sound devices mix pre, stereo pair for marching band

[SynthLine09]

So I'm currently the drum major of my drum corps (think professional marching band) and am hoping to record the progress of the corps and keep a little audio journal as the season progresses. We travel to about 30 states and perform to crowds sizing from 1,000 to 25,000.

I'm mainly wanting to set up a small rig for recording run throughs of rehearsals. For the past 2 years I have just stuck my edirol R-09 on the staff scaffolding with pretty decent results. However I'd like to really step it up this year, as it will be my last year.

I have an idea for a rig and I just would like some input on it. I was planning on getting a sound devices mix pre and then recording the corps in stereo with my stereo pair of NT5's. Then just running the outs of that into the R09. I certainly am not bringing a laptop on tour and cant afford anything more expensive or bigger than that. This wont be for making money either, just so the members can listen to performances so they can improve and for sentimental reasons down the road.


Would I get better sound out of this than i would with just the R09?

[hbphotoav]

Originally Posted by SynthLine09

I have an idea for a rig and I just would like some input on it. I was planning on getting a sound devices mix pre and then recording the corps in stereo with my stereo pair of NT5's. ...
Would I get better sound out of this than i would with just the R09?

Why not simplify a bit more and do a NT4? I run mine directly into my R-09HD whenever possible (although the onboard mics are surprisingly good, though very prone to wind noise... which I tamed a bit with a large - think SM58 - foam filter pulled over the top half of the recorder). Get a large, rugged shock mount (like this: Large Mic Clip With Shock Mount*-* Mic Clips & Mounts), secure your stand to the tower, make sure your batteries are fresh, and you're good to go.

[tourtelot]

I think this should be much of an improvement. You'll still need to use your R-09 as a recorder; the Mix Pre is just that. A mixer and mic preamps. Very high quality, as you probably already know. The R-09 takes an external line or mic in, right? The outputs of the Mix Pre can be set for either IIRC.

Set the mics into a true stereo pair, either XY or ORTF.

The other thing is, do you typically perform outdoors? You should certainly consider wind protection for your mics. The tiniest bit of wind will cause them to be un-usable. The foam pop-screens won't help and I recommend some sort of "dead-cat" fuzzy screens. These are made, primarily by a company called Rycote and can be purchased from the pro-sound dealers like Location Sound in LA, Trew Audio in Nashville, or Coffey Sound in LA. Just a warning, these won't be as cheap as you think they should be, but outdoors, they are a necessity.

BTW, if these are too expensive, you might try larger foam screens with some panty-hose material stretched over the foam and secured well to the body of the mic. Very cheap, an improvement over just the foam screens, and better than nothing. Perhaps roll your own with some polyester "fake fur" from a fabric store and someone who knows how to basically sew. These should fit over some over-sized foam screens, like the nylon stocking material above.

With that in mind, the quality of your recordings should be way better. My only other suggestion would be, perhaps, hyper-cardiod mics if you are reaching way, way out for your corps. It would be interesting to try a set of hypers one day and see what the difference is. Have fun, and post a recording here.

D.

[SynthLine09]

Originally Posted by hbphotoav

Why not simplify a bit more and do a NT4? I run mine directly into my R-09HD whenever possible (although the onboard mics are surprisingly good, though very prone to wind noise... which I tamed a bit with a large - think SM58 - foam filter pulled over the top half of the recorder). Get a large, rugged shock mount (like this: Large Mic Clip With Shock Mount - Mic Clips & Mounts), secure your stand to the tower, make sure your batteries are fresh, and you're good to go.

I'd get an NT4 but I already own a pair of NT5's. Same capsules as far as I know.


Thanks to the both of you for the suggestions. I think I will get the mix-pre assuming I can gather the money for one. This activity is really something special, and I want to have something to remember it by

[SynthLine09]

As far as the panning on the unit (the hard pans - L, C, R) what would be the desired setup with a pair of SDC's in ORTF? Would I pan the to L and R or just leave them center

[SynthLine09]

Heres another Idea....I currently have an FMR RNP....how does the sound devices compare to this unit? I figure I could maybe trade the RNP for a 2nd hand mix pre and take that on tour with me and afterwords jsut replace the RNP with the mixpre in my rig

The RNP is slightly colored, how about the mix pre? I do mostly classical recording anyway.

Is this a bad idea?

[Bgreen]

If you decide to go this route, I have a mix pre I might consider trading just to try something new. PM me if your interested.

You'll want to pan L/R