PhilMacdonald
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Location
London, UK
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About
I am a Freelance location sound and audio engineer based in London. I am qualified in Pro Tools and have experience in production audio.
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Hey, So we all know of the multitude of online avenues you can go down when looking to purchase gear and equipment but do any of the UK contingent here on jwsound know if there are any 'real' shops around that sell location sound equipment. Preferably in the London area I am looking for the following :- Sennheiser MKH 416 and Rycote Kit. Sound Devices Mix Pre D Petrol Bag Various cables Boom Any suggestions will be most appreciated. Cheers, Phil
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Thanks guys for all the help and advice. Senator, I agree with your last comment and thanks to Colin's kind mention of the guy selling his 744T I have purchased that off him 2nd hand. Now just to pick up the other bits and bobs and crack on!! I am sure there will be other questions and will keep this thread open for anything where I feel your input and advice will be as invaluable as it has so far!! Cheers folks, Phil
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Yeah Colin, it wouldnt be redundant recording as I would have it set up exactly how Jon mentions, using the Mix Pre to go into 3 and 4 on the 744T. Meaning I have the 4 channels of mic inputs and separate ISO tracks albeit with pots on two separate devices. As much as I would love to pair the 744 with the 442 the budget doesn't stretch that far currently. I have had a look at the Petrol bags actually and they seem like a good shout. As things stand I am looking at this setup : Sennheiser 416 + Rycote kit Sound Devices 744T Sound Devices Mix Pre D Renting radio mics where necessary. I realise the bulk of the money is being poured into the recorder but its a recorder I plan on having for many many years and the redundancy, timecode functionality and ability to record 4 seperate audio tracks provides for an incredibly useful setup I feel. The 'cheaper' alternative is to look at the 552 but I feel that will be better suited to the 744T and not keen on the idea of mixing 5 channels down into 2 record tracks and I would highly anticipate that me and SVEN would fall out....
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I actually read another thread of yours Jon and I know someone else who is doing that exact same thing. If I do go for the 744T which lets be honest I would prefer to do it leaves me little to no money for a dedicated 4 channel mixer such as 442 or one of the SQN series which is initially why I was predominately considering the 702/702T. I am keen on the idea of picking up a Mix Pre D which is relatively cheap in the UK and using that alongside the 744T for the 4 channels when necessary. I imagine much of the time I will be happy with 2 channels but for the £650 a mix pre D will cost me it gives me much more flexibility with my setup until I can get afford/justify more specific gear. Did you go ahead with this setup and have you experienced any pitfuls to date or see where they may be any issues? Also as you are from the UK, do you have any recommendations on sites/shops to use for gear. Cheers, Phil
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Colin, Some good advice there!! I remember you mentioning the mix pre before but having looked into a bit further I think it actually opens up more doors than I thought. I also own a Canon 7D DSLR and do some video production also and looks like it may be very useful there as well. In the UK it retails for around £650 (getting fed up of all this stuff seemingly cheaper in the US hehe) and I think perhaps it may be worth going for the straight 702 rather than the 702T which coincidently is an extra £800 or so for the timecode. If I am then going to be doing a project that requires timecode look at renting a 744T for that project. I think then in the long term if I am finding I am having more and more paid jobs that require timecode/more ISO channels then I can always upgrade to the 744 or 788 and keep the 702 for lighter and a more battery efficient bag setup. My only slight concern is redundancy. I know you can now attach a firewire drive but I am concerned about noise and as far as I am aware the 702 won't power these drives? The 722 is again another £800 which is ludicrous seeing as the internal HD is the only addition.... I would welcome your thoughts on the different workflows available to me if I went with the 702 and the mixpre. Can you recommend any bags and the relevant cables I would need to go alongside this. Thanks again, Phil
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Thank you all for the really useful comments and advice. Just to respond to a few points really. As a couple of people have mentioned with regards to the sample rate I would ideally like the option to record at 192k predominately for any sfx recordings I do. Either spot fx on the day or whether i delve into boosting a library of fx for my own post use. And as the senator rightly points out it does also give me the option of creating a truer representation of the sound and a smoother waveform. With regards to radio mics I am staying well away from buying these at the moment as another user rightly pointed out, channel 69 is going to be made illegal in the UK and going over to 68 because of the 'digital switchover'. For the meantime will rent these out where necessary. My real purpose with this thread I suppose was to discuss recorders and mixers predominately. I am going to be getting the 416 and windshield kit as suggested and this has been confirmed as a good choice by many of you. With regards