Nomad additional 8 rotary fader option

[hobbiesodd]

I wish this was available today.

I'm currently mixing 9 wireless for the next couple of months and the vFaders are not the most efficient system (for me).

And the automix feature would be a godsend at this point...

[demarsman]

Why do you guys all ask for pan controls? It's a 6 to 12 track recorder, or are you using the pan controls for monitoring? Coming from a 788/CL8 i'm happy not to have the L/R channels first before the usual tracks. I only record to tracks and sometimes route to the outputs for camera or other recorders.

[soundslikejustin]

Why do you guys all ask for pan controls? It's a 6 to 12 track recorder, or are you using the pan controls for monitoring? Coming from a 788/CL8 i'm happy not to have the L/R channels first before the usual tracks. I only record to tracks and sometimes route to the outputs for camera or other recorders.

Because its also a very capable mixer, and if you're delivering primary audio to camera (which many people are) you may need pan controls to send different inputs to the L and R of the camera audio. Just because you only use the unit for its recording capabilities doesn't mean that everyone else does.

[demarsman]

Ah ok, makes sense if you're coming from a mixer environment, I use my recorders as mixers as well, but tend to think more in outputs 1 to 4 than in L/R. Guess it's just what you're used to.

[Olle Sjostrom]

I don't really see the need for a separate pan pot either... Working with SQN mixers is essentially the same; you need to bury your hand into your bag to reach the pan switches on the side (!?) of the mixer... awkward. I still haven't used a nomad, but I can't imagine it being slower than a SQN...

 

SD style pan pots are good and swift, but I enjoy the 302 switches better. And they're not so swift.

 

I was working with the 552 for 6 months and I enjoyed it. But I kept panning and panning (the editors wanted sound on both channels so whenever I had only boom up I would have to pan it to C. Don't ask me why. Editors are weird). And ever so often I would forget to pan back and the boom channel would then stay on top of the lavs.. So I really don't see the need for quick panning. Deciding in beforehand and working on your settings is a lot better; less stress, less headache and more focusing on getting good sound. IMHO...

[glenn]

It is so easy to select a channel to be left right or center on Nomad that a pan switch would not be a good idea. It would also mean that the entire state of the Nomad could not be recalled from memory. We are including a pan button that will allow any of the 14 mixable channels to be toggeled between L,R,C and off with the push of a single button.

 

We are also including on the new fader panel, 8 faders allowing a mix of a total of 14 channels, 8 PFL buttons, dedicated REC and STOP keys and 8 Autotrim ID leds.

 

With the new panel the Nomad will deliver the most mixing capability and best form factor of any bag style mixer/recorder at a very compeditive price point. The exact price of the 8 fader panel is not set yet but we do expect it to be less than half of other similar products in the market place.

 

Glenn

[jason porter]

I didn't believe it until I tried, but I agree with Glenn that the Nomad system of pan (L,C,R) is fast and efficient. I have used the Nomad and 788/CL8 recently and I personally prefer the Nomad system, as far as panning goes.

It is so easy to select a channel to be left right or center on Nomad that a pan switch would not be a good idea. It would also mean that the entire state of the Nomad could not be recalled from memory. We are including a pan button that will allow any of the 14 mixable channels to be toggeled between L,R,C and off with the push of a single button.

We are also including on the new fader panel, 8 faders allowing a mix of a total of 14 channels, 8 PFL buttons, dedicated REC and STOP keys and 8 Autotrim ID leds.

With the new panel the Nomad will deliver the most mixing capability and best form factor of any bag style mixer/recorder at a very compeditive price point. The exact price of the 8 fader panel is not set yet but we do expect it to be less than half of other similar products in the market place.

Glenn

[johnpaul215]

Because its also a very capable mixer, and if you're delivering primary audio to camera (which many people are) you may need pan controls to send different inputs to the L and R of the camera audio. Just because you only use the unit for its recording capabilities doesn't mean that everyone else does.

