Any thoughts on my field recording/broadcasting sound setup?

[Umut]

Hi!

I am about to invest in some new gear for film/broadcast and just wanted to know what you think about this list. Please let me know if you have any suggestions, ideas or criticism. Thanks!

Here's my setup:

Wireless set: 
Sennheiser EM 9046 8 channel receiver, 9000 transmitters
Lectrosonics 400 Series Wireless Lavalier Microphone System x4

Recording (8 to 24 track):
Sound Devices 788T-SSD 8-Track + CL WIFI 
Onyx 1640i - 16-Channel FireWire Recording Mixer
JoeCo - BBR1-B BLACKBOX RECORDER 

Microphones: 
Schoeps - CMIT WS4 SET - CMIT5U Shotgun Microphone Set (w/ Rycote - Windshield Kit)
Sanken - CSS-5 Stereo Shotgun Microphone (w/ Rycote - Windshield Kit)
Lectrosonics M152 Omnidirectional Lavalier x4
Sennheiser MKE1 x 8
DPA Microphones - 5100 Mobile 5.1 Surround Microphone
Crown Audio PZM-6D Pressure Zone Microphone
Sanken - CUB-01 Miniature Cardioid Boundary Microphone x2

IFB:
Comtek - M-216 - Digitally Synthesized Wireless Transmitter (Option P7)
Comtek - PR-216 Beltpack IFB Receiver (216-217 MHz) x 2
Lectrosonics - IFBT4 Frequency-Agile IFB Transmitter 
Lectrosonics - IFB-R1a UHF Belt-Pack Receiver

TC: 
Timecode Buddy Wifi Master + Tx + iPad (Slate) 

Power: 
Xantrex Freedom SW New Gen

..and a sound cart. (any suggestions?)

What do you think?

[rich]

i saw the sennheiser 9046 rack a week or so ago. it didnt strike me as particularly portable. about 5U high and weighing 17Kg with a fan in its body. and i recall it being immensely expensive.

 

otherwise, apart from the lectrosoincs lavalieres you have specced a pretty good kit. 

 

what will you use to mix all the mics before it gets to the 788 and the joeco?

if you can afford the 9046, have a look at sononsax mixers.

 

dont forget a couple of monitors.

 

but what are you running at the moment?

[studiomprd]

Hi, and welcome...

" just wanted to know what you think about this list. "

impressive

 

 

suggest you do some reading around on this forum...

 

what, no ISDN ??

[audio911]

The Sennheiser 9k system will cost you about $100k... I can put you in touch with a friend that is a sales manager at Sennheiser. He can split the commission on the system with me. I'd be very happy!!!

 

Steve Wytas

www.audio911.com

[RPSharman]

The list is impressive, but we can't really comment without some sort of history.

 

What is your background and experience?  What types of shows you are doing now, and what types of shows you hope to do with all this gear?  Do you own gear now?

 

It seems to be a massive jumping off point with all this equipment, but I am sure happy for you that you have a HUGE sum of money to leap into the game with.

 

Robert

[Philip Perkins]

It all looks deluxe to me, except that if you intend to feed the JoeCo from the Onyx you'll have to go analog (which works fine--I do this all the time).  There is no way to externally clock the Onyx to use it as a A-to-D (via firewire), so it can't hold long term sync (like w/ yr 788).  The step up that would allow you to go to a digital version of the JoeCo (and feed the 788 digital as well) would be a Yamaha 01v96 clocked by the 788.

 

philp

[Umut]

First off, thank you all very much for the quick responses, your interest is highly appreciated.

Rich,

I don't mind the size and height, but I do worry about the fan. I was thinking about using a few sound blankets on the rack, which I forgot to mention (I believe more than 15-20 dB isolation is possible on the rack). Now since you mention that, I started to worry about the heat in the rack. So thank you, maybe I should talk to the guys at Sennheiser about this.

What would you recommend instead of Lectrosonics lavs?

