Show Me Your Mobile Recording Setup

[529 Pro Audio]

I am interested in seeing/reading what people are doing these days as far as mobile recording setups are concerned.

I am currently building a mobile rig centered around the Prism Orpheus and am considering the following options.

4U Setup
Power Conditioner (1U)
Open Space (1U)
Prism Orpheus (1U)
API 3124+ (1U)

6U Setup
Power Conditioner (1U)
Prism Orpheus (1U)
Burl B2 2 ch. ADC (1U)
Purple Audio Sweet Ten Rack (3U)

The 6U setup is preferable for a number of reasons, but am I asking for trouble by not allowing any spaces for ventilation? Seems like once you get over 6 spaces it kind of defeats the purpose of having a mobile setup.

-Chris

[jamsmith]

750-H2 w/ accessories.

[davetron5000]

I've been recording bands in their practice spaces, and am using:

• MacBook Pro, external FW drives
• 6-space roll-X rack with:
  • Vintech 1272
  • FMR RNP/RNC
  • Digimax LT
• 6-space rack with:
  • Digi 002R
  • Behringer headphone amp thingy
  • 1-RU power strip
• UA Solo 610 (which can fit in the back of the above rack)
• Plastic box of cables and mics, sometimes 2 boxes
• Annoying loose mic stands

I've found that lots of easy-to-carry boxes/racks is much better than fewer larger ones. I'll probably be getting a drum hardware case for the mic stands. The SKB Roll-X racks are real lifesavers for my back.

I figure, if you can't fit it all in one trip, might as well make it convenient for however many trips it takes.

[Remoteness]

I moved you thread to the...

um, mobile recording forum.

I trust you will receive the information you need and want from this little old forum.

Also, consider searching in the forum.
There's a ton of facts and figures that should help you in you new venture.
The TAGs at the bottom of the main page work well too...

Enjoy and let us know how you made out.

[jamsmith]

The Zoom H2 may seem a joke, but I would use it (or some other stereo-based recording system) over the kinds of thing I am seeing here. I have yet to hear anything less than a mobile truck using a splitter from the stage box or a complete second set of mic (yeah, real fun!). Off the board, submixes, etc, just are apple and orange.

Look, it may be just my opinion but everything I have heard in between the extremes (full transformer split with a truck for isolated monitoring and simple stereo mic) where less than satisfactory or not better enough to justify building a rack worth of stuff over. Get a simple 2 track digital recorder and a real, real nice set of condensor mics. Keep the rack at home for "mastering" the location recordings in a studio.

[bishopthomas]

Here are some pictures to get you started:

Post your pictures from your portable recording equipment

[BigMike]

This is the equipment list from the company I do a lot of audio and video work with. We actually have two SSL converters so that we can run all thirty two tracks of the Aviom.

Audio Equipment List

Digi-Design D-Command
SSL Alpha Link
SSL Delta Link
True, Focusright and API Pre-Amps
Mac Pro with HD3 Pro Tools
Mac 30” Cinema Display
Audix, Earthworks & Telefunken Mics
Dynaudio BM-5a’s 5.1 monitor system
Tascam CD- RW 900SL
32ch Digital Aviom 500ft cat5e snake
Assorted Mic stands, booms and cables
Sony MDR-7506

[jdmmobile]

I rarely post on here but I wanted to chime in on this one. I sure wish that these threads where around when I was hammering out of a van with fly packs in the 90's. There is such a wealth of experience and knowledge here that it is amazing.

Here is something rarely mentioned (from what I have seen in these posts) that is as important as the gear you choose to record/broadcast remote location audio.

Think two of everything if you want to do it for a living. No matter what gear you go out the door with, when you hit "record" you should be redundant as best as you can.

In my opinion, it is the most valuable strategy in the remote location industry. For every cable, recorder, clocking device, sharpie, there should be a backup if not three spares.

There is nothing that sucks worse than depending on your gear manufactures to get it right for every piece of equipment released. It sucks to spend money on tools that backup only, but it will save your job many times.

Last, experiment. We all get caught up in buzz and hype of gear manufactures. Play with all combinations to get the sound you think is best for what you want to achieve. I see people building rigs that have never turned the power on the gear to compare apples to oranges. I drive my local gear service people nuts. I want to hear every single device in multiple configurations before I commit to spending big bucks. Test-drive the gear, get opinions and make notes.
Marketing is a fantastic art in itself, but test drive!

