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Sound Devices Mix Pre-3 and Mix Pre-6


afewmoreyears

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1 hour ago, John Blankenship said:

Use hyperbole much? 

 

Pre-roll does seem like a relatively simple feature to implement, and it’s strange that Zoom’s alternatives have it while even the 10T does not. On the other hand, it’s understandable how Sound Devices is conservative in adding features to the MixPre series that may devalue their more professional recorders.

 

1 hour ago, Dalton Patterson said:

Would be equivalent to:

 

If someone wants to mix with a Cooper mixer into a MixPre recorder, it’s still very possible.

 

I’d be wrong to assume using any of these cheap control surfaces would beat the experience of using a CL-12, but I’d like to see someone in the low-budget realm mix a feature with that nanoKontrol 2.

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17 minutes ago, Daniel Ignacio said:

I’d like to see someone in the low-budget realm mix a feature with that nanoKontrol 2

I'm picking up what your putting down. I have used and own nanokontrol gear, it works, but its really unpractical. It felt fisher-price playskool to me. The price point is attractive. 

 

I feel also that is attempting to take food off the table of someone who sacrificed to buy industry standard equipment. 

 

On a no/low budget indie, this could improve the quality of the mix when big budget gear is out of the question. I have my hesitations, but the concept sounds fun, but also more trouble than its worth with potential for disaster. Misleading if you will.

 

I like the idea of what you are proposing, only using the bare minimum and scaling up if necessary. 

 

 

If you get anything close to this setup you gotta share it with us!!!!!

 

I am critical, but support you 💯💯💯

2 hours ago, John Blankenship said:

 

"Madness"?

 

Use hyperbole much? 

15m92d.jpg

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Faders that small are for setting levels, not active mixing.   I have a fair amount of experience TRYING to mix on faders that small, and you always seem to be either about to overshoot the level you want or actually overshooting the level you want.  The Nanos are great for musicians, but not for mixers who actually mix.  The Zoom fader boxes are far more usable than a Nano, but still too dinky for my fat fingers. 

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16 hours ago, Daniel Ignacio said:

 

Pre-roll does seem like a relatively simple feature to implement, and it’s strange that Zoom’s alternatives have it while even the 10T does not. On the other hand, it’s understandable how Sound Devices is conservative in adding features to the MixPre series that may devalue their more professional recorders.

 

 

I saw the inside photos of the MIxPres on the FCC applications and i noticed a Zynq 7000 SoC. I guess there's a memory limitation (note, I didn´t check everything thoroughly). Interestingly these SoCs have been behind the launch of some surprisingly capable (for the price) oscilloscopes.

 

https://www.xilinx.com/support/documentation/selection-guides/zynq-7000-product-selection-guide.pdf

 

On a MixPre 3, for instance, 5 seconds at 96 KHz need 1.4 MB. For 5 tracks (3 ISOs and a stereo mix) that makes roughly 7 MB.

 

These SoCs don't have a lot of internal memory. You can add if of course (several variants of DDR are supported) but with a power consumption penalty. 

 

So I'm not sure wether it was a deliberate decision not to include an "obvious" feature in the MixPres (as I think happened with the polarity reverse for the MixPre 3) or it has demanded an extra effort to squeeze everything together. 

 

I am sure there's been a "stormy" chorus of voices asking them to add pre record especially in the nature field recording camp. I remember I read a criticism from a very influential figure from Cornell University.

 

Whatever, it's a good thing. I don't think prerecord will be a power consumption problem, I checked which settings had an effect on power consumption using a laboratory power supply and even when not recording the audio engine is working. When I tested it I was wondering wether an aggressive power management really powered off preamplifiers for channels not in use, etc.

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi, just wondering if a release date has been set for the new firmware 3.00 ?

I have a couple of low-budget projects coming up, and using a USB controller for on-set mixing would be much appreciated...

 

I watched the IPS Vimeo link from IBC (12-16 / 09) and Paul mentions "the next couple of weeks" but it seems the release has been delayed for some reason.

 

Can't wait to upgrade my MP6 !

 

Cheers

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Hi All,

 

Regarding fader panels for MixPre series - these would be nice. Not sure if they can be powered by battery or USB. Maybe pricey as compared to Korg, but nice though.

 

http://www.jlcooper.com/_php/product.php?prod=eclipsemxl2m

 

https://www.jlcooper.com/_php/product.php?prod=fmp

 

Yes, also awaiting new MixPre 3.0 firmware - should be cool :-)

 

Keep well!

 

Cheers,

 

Dave

 

 

eclipsemxl2m_large.jpg

fmp_large.jpg

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19 minutes ago, Dave said:

Regarding fader panels for MixPre series - these would be nice. Not sure if they can be powered by battery or USB. Maybe pricey as compared to Korg, but nice though.

 

They would be, but SD is only supporting four specific surfaces. I wish they would support a generic MIDI mapping as well: for example, send volume CC messages per-channel to control the faders, etc.

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12 hours ago, Allen Rowand said:

 

They would be, but SD is only supporting four specific surfaces. I wish they would support a generic MIDI mapping as well: for example, send volume CC messages per-channel to control the faders, etc.

 

I wonder how compatible they are with the original Mackie Control. I'll try and plug a Tascam US2400 to the MixPre 3 for the fun of it ;)

 

 

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As for the bag I got the Sachtler SN607. Despite the small size it's really spacious, and the front pocket can accept a folded MDR-7506 and a small flashlight even if a bit tight. For nature recording I can even use the extra division in the main compartment for a pair of standard size binoculars (8x42). 

 

One of my requirements was compatibility with the optional power sleds for the MixPre in case I eventually get the L-mount adapter (the USB C connectors make me a bit nervous). I haven't got the adapter yet, but the SN607 is really roomy for its size.

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  • 3 weeks later...
9 minutes ago, cinetj said:

Just got my hands on a mix pre 6 today in order to try it. What I didn't get at all is the metadata fields. Why does it have a number field instead of scene and take. How do you deal with it if you're doing fiction work?

 

 

"Name" = scene

"Number" = take

 

Always worked great for me. 

 

-Mike

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8 hours ago, newzhack said:

I just got a mix pre 6. Do you guys use the basic setting for gain control? I just can not get my fingers to adjust pre-fade easily in advanced mode. 

Depends on the project. Most of the time I have the gain set to basic to quicker adjust the level of the isos (I don't do much mixing when recording anyway, so just making sure that isos don't peak). For taking atmos I found it very useful to have the advanced gain setting to be able to record decoded MS on the LR mix, undecoded on the isos and an ortf pair on isos with the fader turned down.

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Ive only used the advance gain settings. I prefer to be able to adjust the fader to record a hotter mix track than my ISOs, or have more control over whats being sent to camera if thats happening.

 

Over time I have developed good references of what trim levels to start at for different situations and adjust when necessary. 

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