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Noob seeking advice — MixPre 3ii or 6ii?


TrianaSound

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Anyone with experience using MixPre 3ii and/or MixPre 6ii? I’ve been on the fence about which of these to purchase for way too long and need help making the decision. I’m relatively new to sound recording but generally believe in the “buy once cry once” philosophy when purchasing gear.

 

My anticipated use requirements are as follows:

 

PODCASTING: Rarely expect to record more than two people in person as most guests will be remote so MixPre 3ii should be fine for this. Want a device that can power mics such as SM7B without additional gain booster which is a main reason for interest in MixPre series. 


SOUND FOR FILMMAKING: Mostly short documentary and YouTube content but maybe some commercial work in future. Although rare, I may need to record up to four people at a time (probably three lavs and one boom). Can MixPre 3ii record four people on four separate tracks? I’ve read conflicting information about using the 3.5mm Aux/Mic input while also using the three XLR inputs. 


FIELD RECORDING/SFX: This is completely new for me but something I would like to delve further into soon. And this is where I’m the most uncertain about the potential benefit of having the extra inputs of the MixPre 6ii. I won’t be doing anything too serious. Mostly ambiance and SFX for personal film projects. Maybe some stereo recording with a MS setup at some point. 
 

So, given these anticipated uses does anyone see a benefit to going for the MixPre 6ii or do you think the MixPre 3ii will be sufficiently future proof for me?

 

Thanks in advance. Hopefully this post is appropriate for this forum.  I really value everyone’s expertise and will be grateful for any advice that helps me overcome this paralysis by analysis so I can get busy recording :)

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1 hour ago, TrianaSound said:

SOUND FOR FILMMAKING: Mostly short documentary and YouTube content but maybe some commercial work in future. Although rare, I may need to record up to four people at a time (probably three lavs and one boom). Can MixPre 3ii record four people on four separate tracks? I’ve read conflicting information about using the 3.5mm Aux/Mic input while also using the three XLR inputs. 

 

No, there's 3 iso tracks and 2 mix tracks.  The iso tracks will work with 1 input so you could use either an XLR or the aux-in for one of the tracks.

 

I've been using my MixPre-3II for pretty much the same sorts of things you're interested in, and it's worked very well for me.

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Thanks to each of you for your reply. Honestly, three ISO tracks is probably sufficient for at least 95% of what I will do with this recorder. If I do ever need to record a fourth person then I will most likely have something like a Tentacle Sync TRACK E pocket recorder in the bag anyway.

 

Thanks again for helping me sort this out in my own head. Now its time to record something on my (soon to be) new MixPre 3ii 😁

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12 hours ago, TrianaSound said:

So, given these anticipated uses does anyone see a benefit to going for the MixPre 6ii or do you think the MixPre 3ii will be sufficiently future proof for me?

As you've got an interest in docos / YouTube content / indie filmmaking / corporate / etc, I can say the MixPre3 is almost certainly not sufficiently "future proof" (as if such a thing even exists...) for you even in the near / mid term future (let alone further out into the future). Especially as this is your only/primary field recorder. 

You need at least a MixPre6 / Zoom F6 as your newbie starter recorder (or even better, the next half step up: MixPre10 or Zoom F8n).

 

11 hours ago, Neil Bliss said:

I've been using my MixPre-3II for pretty much the same sorts of things you're interested in, and it's worked very well for me.


MixPre3 can be a great pick as your secondary / backup recorder, but as your primary / only recorder? You want at least 4+ channels. 

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