Mixer advice needed

[Ty Ford]

Hello Todd,

A Sound Devices Mix Pre D. See if you can find one used in good condition.

Come out the back of that with an XLR to RCA cables and tie them together with an RCS to 1/8″ TRS.

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford\’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Ty Ford Blog: Ty Ford\’s Blog

[Todd Terry]

Thanks Ty…

And… I don’t want to be one of those guys…. those cheapskates that I’m always ragging on over on the video side of things… but YIKES. I’m sure that’s a great device… but it’s expensive. This is for a little no-budget shoot so it would be hard to justify a mixer that is three times the price of the Mackie 12-channel boards that are in each of our video editing suites.

On all the usual suspect on-line sources (B&H, Musician’s Friend, Sweetwater etc.) there are boatloads of little mixers in the sub-$200 neighborhood, and even some sub-$100 ones… but being an audio ignoramus I’m just not sure what’s best for me. Basically just need a little gadget with two pots or sliders that will let me mix two mics (and phantom power at least one of them).

I also don’t have time to scour the used market… just looking for something where I can click a button and have it delivered tomorrow. Wow we’ve become a lazy society… but hey it is what it is.

The alternative to finding a mixer is to take one of our “real” cameras along as well (or even a Zoom recorder) and feed the mics in it, and then feed the camera into the Osmo, but I’m trying to keep things simple and avoid taking a lot of not-really-for-that-purpose gear.

Any thoughts? Anyone?…

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Bruce Watson]

[Todd Terry] “And… I don’t want to be one of those guys…. those cheapskates that I’m always ragging on over on the video side of things… but YIKES. I’m sure that’s a great device… but it’s expensive.”

So you are one of those guys. Great. I see used MixPre-Ds go by fairly often in the $400-600 USD range. You and I must have different definitions of “expensive”.

The thing is, I want a mixer that gives me decent sound quality, a bunch of good clean gain, good meters, and good limiters. The MixPre-D is about the least expensive mixer that does those things for me. Anything less expensive and you’re sacrificing one or more of those qualities. So, what are you willing to give up in exchange for a lower price? Maybe that will help someone here advise you. IDK.

[Todd Terry]

Expensive is relative.

We regularly do shoots where the budget is half is much as I paid for my first house. This is not one of them. This is for a virtually no-money shoot where the entire budget is less than the cost of two MixPre-Ds. It’s a mixer that I will use once for an hour and then probably put on a shelf never to see the light of day again.

So yes, some things can be sacrificed and in this case I readily agree I’m one of “those guys.” I’m just trying to (cleanly) feed two mics into one camera… once.

Maybe I’m in the wrong forum for such a pedestrian low-end issue, but I appreciate the responses anyway.

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Ty Ford]

Todd,

Try to think of it this way. The used Mix Pre D will not only be used on your cheap camera which will make the results sound better, but elsewhere. And unlike your cheap camera, it will provide years of faithful service.

Hope this helps,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford\’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Ty Ford Blog: Ty Ford\’s Blog

[Todd Terry]

[Ty Ford] “it will provide years of faithful service.”

I’m sure that’s true, but that faithful service would literally be sitting on a shelf. My company was 22 years old last week, and this is the first time I’ve ever needed such a thing, and it would probably be another two decades before I needed it again.

I’m actually not cheap, I don’t mind investing in great stuff (my little box of prime lenses is probably worth six figures+ today), but I can’t lose money on a one-time job, I’d be better off saying “thanks but no thanks” to the gig… this is one of those cases where I was basically just trying to help out a colleague with a client, but not go in the hole.

I’m sure my buddy who is our occasional audio engineer has something he can either loan, rent, or suggest. He is just out of pocket for a couple of days and I was trying not to bug him… or call in any favors.

Thanks all.. back to your regularly scheduled forum.

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Ty Ford]

Good idea!

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford\’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Ty Ford Blog: Ty Ford\’s Blog

[Richard Crowley]

The problem with those inexpensive mixers (and lower-end recorders and camcorders) is the low performance (gain and noise) of the mic preamps. Think of a cheap mic preamp (in a mixer or in an audio recorder or camcorder) as having a low film ISO number.

If you are shooting film with an ISO number of 64 you know that you will need some combination of strong light, fast lens, slow exposure. Same with audio. If you have a low to average cheap mic preamp, you will need a good audio level. Some combination of loud sound, sensitive microphone, close mic placement) to deliver a decent enough signal into the cheap mic preamp.

As Mr. Ford and Mr. Watson have observed, there is no short-cut or work-around to capturing good audio. If you need a piece of gear that you have rare use for otherwise, it is time to rent, borrow, or just turn down the job.

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Recording audio without metering and monitoring is exactly like framing and focusing without looking at the viewfinder.

[Todd Terry]

I’ll probably just use a camera as mic inputs and feed it to the little Osmo.

I just tested it with the two mics and our Canon C300 and it worked well and sounded great. I was just trying to avoid having to drag another camera case onto this location… especially since they’re not really paying for the extra camera. But, it’s a trade-off… it’s free, I already have it, and I know that setup like the back of my hand. I was just looking for a simpler and more convenient solution, but sometimes there isn’t one.

Thanks all…

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Richard Crowley]

Do you have other options for audio capture?
For example can you use wired (or wireless) clip-on body mics instead of shotguns?

———————————————————————————
Recording audio without metering and monitoring is exactly like framing and focusing without looking at the viewfinder.