I was actually intending not to use a mixer before 788T, to have less copper on the record path; mics feed both 788T and ONYX, and ONYX (and 788, for redundancy) feeds the JoeCo. But now (thanks to Philip) I think that a digital mixer such as Yamaha O1v96 feeding 788T and JoeCo (788T feeds JoeCo as well) is a better solution.

I have been using decent gear which includes Sound Devices, Tascam, Mackie, Sanken, Azden, Sennheiser etc.. Now I just want to take this step set up a state-of-art production sound kit which can be used for film (and TV).

Studiomprd,

Yes, I have been following the forums for some time now and I do appreciate the level of knowledge, professionalism and experience those forums have to offer.

I am not worried about the ISDN link-up/audio codec at this point; I will be just responsible for providing a stereo mix in such a scenario.

Steve,

Wow, really? I didn't think it was gonna cost me 100k! I heard that the pricing is close to the 1046, so I was actually (and maybe naively) expecting something between 20-30k, at most (including Tx).

RPSharman,

You are right, i should have talked about my background and aims a little bit; thanks for giving me the chance to introduce myself.

I am an audio engineer and an instructor. I have a music engineering background (surprise!), worked mostly as an FOH and monitoring engineer since 2004, before I came to USA. I also did a lot of multitrack studio recording and mixing. I have been teaching audio engineering at college level since 2010 and got interested in film sound since I moved to NYC 1.5 years ago. I hold a B.Sc. in electronics engineering, pre-master's in music production and an MFA in audio engineering.

My budget is around 50k and my aim is to have a state-of-art production sound kit.

I have been (and am currently) doing production & post-production for a few shorts and a feature, this is how I realized the shortage of good production sound professionals on sets Or maybe I'm just new in the city (and in that case, I have the feeling that this is the right place to meet good ones).

Philip,

Thank you very much for the input, I think you are right, Yamaha would be a better choice, it will let me minimize the number of AD/DA conversions and have a stable WC (Yamaha being master), as you stated. After all, I was a big fan of O1R, and I believe it will be easier for routing as well.

Thank you all again for your inputs, you made my day. I would appreciate if you could help me further fine-tune this setup. As stated above, I feel like I may need to consider other options (such as another multitrack wireless receiver, digital JoeCo, a digital mixer etc.). So please let me know your thoughts, and I'll buy you a beer (or coffee) when I see you

So here is what I got so far:

Multitrack wireless system:

?

Recording (8 to 24 track):

Sound Devices 788T-SSD 8-Track + CL WIFI

Yamaha O1v96

BBR1D with AES/EBU digital i/o

Microphones:

Schoeps - CMIT WS4 SET - CMIT5U Shotgun Microphone Set (w/ Rycote - Windshield Kit)

Sanken - CSS-5 Stereo Shotgun Microphone (w/ Rycote - Windshield Kit)

Lectrosonics M152 Omnidirectional Lavalier x4

Sennheiser MKE1 x 8

DPA Microphones - 5100 Mobile 5.1 Surround Microphone

Crown Audio PZM-6D Pressure Zone Microphone

Sanken - CUB-01 Miniature Cardioid Boundary Microphone x2

IFB:

Comtek - M-216 - Digitally Synthesized Wireless Transmitter (Option P7)

Comtek - PR-216 Beltpack IFB Receiver (216-217 MHz) x 2

Lectrosonics - IFBT4 Frequency-Agile IFB Transmitter

Lectrosonics - IFB-R1a UHF Belt-Pack Receiver

TC:

Timecode Buddy Wifi Master + Tx + iPad (Slate)

Power:

Xantrex Freedom SW New Gen

Isolation:

Sound blankets (Producer's Choice)

..and a sound cart. (any suggestions?)

***

Cheers,

Umut

[Umut]

And the main idea of having both 788T and the JoeCo is to be more flexible; if I'm recording up to 8 channels, I would just use 788T, if I'm recording more than 8, I can use the JoeCo (and I'd patch 788T in between the mixer and JoeCo for important channels, just for redundancy).

