Marantz PMD661 any good?

[rocksure]

I don't have the dedicated carry bag. I must look into that. Currently I am just using the over the shoulder carry strap, but I would really like a soft protective case. The furry cover I am using is a home made one that a friend's partner sewed up to fit over mics, but it happens to stretch fit perfectly over the Marantz. It cuts out wind noise brilliantly. I was recording sounds of the ocean on a blustery windy day last week and I was pleasantly surprised at the results.

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by rocksure

I don't have the dedicated carry bag.

I've got the Porta Brace bag for the Sound Devices MixPre. Porta Brace
is pretty nice but I'm wondering if, for light duty, the Marantz
bag would be alright. Porta Brace does make a bag for the 661
but I wouldn't mind that the Marantz bag is black and so doesn't
stand out so much to onlookers. And I imagine the Marantz bag
might be a little less bulky - but the PB MixPre bag is not overly so.

How are you setting the volume for your recordings?

[rocksure]

In some ways I would like a soft bag with protective foam in it like a camera bag, so that I am not so paranoid about dropping or banging it during transport etc.

I am not using headphones. I occasionally check the speaker for playback, but mostly I am just setting the volume by the meters so it doesn't clip. I have got it wrong a few times, but since it is kind of random effects gathering it's no big deal if I lose a few samples here and there.

I then it plug it into the computer, take the files off the device, edit them and see what I have got. I do it regularly so I don't have masses of stuff on the device at any one time. I have gathered some really good stuff doing it this way, and I am not so self conscious about people watching. if I need to get something more specific, where it's important to get it right straight off, and at a known point in time I would do it more carefully than this, and with more equipment.

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by rocksure

I would like a soft bag with protective foam in it like a camera bag

The Porta Brace bag I have for the MixPre does not have any foam.
It's just basically a canvas sack.


One time I tried automatic level control with the 661 and was not
impressed at all. Noise floor gets lifted WAY up and everything
gets jumbled all together.

[rocksure]

It's better to err on the side of a little less volume and then bump it up later during editing anyway.
Yesterday I was able to get some shopping mall food court sound samples by simply sitting the device on a table, switching it on and letting it run. No one even knows you are recording. Then dump the samples into a computer, edit out the bits you don't want, and do any processing that's necessary. It's so handy for that type of thing. No need to monitor during the recording if you set the meters at a reasonable level.

[antilog]

Originally Posted by halljams

Well turn the inputs down if you are concerned. @ 24bit you have 144db dynamic range. I am going to record a 747 take off next week, i'm gonna start low!
Limiters? Yuck.

Agreed, get a soundcheck, or use external pres + a limiter.

[SaschaP]

Hello all,

I started this thread a while back and need your help once again! I purchased a PMD661 about a year ago and have used it with great success 3 or 4 times a week recording interviews and location sound. I baby the unit and it is still in near perfect condition.

During a recording today the right channel exhibited some static like noise. I was using the built in mic pres with phantom power on. It was intermittent, and sounded like a dirty cable connection might sound. I've tried different combination's of cables, microphones, and even different headphones. It's definitely the right mic pre, or phantom power supply.

Has anyone had this problem? Any ideas on how to fix this?

Thanks

[rocksure]

I don't know for sure, but to me the sound you describe fits the description of a bad capacitor. Sometimes they can be quiet for hours and then start making those kinds of noises.

[studer58]

Hey Rocksure,
you've got our Aussie possums over there making hell of your angri-business (well I'm sure you're angry about them enough to 1080 them from the air via chopper drops !), but wouldn't those skins just make the best EVER windjammer covers and soft pouches for audio gear ? I don't think there's any fur-like material that's softer and denser and long wearing than possum skin. Plus you'd be helping the NZ primary production sector. Justa thought....!

[rocksure]

Originally Posted by studer58

Hey Rocksure,
you've got our Aussie possums over there making hell of your angri-business (well I'm sure you're angry about them enough to 1080 them from the air via chopper drops !), but wouldn't those skins just make the best EVER windjammer covers and soft pouches for audio gear ? I don't think there's any fur-like material that's softer and denser and long wearing than possum skin. Plus you'd be helping the NZ primary production sector. Justa thought....!

Haha yeah possum fur would be good. We certainly do have plenty of them over here. Just don't send us your bush fires or floods ay!

[studer58]

we'll keep our floods and fires if you keep your earthquakes, sounds fair all round

[rocksure]

OK...deal. Yeah I woke up to a small shaking at 4am the other night. Actually it was a 5.9 quake but it was so deep it didn't do any damage. Still it's a little unnerving.
ps: it wasn't quite loud enough to get out the Marantz and record it.

[ImJohn]

Here is a recording of a Porsche 935K (fancy race car from 70's / 80's) being started and idling with a few revs. I recorded this a few days ago with my PMD661 and a pair of Avenson STO-2 mics handheld on a T-bar. Editing and some mastering like tomfoolery done in Wavelab 5 and mnitored just on Yamaha MSP-3 speakers.

http://soundcloud.com/johnlrice/porsche-935k-pumped-up

[npatro22]

I love em' portabrace has good cases and protect the gear sufficiently.

Don't worry about a limiter, just record low your in digital man!! you can rec supppppppeeeeerrrr low and still get good s/n

[Brackish]

Just wanted to pass along here that 661 owners should check out the volume level setting tips over in the Oade Brothers FAQ. I just ran across that and found out that the 661 attenuation setting is counter-intuitive (atleast to me) and so if you look at the tips you may be able to improve your recordings if you've had a wrong understanding about how the settings work.

Oade says:

"It's important to understand the MIC ATTN settings in the PMD 620 and 661 are not pads, they actually alter the gain of the preamp."

For further details, see their site.

[Staccat0]

Don't know if I'm too late, but I've used the H4n, FR2-Le, 661 and the 702 on various student/indie film projects.
The 702 crushes them all (I mention this only for scope)
The Marantz and the FR2-LE had okay pres for condensers, but probably too noisy alone for high quality dynamic mic recording.
The Marantz has a nice headphone out, IMO that lets you get a good idea of what you've recorded.
The FR2-LE kept tricking me into turning down the volume the first time I used it. It requires too much faith IMO.
That said, the way the Marantz LOOKS/feels a little amatuer with all its buttons on the face and the L/R knob for input is almost useless for minor adjustments to one input.
Basically, its my favorite recorder in that range, but I reccomend using it with a mixer or pre, simply for the sake of being able to make accurate adjustments to level.

Dont know if any of that is useful. I'm still a noob.

[mathieujm]

Originally Posted by Staccat0

That said, the way the Marantz LOOKS/feels a little amatuer with all its buttons on the face and the L/R knob for input is almost useless for minor adjustments to one input.

I don't understand this requirement. It's so easy to make these adjustements in post in every DAW !

Today I forgot my headphones at home to record a concert with my FR2LE. I was worried about no control on mic placement but not too much about L/R levels...

JMM

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by Brackish

"It's important to understand the MIC ATTN settings in the PMD 620 and 661 are not pads, they actually alter the gain of the preamp."

I now realize that I've been (inadvertantly) recording dialog at the highest gain setting and, even though I've been keeping the levels under 0 dBFS, the vocals have sounded "hard". Could this "hardness" be related to having the pre set to max gain?