[Remoteness]

Jimmy,

You mentioned a lot of good information, but I must tweak one thing you said...

I don’t want to diminish what you stated, but we talk quite a bit about backups being a big part of what we do around here. It's kind of like our mantra.

A matter of fact, I always say you need at least three of everything.
IE: The device, the backup to the device and the backup to the backup.

In any event, you made some really important points that should always be considered.

[bishopthomas]

Then if you're Steve Remote then you can't have an odd (or is it a prime number thing?) number so you buy one more.

[jdmmobile]

True True. I don't get much time to float the forum, but I wish I could. However after 31 years, you ought to be able to launch a pretty good outfit with your backup rigs. Great job!

I will try to swing by more.

[pkautzsch]

Originally Posted by bishopthomas

Then if you're Steve Remote then you can't have an odd (or is it a prime number thing?) number so you buy one more.

I think he once said it was a pronunciation thing: "three" didn't roll off the tongue as well as "four".

[Jonathan Starr]

Ensemble Mobile and Grace Lunatek running off 12v video battery belts, Macbook running Logic and 5 Schoeps SDC's and Sennheiser 416 & 816's.

In the photo we are recording surround ambience for a multimedia presentation at Huialoha Church in remote Kaupo, Maui just a few meters form the rock beach. The first drops of a rain squall were hitting us, and about 30 seconds later we were packing it up in the pouring rain.

[Remoteness]

Jonathan,

I love that picture of you folks and the gear!

[Jonathan Starr]

Originally Posted by Remoteness

Jonathan,

I love that picture of you folks and the gear!

Thanks Steve.

It was a surreal day. Apart from that whole area being an ancient but unmarked gravesite, so we knew we were standing on old bones, there was a dead pig on the beach that some dogs must have chased down and it was stinking of death to high heaven.

[loftrecordings]

Here's my rack:
M-Audio ProFire 2626
Presonus Digimax FS
Presonus HP-60
Power Conditioner

the great thing about this setup is that I have six headphone outputs with each one having it's own mix off the aux sends in the 2626 DSP mixer!

Good sound, not expensive, easy setup, 16 mic inputs into the computer, more if I want to use the second ADAT port on the 2626, or the SPDIF port.

[LX3]

Originally Posted by Jonathan Starr

Ensemble Mobile and Grace Lunatek running off 12v video battery belts, Macbook running Logic and 5 Schoeps SDC's and Sennheiser 416 & 816's.

In the photo we are recording surround ambience for a multimedia presentation at Huialoha Church in remote Kaupo, Maui just a few meters form the rock beach. The first drops of a rain squall were hitting us, and about 30 seconds later we were packing it up in the pouring rain.

Me, I'm just loving the look of that cute little folding table! I mean, really, I do wonder what's wrong with me sometimes. A friend rolled their eyes at me recently when I couldn't control my excitement about my new portable speaker stands. Even finding a better way of hooking gaffer tape to my belt is cause for celebration.

(Still... I do want to know where you got the table And do they make something similar but twice the width?)

[sundayseven]

I am running a Macbook PRO 2.4ghz 160 gig HD 3 GIGs of ram ( which will soon be 4
Profire 2626 with Pro tools m powered
Power conditioner
alesis stereo gate/compressor
mics:
2 rode nt5's
2 sm57's
2 sm58
1 akg c4000 b
1 md 421
1 beta 52
1 crappola mic that i use for talkback

of course cables and stands.

So far so good, although I expected the macbook to be more stable.

[JVVI]

MacBook Pro
Pro Tools 7.4
digi003 + digimax FS

Pre's and eq/compressor

Api 312 x 2
Api 512c x 2
api 525 b
api 525
Great River MP-500NV
MA5 x 2
E27 x 2
API 550
Juggernaut

Mic
421 x 3
sm57 x 4
EV c4
neumann km 184
audix D4
Apex 460
RE20

i also have some old mic i put xlr's on to make them work, their good mic for back up vox.

also a furman

ps im recording right now, songs almost over got to go

word!!

[Remoteness]

Let us see some pictures (of your rigs) with your descriptions!

Don't forget this IS Gearslutz.