The Immoral Mr Teas

It may interest you to know that Jim Tanenbaum wrote an instruction manual for the Stelladat, "Using A Stelladat in the Unreel World" covering everything up to software v5.00 and timecode v 2.44 in its 175+ pages, a companion volume to his "Using Timecode in the Reel World", back in the 1990s. I have the latter, not this volume (I haven't a Stelladat...) Heaven know where you might find a copy these days though! Jez

Yeah, I had trouble understanding how they had backward-compatibly changed timecode to allow their 'stamp' to keep reclocking but its good to know (as an F8 owner) not to bother thinking about it any more! Thanks Roland! (Did you, btw, write up on any of this on your site or was it just personal time spent looking into the issue)? Jez

"DPA 2017 - New Shotgun Mic for 2023" thread from Derek, 3 pages back (on 'pute' - maybe further back on mobile: couple of months since last comment? Started about a year ago).

Does Tea Ceremony count?

I'll suggest the other obvious - metal or wood with holes drilled in (for the sound) and foam (for the support). But for the quality suggested by the photo $300 is actually on a par or less than I would have originally guessed. J

No - cardioids will still give a forward facing (backward cancelling) pattern and may be chosen for 'front of stage' positioning for instance. I do say I like the design: basically tough enough to stand on or take a prop fall ... I think I'd have the capsules a little further back myself (especially if using Schoeps...) but the photo illustrates the use nicely enough. (Sorry Philip, still not answering your question)! Jez

I think I'm with Dela, Doug and everybody else here on this one. Do I really want to sell one of my Nagras to afford a book about them? I'm interested in the Stellavox book now however (if resale collector value hasn't already pushed that into the €350 territory ...?!?) Jez

Neve (analogue) desks were a common sight in broadcast in the UK when I started out. They certainly weren't thought of as a 'music desk' although certain items catered differently for the film, the broadcast and the music markets. (I later mixed on the AMS Neve Logic (broadcast) desks which developed into the DFC (film) desks when other AMS desks serviced the music industry). Back to the pre-AMS Neve days (?) there used to be a really great looking 'on-set' location mixer used if I remember correctly by Nelson Stoll among others? I can't find a picture but I expect someone here either has an image or perhaps the unit itself ...? J

Hi Neil, now that the transcription is up for both parts I'll give these a read thanks (for others looking here for the first time Neil's link also provides a play button for the podcast itself). The earlier episodes look interesting too, not just 'creative' interviewees but technical and business too. Thanks for sharing your podcast with us and welcome to JWS! Jez

In England, this was a 'Dhugal'

Before this supposition gets out of hand let's remember that DPA was born out of music engineers using a certain range of Bruel & Kjaer omni (free and diffuse field) microphone capsules designed for instrumentation recording and measurement. They were (are) hellishly expensive, making Schoeps etc offerings look cheap as chips, but then if you're building an X-Plane at Boeing you expect and are willing to pay for the 'insane' standards: what use is an off-spec instrumentation capsule? = Squat. Destroy it. After B&K released their own 'niche' music mic range (eg the 4007) this team soon broke from the (huge) B&K company and became DPA, specialising in music and then film/broadcast/theatre markets. They carried on with the quality ethic of their predecessors as this was what started the new industries interest in the microphones in the first place. I've no real idea but I imagine the lav mics and the theatre market changed DPA's outlook somewhat, with the vast sales of one of their 'cheap' microphones showing the possibilities for increased sales, a new 'entry level' (mid-level to us...) range etc. The earlier '20..' series designs were cheaper to make generally electret designs compared to the flagship '40..' series mics and totally different to their pricier equivalents: I assume this is still the case. There will be little if anything interchangeable between 20/40 relative models, certainly not the capsules. So to reply paraphrasing Rado, it is NOT possible ... and necessarily good! Many here will have some Bruel and Kjaer equipment without perhaps realising it - the Nagra modulometer (and many parts of the IV-SJ and TI) were made for Kudelski by them. Jez

Thanks Iron Film for the 4 youtube/Gotham videos Although I'm not a great enthusiast when it comes to tutorial vids, I'm sure to watch through them at some point (particularly if I decide to -try to- buy an FRC8 myself some time). And despite the to-ing and fro-ing I've found it quite an informative thread from all sides so thanks again DHB for sharing the AliExpress link, for your updates on delivery and indeed your own user experience. Jez

From fr.audiofanzine.com Hope they don't mind me using their photo ...

Do Rode do a larger blimp I haven't seen - I don't see anything but their 'WS4' size on their website, nothing like a Rycote AD-AF size stereo blimp ... The Rode zepp I see seems no larger (perhaps even smaller?) than a WS4 and I would not describe that as either 'quite large' nor 'a huge monster' for two 25mm diameter mics mounted back to back. Shame there doesn't seem to be any 'liquidation sales' for Rycote going on east Atlantic ... I'd recommend picking up a stereo WS size AE (or AD or AF) to tripod mount your 50/30 combo ... J

Although I don't have an F6 (and thought I was 'too late' anyway re- getting myself the controller) I always thought the controller would be a wonderful tool to open up the use of the F6 even more than the obvious F4/8/n (although now, presumably, the ipad software also does just that).

DHB said : Weight of my all metal (and plastic fader knobs) new Zoom FRC-8 with 4x AA cells ..1110 grams = 39 ounces A bonus in my eyes. I'd not have thought it a substantial metal thing (shame they're not P+G faders but I guess that would eightfold the price!) but it makes it far more desirable (to me) that it is. Iron Film, am I mistaken thinking this also controls the F4 and F6 (and the n / non-n versions of all)? Jez

Jim thank you, I'm certainly going to look at this one Jez

Thanks DHB for the link and the updates. Of course it's genuine ... if those rumours of donkey's years ago were true of Chinese knockoffs of Nagra recorders (the 4 series) had any truth in them I wish I had found one of them. But of course they don't exist. Hope the controller proves a worthy companion (I have an F8 too but I've never had any need to mix down on it). J

The cover is great. Do you have designs / material list for it? At first I wondered if you built a cart around the cover ... Jez

Still watching the space ... ! Keep us informed, thanks!

Perhaps this was one of the rare early Cyrillic models?

Tell us a little about yourself and the project. J

What? Four candles?

That's great to read but ... Linked In France ? ... would anyone (the anonymous buyer, the French authorities ...) actually notice this ? Let alone have a (legal or otherwise) obligation to respond? (Thanks though Dejan, and good luck to AFSI) J

Just so folks here know, if anyone else has a problem beyond their warranty period I've just listed my existing spare MZX up for sale on WTB-WTS Jez