[RPSharman]

If your budget is $50k, you're going to run out of $$ long before you get your cart set-up.  Perhaps starting with something more compact would be more wise, especially in NYC.

 

Your proposed setup provides for very little flexibility and mobility.  It might be great if you are doing a big TV on stage 6 of 7 days, but seems totally impractical for someone starting out in location sound.  Despite what you might think, there are LOTS of very good mixers in New York, with LOTS of great gear.  If you want to compete on that level for those jobs, you'll need a lot more than an impressive sound cart.

 

Why not look at 788T/CL-8 (in a bag) CL-9 on a cart (It'll help you be available for portable and cart-based projects)

Buy a pair of MKH8050 and a 416 with 1 Rycote Zepp for each.

6 x 411 receivers for cart and bag work.  Use antenna distribution.  Leave them in the bag with 788T and CL-8.

Buy 6 SMVs and 6 COS-11s - and maybe a HM plug-on for wireless boom, and an SD MM1 for plants and wireless boom

Get a few V-lock batteries, which can power both your cart and bag (saw a cool v-lock cart setup here a short time ago)

You'll need a cart and a bag.

Boom poles, mounts, cables, and all the little bits we forget about.

And I know I've left stuff out.  This was a fast note.

 

Can someone do the math and see if he can get there for $50k?  That's a VERY basic package for mainstream narrative work.

 

Robert

[Umut]

Thank you very much for the update Robert, the information you provided is very helpful.

And I believe I was not successful about expressing myself and misspoke while trying to make a joke (I blame the culture-difference ). What I really meant was the quality of production sound for low budget projects (which I was mostly working on) was below industry standards. Otherwise, I know that there are many distinguished audio engineers in the city (I simply couldn't find the chance to work with them yet) and I believe and hope this investment will help me to work with (and hopefully become one of) those qualified professionals.

My aim is to have a flexible state-of-art base which will let me do theater/film/broadcast when needed in the future (of course with some additions), this is why I want 24 channels. However, all of the feedback I receive right now is very important to me and am willing to consider any change which can improve the idea (including having 8 channels). The budget is flexible to a certain degree.

[Umut]

Hello again everybody,

I cannot thank you enough for your feedback. After carefully considering your valuable comments and some research, I believe I have come to a better understanding of which setup serves my purpose best.

At first, I had the idea of having two individual wireless mic systems for the bag and the cart. But now I believe having a solid 6 ch wireless system which could be used both in the bag and the cart would be the best solution.

Having a Yamaha O1V96i sounded like a very nice improvement on the cart at first, however, after reading the specs I've realized that it will bring more harm than good because of its limited analog and digital I/0 capabilities, even though it offers great versatility in terms of mixing. I did look for other reliable “petite” digital mixers which offer AES/EBU outs, but failed to find one. Therefore I decided to go analog and use the good ol' Mackie Onyx 1640i (I really like the preamps), and do the AD conversion in 788T and JoeCo. I also added a few more microphones to be more flexible.

To summarize, my main aims are:

• To have state-of-art gear
• To have the option of having the bag and the cart running on different locations at the same time in the future (with addition of another wireless system).
• To be able to record in surround when needed (with further improvements in mics)

Here is my setup: (≈ 60k)

Multitrack wireless system:

Lectrosonics - VR Field
Lectrosonics SMQV Tx x6,
Lectrosonics VRT Rx x6
Lectrosonics - ALP650L LPDA Shark Fin Style Antenna with Internal RF Amplifier x2
Lectrosonics - 50 Ohm Coaxial Cable for Remote Antennas (25') x2
LectrosonicsSNA600 - Collapsible Omnidirectional Dipole Antenna

Recording (8 to 24 track):

Sound Devices 788T-SSD 8-Track + CL WIFI
Mackie Onyx 1640i
JoeCo BBR1-B BLACKBOX RECORDER

Microphones:

