Gregr

One more tape to add to the bunch: Blenderm by 3M. It's similar to the standard medical tape but a bit thinner and there's no texture to the surface so it's quieter (at least in my opinion). I bought it on Amazon a while back but here's the link to the 3M listing: http://www.3m.com/product/information/Blenderm-Surgical-Tape.html Amazon listing for a box: http://www.amazon.com/Blenderm-Surgical-Tape-inch-Clear/dp/B000P158QU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372697156&sr=8-1&keywords=Blenderm-Surgical-Tape.

This is obviously a pretty common scenario. I have to protect myself on that first deal-making phone call or risk being resentful for the whole job and that is no place to be. Generally the client will ask my rate and I'll ask what the job entails, tell them my labor for ten hours and the gear package rate. If they ask for a flat rate on labor and say what your client said (highly unlikely it'll go over twelve) then my next offer is the ten hour rate plus two hours at 1.5x and overtime after that, being as nice as can be all the while. If they want an all inclusive flat then I'd offer ten hour rate plus 6 hours of 1.5x (or similar) and be happy when they say no There's other factors on every single job- is it going to be fun? Will you get a lot of work out of this client? Do you know anyone on the crew and what kind of rep does the production company have? How bad do I need the money... Oh yeah- is the producer/director experienced? You gotta love working with people that know what they're doing, and the opposite... you gotta hate that.

My eyes are getting old... up to +2.00 readers now. I have to use them for the 664 screen so font is small for me. But I love the amount of info and wouldn't suggest any change there. It doesn't feel crowded either- they did a great job with it I think. Outdoors, as mentioned by pretty much anyone who's used it outdoors, it's awful. As for finger space- I have no problem there. Sorry to sidetrack your thread but it would be great if everyone who has used the 664 outside took the time to contact tech support at SD to file a request for a fix. Seems to me they're dragging their feet since they've known about the problem for a long time now. I hope that doesn't mean no fix will ever be issued but it's feeling that way.

Thanks Cyril. I hope other people let them know this issue is important. I would much prefer they come out with faster smaller firmware updates than wait til there's a whole bunch of fixes ready.

Okay... nobody cares I get it.

Seeking your opinions on an issue- kind of a reality check for me 'cause I find their attitude disappointing and maybe other mixers do not. There's a known issue in the monitoring circuit of the 664. It's not a huge deal because it's only monitoring. SD admits they're aware of it but put it on the backburner. Does this attitude bother anyone else? On the one hand I understand they're dealing with other issues but on the other hand... two months and no fix? Here's the thread in the SD forum (sorry- you have to register to get in the forum): http://forum.sounddevices.com/showthread.php?3919-return-monitoring-L-R-Mono-confusion Thanks for your thoughts.

The Audio Dept. in Burbank. I get the impression you can buy them directly from Denecke too even though it's not listed on their website. $25.

Recently got this used at Location Sound and they sent it in for a Charlie Check Up before putting it on the shelf so all is well. Just finished putting the new (non-back lit) faceplate on and it was a piece of cake. Goo Gone removed residual glue with a little elbow grease. Thanks for all the help!

Thanks for the quick help guys- much appreciated! Edit: Charlie answered the phone- says the same thing: pry it up gently then use pretty much any of the cleaners mentioned to remove the residue. Easy peasy.

Anybody have suggestions on how to get the old faceplate off cleanly? Talked to one guy who said he used acetone and was buzzed the rest of the day. Was thinking of carefully jamming [no pun intended!] a putty knife under the lip and just going for it. Sure there will be a bunch of gunk left though- and what to use to remove that?

Another vote for The Audio Department in Burbank, Ca. Great place!

Studio City- tons of production and some recording studios nearby, huge variety of restaurants and Hollywood is 5-7 miles away. Another bonus- there are lots of apartments/condos. NBC, Warner Bros, Universal and many more are 4 miles away or less. The Audio Dept. 5 miles away, Coffey is actually in Studio City, Location Sound is maybe 3 miles away, As mentioned- traffic is awful but a nice thing about Studio City is all the basic stuff- markets, restaurants, banks, etc., are within walking distance.

Thanks John- appreciate the info and insight. I had concerns about power consumption with the 664 but after talking to a couple mixers today who own it I don't think it's an issue. 5-6 second start up is impressive. The only real world experience I have to compare it to is the 788, which I've used maybe a dozen times-- I never timed it but memory says it was more like 20 seconds.

As retro as it is this has been the standard for network news magazine shows for years. Dialog on one channel and tc on the other. The rate they pay to the mixer for this service pays off the Edirol (or similar) in about 7 days )

I'm kinda sorta bumping this thread because it's been so helpful to me and I expect there will be lots of people facing this decision for another year or two. So thanks for all the input so far everyone. I've seen only a small amount of discussion on power consumption- anyone able to comment on that for either or both devices? Compared to a 788? Start up speed- compared to a 788? Thanks!