 

I wonder if those days are numbered. I realize we all work in very different environments with different cameras and different post workflows. When I do a narrative project, 95% of the time I send a scratch track to camera. Maybe it's just the shows I have done recently, but more and more reality shows seem to be shooting on the medium sized cameras that only do 2 tracks of audio, but support TC. With those cameras (C300, AF100, EX3 etc) why not put a super lightweight ERX2TCD on it for a mono track and TC, then put a camera mic on the 2nd audio channel? Sending the 2 channel split mix still requires reworking in post for *most* shows (depends on how many people are wired up). 

I know some shows rely on camera audio, but if TC is working fine, and there is an RF hit, they can always grab a mix off the recorder (that wouldn't matter if it's Zaxcom or SD). 

My roundabout point being that panning means nothing when doing narrative work with a mono scratch track on camera. Panning also means nothing when you are basically mixing for IFB (for producers, note-takers etc). It makes sense for a sit-down single person interview to split lav+boom, but for example with 11 lavs and a boom with a 664.... are you really going to boom and mix and worry about panning at the same time that you have a walkie blasting in your ear? 

[Jack Norflus]

I didn't believe it until I tried, but I agree with Glenn that the Nomad system of pan (L,C,R) is fast and efficient. I have used the Nomad and 788/CL8 recently and I personally prefer the Nomad system, as far as panning goes.

 

I think the current panning is fine and I have no issues with it.

Is grabbing a knob and turning it better? Faster? More efficient? That is very subjective.

But the new fader panel will now give the user a choice of systems.

 

This is yet another example of Zaxcom listening to the customers and delivering them what they want.

[Derek H]

The only scenario I can think of where I'd really need a rotary pan control is for music or ambience recording and I'm required to make a stereo mix on the fly.

For example, I recently had a shoot on a limited budget where I had to record a small choir with string accompaniment. The mix had to go on camera only. I used all five inputs of my 552 and the fully variable pan knobs allowed me to make a decent rough mix on the fly.

Of course if I had the Nomad the best approach would be to just track all the mics and let someone in a real mixing room make those decisions.

Still, it was helpful for monitoring sake. It was nice to be able to listen to the final mix as we were recording. Gave me a better idea of the product I was delivering than I think monitoring isos individually would have.

That said, LCR switches or Nomad's method works for me for most other kinds of work.

[Solid Goldberger]

PFLs! Great news!

E.

[Derek H]

They should think about updating the Nomad with the pfl buttons. Seems awkward if your expansion faders have them and your Nomad doesn't..

[dominiquegreffard]

This is great news! I look forward to see some designs. I think it would benefit everybody to submit some ideas and drawings before releasing the product.

[Jeff Wexler]

"The only scenario I can think of where I'd really need a rotary pan control is for music or ambience recording and I'm required to make a stereo mix on the fly."

 

I think the whole discussion about panning, if I remember correctly from the posts a long time ago, comes from those doing bag work and servicing multiple camera feeds --- trying to get an appropriate mix to Camera A and then Camera B comes into play and needs some other mix which could be panned from what was being done for A when B showed up and took over. This sort of thing could be accomplished, I suppose, several different ways, but the people who were doing this got used to the way they could do it with easily accessible hardware knobs for panning. I've never understood this need but then why would I --- I don't do those sorts of jobs. At this point, it seems that those using Nomad AND having to do those sorts of jobs, are getting along just fine with the way Nomad accomplishes panning.

[studiomprd]

" panning means nothing when doing narrative work with a mono scratch track on camera. "

traditional L-C-R panning, or  2 channel switching, may or may not mean much,  as it is a limited way of turning your two main channels into "two-sort-of-aux mixes" particularly in the world of "ISO tracks" (sort of non-mixes) being primary tracks

[fieldmixer]

They should think about updating the Nomad with the pfl buttons. Seems awkward if your expansion faders have them and your Nomad doesn't..

I agree with Derek, upgrading the nomad with pfl buttons could be considered. Would the nomad overlay be a relatively easy replacement?

[Derek H]

A lot of the reality shows I've day played on recently don't even record the mix. Isos only. In that scenario those nice big faders are just "servicing" the ifb that the producers have in their ear.