Schoeps - CMIT WS4 SET - CMIT5U Shotgun Microphone Set (w/ Rycote - Windshield Kit)
Schoeps 2 x CMC6/41 (matched pair)
Schoeps GVC x2
Sennheiser MKH-416 (w/ Rycote - Windshield Kit)
Sanken - CSS-5 Stereo Shotgun Microphone (w/ Rycote - Windshield Kit)
DPA Microphones - 5100 Mobile 5.1 Surround Microphone
Crown Audio PZM-6D Pressure Zone Microphone
Crown SASS P MK II Stereo PZM
Sanken - CUB-01 Miniature Cardioid Boundary Microphone x2
Peter Engh - OMNIGOOSE 6" GOOSENECK MIC w/TA5/F LEC

IFB:

Comtek - M-216 - Digitally Synthesized Wireless Transmitter (Option P7)
Comtek - PR-216 Beltpack IFB Receiver (216-217 MHz) x 2
Lectrosonics - IFBT4 Frequency-Agile IFB Transmitter
Lectrosonics - IFB-R1a UHF Belt-Pack Receiver

TC:

Timecode Buddy Wifi Master + Tx x2 + iPad (Slate)

Power:

Xantrex Freedom SW New Gen (inverters/charger)
Dolgin Engineering - TC200-SON Battery 2-Position
Sony - NP-F970 L-series Info-Lithium Battery 2 Pack (7.2v, 6600mAh) x2
SWIT S-8056N 70Wh NP-1 Li-ion Battery x2
SWIT SC-304 NP-1 Battery Charger

(I didn't want to have power distribution from one source in the bag)

Cart/Case/Bag

Gator Cases – GRC-10X11PUP > I have used them a lot, and I believe it'll be (maybe a little big & heavy, but) a solid solution, with some modification.
(Still researching about the bags and other cart solutions, I'll have to try them first to decide, suggestions are welcome)

Monitoring:

Sennheiser - HD 380 Pro x3
Sennheiser – HD 280 Pro

Accessories:

Various boom poles, stands, ORTF/XY/MS mounting brackets, handgrips, cases etc.
Latch Lake MicKing 3300 mic stand
Radial Engineering - JS-2 - Two-Way Microphone Signal Splitter x2

Isolation:

Sound blankets (Producer's Choice) x4
sE Electronics - Reflexion Filter PRO (for wild lines on location)


Any comments, suggestions and ideas would be highly appreciated.

[Tom Visser]

I don't understand your business plan.  I'm from NYC before moving to Hawaii and there is no shortage of high quality mixers in NYC.  You propose to take these low-budget projects on and you intend to buy $60K+ worth of gear in order to make yourself an attractive candidate for these jobs, jobs that other more experienced mixers are avoiding, likely because of lack of pay?  How do you plan on recouping your investment in gear?

 

My recommendations on gear, forget the JoeCo.  Forget the Onyx.  The O1V96i would be one candidate of several cart mixers, plus give you the higher track recording capability for the few instances you must do so.  Forget Reflexion filter. Although having gear that can be used both in the bag and on a cart seems like a good idea.  In practical terms, it's a nightmare.  I currently have to rip apart my last used rig to reconfigure for the next job.  This year, that is going to change.  I'd actually aim at having 3 separate rigs that could go out the door at anytime... a 3 channel ENG rig (the appropriate kit for most NYC low budget jobs), a 5-8 channel TV / reality rig, and a narrative / doc / cart setup.  Because you won't likely be getting the big well paying jobs on a cart, I'd probably forgo investing money in that for the time being and focus instead on building out the appropriate bag setup, aimed at the type of work you are getting now, not what you presume you'll be getting in a couple of months.  After you graduate to the "bag holding cart" for awhile and demonstrate an actual need to move up to a full cart, then start thinking about plunking down the entry fee for that type of setup.  If I had to build a cart out soon, I'd be looking at the O1V96i with DANTE card to the new PIX260i - no computers on set for me if I can avoid it.

[Jim Ritscher]

One small point, I seem to recall that Timecode Buddy will be releasing a new, interesting product at NAB. Might be worth waiting.

