it to the elements. I already have a Rycote and a lyre suspension for it but I know that wind noise can be introduced through the TRS/Optical ports as well. Does anyone know of a place that sells rubber inserts for different audio connectors to safely block up these holes?

I thought they did this last year? Good gag still though.

Just responding to the first post, I totally agree. I mean, I usually work on indies where the tone is pretty jocular, which I enjoy, but the talent puts a lot of faith in me by letting me get into their space like that so I do my best to be respectful and humble in that moment. Anyway, thanks for bringing it up Justan. Glad to see someone else felt the same.

I am continually shocked and appalled by how pedantic and condescending people can be on this forum. Not everyone in this thread, obviously... Gear aside (yes, you were right to assume that this section of JWSound is dedicated to equipment) I'm going to recommend this dvd as a solid primer for learning fundamental sound techniques. Good luck out there.

But the TS-2sb I have won't ever get a firmware upgrade to support the Zaxnet metadata, will it?

I'm still working with a TS-2 but I'm hoping to move up to a TS-3 soon. Now that I have a Nomad and some ERXs I'm excited to see if I can make it all work.

This feature: is pretty cool if it means what I think it does. In all seriousness though, any firmware past 4.xx is still labeled as a beta. I'd be okay if Howy labeled 4.45 or 4.45e as a release build, but until then I'm still a little perplexed about why we don't have a non-beta release, even though the firmware has advanced a full build number.

That looks like an awesome slate. Would love to pick that up as my next slate.

I used to own a 552 + 744T combo and I loved it, but it was heavy and recording more than 4 channels was a pain in the ass. I made a decision around late May to purchase a Nomad 8 and I am glad I have that piece of equipment, but you have to remember that this was before the SD664 was available. If the 664 had been around when I had to make that decision I probably would have chosen it. Why? A few personal reasons, none of which imply that I am unhappy with my Nomad or that the Nomad is a worse machine. The first reason is that I was used to Sound Devices gear. I knew the layout of the physical controls; I was comfortable with the sound of the limiters; the way that files were named and organized on the card was old hat--basically, I'd know what to expect from the gear, which means that I could reliably deliver a smooth transition for any future gigs I took. Learning a completely different system did take me a while and sadly I botched one or two takes that I wish I hadn't. So there's that. I know I'll get crucified for this but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that, in my opinion, Sound Devices makes recorders and mixers that are miles ahead of other company's in terms of build quality and stability. Between the bowed plates and unfinished, unstable software I have had far, far more problems with my Nomad 8 than I have ever had with my 744T or 552. The problems I have had with my Nomad have made me seriously question if I want to continue to buy into this system or this company. All the features in the world cannot make me happy if the core functionality of the device is compromised by instability. With all of that said, I bought the Nomad and I have not sold it yet for a few reasons (apart from the hassle of the actual transaction). The Nomad is a very ambitious product. Neverclip (if I can ever use it again with a stable firmware) delivers on it's promise of a ridiculous amount of headroom; the integration with their IFB and wireless Tx/Rx gear has a profound effect on the way I work; the weight and size envelope of the Nomad is unequalled by any other competing product; and lastly, this product straddles the cart/bag methods of mixing that a 788 or 664 cannot, even with their respective accessories. My advice to you is to think long and hard about a few things: 1. What gigs are you doing now? 2. What gigs do you want to start doing if you're not already doing them? 3. What are the requirements your gear has to fulfill for those styles of recording? Once you've answered those questions, get a lot of hands on experience with gear outfitted in a way that satisfies the requirements you know you have from question three. Get a CL-8 and a 788T in a bag and try it out! Get a Nomad 6/10/12 and try it out! Get a 664 and run that through the wash too. Then come here again if you have any questions and I'm sure we can help you even more. Good luck dude.

Thanks for the responses guys--I'd been thinking of the DR-40 as well. Just a reminder though, I already have a Nomad 12 so I will not be using the recorder with external mics or a mixer; the only thing I am interested in is the recording quality of the onboard mics.

Hey guys! In addition to recording production audio, I've done a few shorts now where I've doubled as the post sound lead as well. I'm not looking to do it all the time, but I've had a lot of fun doing it and I'm getting positive feedback. When I've had to record wild sound in this capacity I've just put my production gear on and recorded like I would during production, but that can be a pain in the ass when you're collecting sound from a bunch of different, uncontrolled locations. One of the things I've been looking at more and more are handheld field recorders from Sony, Tascam, Zoom, etc., but I don't have any experience with them. I'm basically looking for the best internal microphones possible, with the end goal of recording usable wild sound for post production (foot traffic downtown, train crossing bells, forest ambiance, etc.). The recorder's ability to accept external audio through an XLR or any size of TRS isn't very important to me because I already have my Nomad 12 and a bunch of other mics. The models I'm looking at right now are: Sony PCM-D50 Roland R-26 Tascam DR-100 Zoom H4n & H2n So here're what I'm asking in a "tl;dr" way: 1. Are portable recorders like these even useful for wild sound recording? 2. If you have any experience with these recorders, which one do you feel provides the best sound in the broadest category of situations? Thanks for the help guys!

http://www.trewaudio...essory-Box.html I wind my COS-11D mics over under, with the 5-Pin connector in the middle so it stores. Then all the different accessories just go in the different compartments. [Edit] Damnit!

Also, I'm pretty disappointed that I can't update using my Nomad. I was going to send my ERX back anyway to get the new exterior anyway, but I'm just bummed out that there's an extra step involved in firmware updates now.

This has not been the case in my experience with the Nomad and these brands of cards. I'd be more than happy to make a video when I'm done this feature.

I can't say why exactly, but I do notice a difference between my Sandisk and Lexar cards. With my Lexar cards continuous mirroring begins immediately when I press record, and with the Sandisk cards there is at least a five second delay between when I press record and when the file starts writing to the mirror card.