[fieldmixer]

We are also including on the new fader panel, 8 faders allowing a mix of a total of 14 channels, 8 PFL buttons, dedicated REC and STOP keys and 8 Autotrim ID leds.

Glenn

Gosh Really!? That's so big. Doing 10ch or more in the bag is very rare. There isn't enough room for rf's. Can this drawing board fader panel potentially be halved? If the original worry was that it would be too much of a niche market and that it would be just an extra piece of gear that needs to be lugged around, those worries were justified. A four fader unit would far outsell an 8 fader unit. Please consider the possibility of a scaled down version. I've never ever had to do more than 9ch. Show of hands perhaps? Anyone else never done more than 10?

[Derek H]

If you build it they will come. I also see this as a bit of a response to the cl-6 for the 664. It's good to have options.

[fatfatjames]

It is so easy to select a channel to be left right or center on Nomad that a pan switch would not be a good idea. It would also mean that the entire state of the Nomad could not be recalled from memory. We are including a pan button that will allow any of the 14 mixable channels to be toggeled between L,R,C and off with the push of a single button. We are also including on the new fader panel, 8 faders allowing a mix of a total of 14 channels, 8 PFL buttons, dedicated REC and STOP keys and 8 Autotrim ID leds. With the new panel the Nomad will deliver the most mixing capability and best form factor of any bag style mixer/recorder at a very compeditive price point. The exact price of the 8 fader panel is not set yet but we do expect it to be less than half of other similar products in the market place. Glenn

For those with mix8 can we trade in?

[greg sextro]

It is so easy to select a channel to be left right or center on Nomad that a pan switch would not be a good idea. It would also mean that the entire state of the Nomad could not be recalled from memory. We are including a pan button that will allow any of the 14 mixable channels to be toggeled between L,R,C and off with the push of a single button.

 

We are also including on the new fader panel, 8 faders allowing a mix of a total of 14 channels, 8 PFL buttons, dedicated REC and STOP keys and 8 Autotrim ID leds.

 

With the new panel the Nomad will deliver the most mixing capability and best form factor of any bag style mixer/recorder at a very compeditive price point. The exact price of the 8 fader panel is not set yet but we do expect it to be less than half of other similar products in the market place.

 

Glenn

 

Glenn,  you used the word "fader panel" here - we are still talking about the rotary faders right?  something for bag use?

[PTA]

Gosh Really!? That's so big. Doing 10ch or more in the bag is very rare. There isn't enough room for rf's. Can this drawing board fader panel potentially be halved? If the original worry was that it would be too much of a niche market and that it would be just an extra piece of gear that needs to be lugged around, those worries were justified. A four fader unit would far outsell an 8 fader unit. Please consider the possibility of a scaled down version. I've never ever had to do more than 9ch. Show of hands perhaps? Anyone else never done more than 10?

I don't necessarily think that the idea of having an 8 fader add on was entirely for adding 8 more channels, although it could do this. I think the idea was to have a smaller fader, menu button sized, that could control all sorts of things from inputs, to Zaxnet gain, high pass filters, input gains, the possiblity of even panning. So I could be wrong, but I think these additional "faders" would be used to control all sorts of things, not soley more inputs.

[fieldmixer]

Maybe the discussion could be "tightened" if we knew what exactly we are talking about. Are the rotary faders the same size as the main faders? What are the drawing board measurements? Etc...

[glenn]

Yes a rotary fader panel for bag use. The 8 faders will be assignable to both inputs and Zaxnet remote control.

 

Glenn

[Matt Martin]

Maybe the discussion could be "tightened" if we knew what exactly we are talking about. Are the rotary faders the same size as the main faders? What are the drawing board measurements? Etc...

From another thread Jack said: "It will attach to the top of Nomad and run approximately the width of the Nomad by roughly 1" to 1.5"" Sounds like it would then have to be the menu knob sized knobs in order to fit the PFLs and others. Of course, I am only assuming though. It may have been mentioned previously, but I would love if the knobs also could act as a push button (like the menu knob without the clicks). That way we could also assign the push knobs to be user assigned shortcuts. For example one could be a shortcut to the metadata page, playback page, etc.