[Umut]

Tom,

 

Thank you very much for your comments, they are very insightful. And you are right! I did forget about Onyx and JoeCo already. Having Yamaha O1v96 with Dante card feeding SD PIX260i is a brilliant solution. (I looked over the fact that there is a Mini-YGDAI (16-in/16-out) option in digital I/O section of the O1, thank you very very much your recommendation!). Regarding the business plan, you are raising valid questions and your points make perfect sense. As much as it sounds impractical, I have a special case and some business arrangements are already done, so I do need a cart and a bag setup. And I think your three separate rig idea sounds very cool, I will keep that in mind.

 

Jim,

 

Thank you very much for the update! I'll be waiting for it.

 

So here's the updated setup:

 

 

Multitrack wireless system: 

Lectrosonics - VR Field 

Lectrosonics SMQV Tx x6, 

Lectrosonics VRT Rx x6

Lectrosonics - ALP650L LPDA Shark Fin Style Antenna with Internal RF Amplifier x2

Lectrosonics - 50 Ohm Coaxial Cable for Remote Antennas (25') x2

LectrosonicsSNA600 - Collapsible Omnidirectional Dipole Antenna

Recording (8 to 24 track):

Sound Devices 788T-SSD 8-Track + CL WIFI 

Yamaha O1V96i w. DANTE 

Sound Devices PIX260i

 

Microphones: (maybe I'll have t give up on some)

Schoeps - CMIT WS4 SET - CMIT5U Shotgun Microphone Set (w/ Rycote - Windshield Kit)

Schoeps 2 x CMC6/41 (matched pair)

Schoeps GVC x2

Sennheiser MKH-416 (w/ Rycote - Windshield Kit)

Sanken - CSS-5 Stereo Shotgun Microphone (w/ Rycote - Windshield Kit)

DPA Microphones - 5100 Mobile 5.1 Surround Microphone

Crown Audio PZM-6D Pressure Zone Microphone

Crown SASS P MK II Stereo PZM 

Sanken - CUB-01 Miniature Cardioid Boundary Microphone x2

Peter Engh - OMNIGOOSE 6" GOOSENECK MIC w/TA5/F LEC

IFB:

Comtek - M-216 - Digitally Synthesized Wireless Transmitter (Option P7)

Comtek - PR-216 Beltpack IFB Receiver (216-217 MHz) x 2

Lectrosonics - IFBT4 Frequency-Agile IFB Transmitter 

Lectrosonics - IFB-R1a UHF Belt-Pack Receiver

 

TC: 

Timecode Buddy Wifi Master + Tx x2 + iPad (Slate) 

Power: 

Xantrex Freedom SW New Gen (inverters/charger)

Dolgin Engineering - TC200-SON Battery 2-Position

Sony - NP-F970 L-series Info-Lithium Battery 2 Pack (7.2v, 6600mAh) x2

SWIT S-8056N 70Wh NP-1 Li-ion Battery x2

SWIT SC-304 NP-1 Battery Charger

 

Cart/Case/Bag

(Still researching about the bags and other cart solutions, I'll have to try them first to decide, suggestions are welcome)

 

Monitoring:

Sennheiser - HD 380 Pro x3

Sennheiser – HD 280 Pro 

Accessories:

Various boom poles, stands, ORTF/XY/MS mounting brackets, handgrips, cases etc.

Latch Lake MicKing 3300 mic stand 

Radial Engineering - JS-2 - Two-Way Microphone Signal Splitter x2

Isolation:

Sound blankets (Producer's Choice) x4

sE Electronics - Reflexion Filter PRO (for wild lines on location)

 

Any comments, suggestions and ideas would be highly appreciated.