then to recorders/mixers there have been many different suggestions. In terms of work I will be doing most of what I currently do is short films but would like to move more into broadcasting as feel this is more where the money is and my contacts are more in this area meaning I have a better chance to get involved in this. With this in mind whereas I don't need the timecode options so much for DSLR short films I want to futureproof myself really for any higher level films or broadcast stuff I do where it is more likely going to be going straight into camera and/or the potential need for timecode. If I am honest I feel I am looking predominately at the 702T. I think you can get a lot for the money out of that kit, you have the 192k, 2 channels with phantom/limiters etc etc and covers what I need at this stage. Whether I stretch this further and plump for the 744T which seems a very standard piece of kit amongst sound recordists I have researched is perhaps hindered by my inevitable need for a mixer. If I spend the extra £1.5k on the 744 that could have gone nicely towards a mixer to pair up with the 702T..... The thing I do like about audio is kit seems to hold its value much better than camera gear. In that if I start off with the 702T and then in a few years better jobs come along that require me to have more than 2 channels then there is no reason why I couldn't sell the 702 at a fairly decent price and put it towards a 744 or perhaps even 788.... Once again, thanks for all your comments and any other advice you may have please dont hesitate to chime in!! Cheers, Phil
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Hey, I have looked a fair amount around the equipment forums for similar threads and found all very interesting and informative. I am fully expecting the rent before you buy suggestions and I know of a few places that offer rental services. I am based just outside of London. I will have to use these facilities for things such as radio mics and other items that even with the investment in gear at this stage will not be able to afford whilst starting out. I am more curious at this stage to know whether or not in general whether 2 channels will be limiting to me and also whether having timecode at the stage of my career that I am at is a necessity. Many of the jobs I have looked at, especially the freelance work want you to have your own kit and from what I can tell on here things sell fairly quickly and fairly well if necessary. Which is why I am leaning towards the 702 or 702T depending on need for timecode and then if and hopefully when the projects I am involved in at a later date become bigger look towards bigger rigs/setups with the potential of selling my 702 if absolutely necessary. I can't however seem to get away from the overall benefits that the 552 can bring in terms of I/O and there is limited information in terms of comparison or reviews on this unit. I feel this is currently where my dilemma lies.... I absolutely agree with your archer analogy and may I say what a lovely analogy but feel I am in a situation where I can buy gear and with the way audio is feel that there isn't really a bad choice, just all about taking the best choice ya know? Cheers, Phil
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Hi all, I am new to the forums and was recommended to check it out by a friend in the industry. I am based in the UK and am looking to branch out as a freelance sound recordist. I have recently completed a 2 year course in audio engineering and production and want to explore all things sound however have a particular interest in location sound. I have some experience of this working under an experienced sound recordist for the BBC and this only inspired me more. I am looking to setting up my own kit and would really welcome any advice any of you could offer on this. I have a budget really of around £3500 max but would like to keep it to around £3000 if possible so I can eat and all that. I am pretty set on the MKH 416 as have some experience with it, love the sound and am on the understanding its an industry staple. With the rycote kit 4 going along with this then this equates to about £1000 in the UK. This then leaves me £2/2.5k to spend on a recorder. I can forsee much of the work I take on to be both short films and Broadcast work and these are where my questions lie.... I would ideally like to look at some sound devices kit but because of budget am perhaps limited in this. I like the concept of the 552 in that it combines the mixer with the recorder but am apprehensive about the 96khz max as would like to do some sfx recording also, at 192khz. I also am going to be maxing out the budget and as such for a while will be limited to booming the 416 so the need for 5 channels is low. Even if I am renting out radio mics for a particular shoot do you feel for the work I have mentioned I would be limited with 2 channels and if necessary would i be able to just rent a mixer for the shoot and mix down into 2 recorded channels, is that how this works? My other main question is regarding timecode. There are 3 versions of the 7 series that are sort of in budget. The 702, 702T and 722. I don't really see the point of the 722 as since the firmware upgrade I am on the understanding I can buy my own firewire device and use that on the 702. Which leaves the question of how much do I need timecode. Is it a precursor to many jobs? am I going to look stupid if I rock up without the ability to record using timecode etc etc. It is an extra 650/700 quid for the timecode version and that could go very nicely towards other gear or boom/bags/cards/batteries or that eating I mentioned about.... Apologies for the long post but would hugely appreciate any advice on my particular situation and value your opinions. Cheers, Phil