LOCATION RECORDING Location List
Veteran location sound recordist and ex-BBC producer ALISTAIR MCGHEE runs us through his top choices for location recording gear, from mixers and microphones to batteries.
LOCATION RECORDING has its well- established names with SQN mixers, Nagra recorders and Sennheiser microphones being some of the most recognisable brands still going strong. However, the market is anything but static. The application of digital techniques is rapidly changing the market’s landscape with Filmtech and Cooper Sound just two of the much-loved mixer manufacturers no longer in business. First, digital recorders replaced quarter-inch tape on a one-for-one basis (out with the Nagra, in with the DAT) but the move to hard disk and now USB and/or card-based systems has lifted the two channel limit and portable multi-tracks are the order of the day. I’ve just reviewed the Roland R-88 (see
Audio Media August 2013, page 40), which brings eight-track recording with time code under the two-grand mark. In professional location recording terms that’s very, very affordable. Of course, if you want the full range of pro features then Sound Devices’ 788T and Zaxcom’s range of Diva and Fusion recorders will fit the bill albeit at a higher price.
RECORDERS
For those working with a bag over the shoulder, the Sound Devices 788 has been massively popular, and with add-on fader packs like the CL-8 and CL-9, it is a system that has flexibility and power. For those working on cart tops, the Zaxcom Deva has revolutionised workflows on TV and film sets around the world. And neither Sound Devices nor Zaxcom are standing still. Sound Devices replaced their industry standard 442 mixer with the 552 mixer/recorder adding a fifth channel and the ability to make a stereo recording built right in. And in short order the 552 had a bigger brother the 664. Here SD really has blown the bloody doors off – six mic inputs, four output busses, 10 record tracks (that’s all six inputs and all four outputs), ambient time code and recording to Compact Flash and SD card. And if all this wasn’t enough, add in the CL-6 for another six line level recordable inputs.
The Sound Devices 788T FIELD MIXERS Zaxcom Nomad 6
Not to be outdone in this battle for the bag, over at Zaxcom they have a range of Nomads, from four tracks up to 12, and a new Nomad Lite model on the way. Not all the action is from the USA though. Alongside the eight- channel Roland there’s Tascam’s HS-P82 eight-channel recorder and the complementary RC-F82 offering linear fader control and talkback facilities for location recording.
“One aspect of location recording that gets everyone hot under the collar is the quality of the mic preamps with some people willing to shell out for premium brands.”
Back in Europe we still have some big
hitters. The eight-channel Nagra VI is much favoured in location music recording and offers six tracks and a stereo mix. The arrival of the Nagra EMP allows Nagra VI owners access to a full six channels of Nagra mic input preamplifiers. I should also fly a tricolour for the AETA recorders. I reviewed the Mixy for Audio Media a year or so ago and while I can see it is an acquired taste, I grew to love it. Sadly I’ve never had a go at the 4Minx – the Mixy’s bigger brother – but it looks splendid and offers a range of time code and track options. Staying in France but looking up the price slope, Aaton is promising an X3 version of the Cantar next year. Hopefully the company’s financial problems will prove temporary and the Cantar will get the upgrade it deserves, as it is an engineering masterpiece and the world is a better place for its existence.
With all this excitement in the world of recorders it’s easy to forget that the humble mixer is alive and kicking. SQN offers a five- channel flagship in the 5S series II, but if it will forgive me, I still get a bigger kick out of the 4S mini mkII. I have the older version but it is so tiny and beautiful that grown men weep even while mixing tedious regional news items. The 4S mini is the most fun you can have in a bag, allegedly.
Having been suitably impressed by its Solice
cart top mixer, I was thrilled when I saw that PSC is introducing a six-channel over the shoulder mixer for 2013. Bravo I say, and the Alexis looks pretty fine from what I have seen so far. Talking of cart tops, again we lament the passing of Cooper Sound but here in Blighty, Audio Developments continues to set the standard. It was no surprise when I talked to Simon Hayes of Les Miserables fame that on top of his carts sat Audio Developments mixers – limiters specially tweaked, of course. Take a seat before reading the prices, but laugh in the face of danger while mixing. Talking of cold hard francs, Sonosax is another legendary name in mixing, not least because I have yet to lay my hands on one of the company’s products. They do, however, have multi-track recorders and over the shoulder and cart top mixers in their range and all look fantastic on their website. Call me if you see one.
Audio Developments’ AD149
More affordable are the mixers from Fostex. I found the four-channel FM-4 and its smaller brother, the FM-3, to be very serviceable. They have on-board digital DSP (if you like that sort of thing) and are a bit cheaper than some of the options I’ve mentioned so far.
PREAMPS
One aspect of location recording that gets everyone hot under the collar is the quality of the mic preamps with some people willing to shell out for premium brands. Of course even
6 August 2013 Broadcast Audio – An International Buyers Guide 2013
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