 

[Philip Perkins]

If you end up with the JoeCo you'll have no issue with its A-to-D's, I use them all the time and have been very happy with them (several albums done since I got it--all analog).  As was said, the Reflexion filter thing is kind of a waste of time--I found it pretty useless and I didn't like the bounce I got off it back to the mic.  The Pixie is an interesting choice, but it is twice as expensive as a JoeCo at least, and requires a mixer with Dante to get 32 in w/o having to use all the other formats the recorder does combined.  How will you monitor off either the JoeCo or the Pixie?  As an example of JoeCo usage, I generally use it on the insert i/o of an analog console, so if I can hear through the board, I'm hearing thru the JoeCo, this as opposed to using a separate monitor mixer on the returns.

 

philp

[Umut]

I was very happy with Yamaha O2R, and I believe they use the similar circuitry including gains and AD in O1V96i, and it seems like all the production sound engineers love it, so I believe the AD conversion and digital transmission via DANTE card will be just fine (as much as I like the idea of having Onyx's gains -and maybe some of the prefader processing- and having the AD in JoeCo). But, having HD video recording, audio/video monitoring, file sharing via ethernet, immediate file backup, network control etc. options and 32 ch with this bad boy: SD PIX260i is just too good to miss

 

I think I'll be using 2TR inputs of the O1 for monitoring [the recorder]. Just checked the manual and saw that 2TR inputs are unbalanced RCAs, so what I need is just a male-male stereo TRS to 2 mono RCA cable to feed the 2TR input from Pixie's HP out

Edited February 25, 2013 by Umut

[studiomprd]

" to have less copper on the record path; "

you are being way too esoteric...

I can't even take this seriously!

 

" it will bring more harm than good because... "

like ??

 

" To be able to record in surround when needed (with further improvements in mics) "

proper surround is a whole different animal, and not typically production sound; it requires, in the field, a surprisingly simple setup though with proper mic(s).

 

" the good ol' Mackie Onyx 1640i "

and Azden ??

ProSumer, MI gear...

 

" What I really meant was the quality of production sound for low budget
projects (which I was mostly working on) was below industry standards. "

they don't pay enough for Zoom Recorders, Rode mic's, and Senn EVO 100's ...

not only will these clients not appreciate all that fancy expensive gear, there is no chance that all that "less copper on the record path" could even matter considering the situations you'll be working with... issues like bad locations, noisy sets, poor lockups, etc. etc. will come into play before any degradation from too much copper , etc. could possibly be noticed, even at 32 bit / 192 kHz.

 

" I am an audio engineer and an instructor. I have a music engineering
background (surprise!), worked mostly as an FOH and monitoring engineer
since 2004, before I came to USA. I also did a lot of multitrack studio
recording and mixing. I have been teaching audio engineering at college
level since 2010 and got interested in film sound since I moved to NYC
1.5 years ago. I hold a B.Sc. in electronics engineering, pre-master's
in music production and an MFA in audio engineering. "

you are way over-engineering this set-up, and, I suspect in many respects overqualified for lo-bidget production sound mixing, while not properly qualified for production sound mixing!

 

" I don't understand your business plan.  I'm from NYC before moving to
Hawaii and there is no shortage of high quality mixers in NYC.  You
propose to take these low-budget projects on and you intend to buy $60K+
worth of gear in order to make yourself an attractive candidate for
these jobs, jobs that other more experienced mixers are avoiding, likely
because of lack of pay?  How do you plan on recouping your investment
in gear? "

He has no business plan...

 

" I have a special case and some business arrangements are already done, "

I'm guessing someone is over their head...

 

besides reading the numerous old threads (discussions here) about beginner sound kits, you need to spend some quality time at your nearby (and if you are in NYC they are nearby) "usual suspects"  (and not B&H!!) to see and feel and hear the stuff that is usual in the business...  (while they will be happy to take your money, you'll note that they are not on commissions!!)

 

BTW,  you are way to fixated on the arrows, when production sound is much more about the archer...

[RPSharman]

I've got to agree.  This is an overcomplicated setup.

 

You should really concentrate on what you want to do.  If you want to do features and TV, and work your way up, then buy gear focusing on that.  I stand by my previous suggestions.  Small, light, comprehensive.

 

You current list adds things you don't need (stereo mics, extra PZMs, surround stuff), while it leaves out lav mics and a sufficient number of Comteks.

 

Many folks here will tell you, what gets you hired back has as much to do with your efficiency on set (compact and comprehensive) and your ability to interact with the clients (have several Comteks available helps), as it does to do with quality of your tracks. 

 

Do the research here and visit the folks at Gotham and/or PSS, as Senator has suggested.

 

Buying lots of gear in order to get work is backwards.  Get work, then buy gear.

 

Robert

[VASI]

This list reminds me one country left from my country...

[Rick Reineke]

FWIW, an acquaintance of mine had a similar 'Field of Dreams' approach (build it and they will come) in the a slightly different aspect of the pro-sound biz. It didn't have a happy ending, the gear was sold at a substantial loss.

[Umut]

 

Thank you very much for all your comments and concerns. If I understand right, the major concern here is me not getting jobs and the system being overcomplicated. Again, I would like to remark that I have a special case, the arrangements are done and the deal is about having state-of-art bag and the cart systems and being able to record in surround when needed. So I believe the system meets the requirements for the given task. But I know that there is always some room for improvement, so am willing to consider any changes you recommend.

 

Speaking of which, Robert, I thought 2 different mixes feeding 3 IFB receivers was enough, but perhaps you are right; I might have underestimated IFB. Any alternatives or changes in mind? I totally agree with you on getting work before investment, which is my case. I quit investing w/o securing income after an unsuccessful recording studio adventure in 2004.

 

Vasileios, kalimera, I'm not gonna lie, I didn't actually understand what you meant

 

Rick, thank you very much for your concern, I'll make sure I buy nothing w/o securing the income.

 

Studiompr, thanks for the feedback and recommendations. I appreciate your opinions, but I sincerely believe you are passing judgments regarding my qualifications and experience a little too fast. But I do agree with you regarding importance of some recording aspects such as location and noise, and I think having the least possible circuitry before tape is also very important. About Onyx, it is a very nice piece of pro-audio gear in my opinion and I am fond of the preamps. Regarding surround, I believe surround location recording is way underestimated and will gain more importance in the future. I find it not that easy to record in surround with a decca tree or double MS arrays on set in terms of practicality, continuity etc., whilst it is very convenient to place a good sounding surround mic on a stand and record in surround. It can save a lot of post-production time (and of course money) and improve the final mix a lot (e.g. room tones).

 

Thanks again for all of the comments! I appreciate all of your concerns and suggestions, and am willing to consider any changes which will improve the system!

 

Best,

 

Umut

 

[RPSharman]

If I can offer one piece of advice.  The words are what are important.  Slowing yourself down, and possible stalling the company, will cost the production far more than a bit of extra time in post creating the ambiance and effects.  More often than not, the real ambiance is not what they want.  Get yourself set up to get quality dialog recordings.  Get that situated first.  Then grow from there if you choose.  But you seem to have it all figured out, and we all wish you the best of luck.

[Philip Perkins]

I see this as a full "Christmas list" rather than what he'd take to every job--he didn't say he'd be using it all all the time.   Lay off the Mackie--it's a very usable tool--doesn't have the sex appeal of Sonosax etc but will sound every bit as good as the analog mic amps of the 01v96, which is very fine enough.  If he can get himself into situations where surround ambiances are asked for, good on him.   The Pixie used as an MT dialog recorder is an interesting idea.

 

philp

[RPSharman]

I agree with the Mackie. Still not sure why Senator pegs it as pro-sumer MI stuff, but doesn't categorize the Yamaha the same way. There's nothing wrong with either. Great production tracks can be recorded on either.

I will boast that multi-Academy Award Winner Paul Ottosson gave high praise of the tracks I recorded to the producers on my first "studio" feature, recorded via a Mackie.

Robert

[Umut]

Thank you again Robert and Philip, I hope I'll find a chance to thank you in person for the insight and help in the future. 

 

Cheers,

 

Umut