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Author Topic: Sound Devices New MixPre Series  (Read 107007 times)

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Offline yug du nord

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Re: Sound Devices New MixPre Series
« Reply #15 on: April 19, 2017, 03:08:05 PM »
quick dumb question..  do these actually record all tracks?... or mix-down all tracks > two tracks?
damn sweet!!
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Offline larrysellers

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Re: Sound Devices New MixPre Series
« Reply #16 on: April 19, 2017, 03:14:05 PM »
quick dumb question..  do these actually record all tracks?... or mix-down all tracks > two tracks?
damn sweet!!

The MixPre-3 is 5 in/2 out and theMixPre-6 is 8 in/4 out.

Offline yug du nord

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Re: Sound Devices New MixPre Series
« Reply #17 on: April 19, 2017, 03:16:22 PM »
^got it..  just read through it quick..  thanks! 
the iOS app might make this a magic box!!
the YS is gonna be interesting for the next few weeks i think..
« Last Edit: April 19, 2017, 03:17:55 PM by yug du nord »
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Offline drewloo

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Re: Sound Devices New MixPre Series
« Reply #18 on: April 19, 2017, 03:24:52 PM »
"Tracks   8 (6 channel + mix)"  so I would guess yes, 6 discreet channels


4 mono xlr/trs plus one mini stereo is how I see it so those last two are prob locked together

You're probably right, I was thinking more along the line of 6 independent channels.

User Guide is up now:  https://www.sounddevices.com/download/guides/MixPre6-UG_en.pdf

Offline larrysellers

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Re: Sound Devices New MixPre Series
« Reply #19 on: April 19, 2017, 03:26:44 PM »
MixPre-3







MixPre-6






Offline waltmon

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Re: Sound Devices New MixPre Series
« Reply #20 on: April 19, 2017, 03:45:18 PM »
I'm in...
KM140's, KM150's, U89's, Mixpre-10T II, 788T, F3

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Offline waltmon

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Re: Sound Devices New MixPre Series
« Reply #21 on: April 19, 2017, 03:49:52 PM »
I love how small it is...interested to see what cool cases become available for it.
KM140's, KM150's, U89's, Mixpre-10T II, 788T, F3

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Offline Craig T

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Re: Sound Devices New MixPre Series
« Reply #22 on: April 19, 2017, 03:51:11 PM »
From the user guide:

The recording functionality is dependant on the current operating mode, Basic
or Advanced.

In Basic mode, the MixPre-6 functions as a two-track 48 kHz recorder. The two
record tracks are fed by the LR mix which is driven directly by the channel knob
gains.

In Advanced Mode, the MixPre-6 is configured as a eight-channel recorder with
user-selectable 44.1, 48, 96 and 192 kHz sample rate and 16 and 24bit depth.
The LR mix tracks may be recorded as well as each of the six channels as
individual isolated (ISO) tracks. Audio for the ISO tracks is recorded “prefade”
meaning before the channel knob gain, so any changes that are made there
will only affect the LR mix and have no affect on the recorded ISO track levels.
This is particularly useful for post-production audio processing where it may be
desirable to create an alternate mix of the tracks at a later stage.
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Offline rippleish20

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Re: Sound Devices New MixPre Series
« Reply #23 on: April 19, 2017, 04:04:10 PM »
From the user guide:


Audio for the ISO tracks is recorded “prefade”
meaning before the channel knob gain, so any changes that are made there
will only affect the LR mix and have no affect on the recorded ISO track levels.
This is particularly useful for post-production audio processing where it may be
desirable to create an alternate mix of the tracks at a later stage. [/i]

I find this a bit confusing. Does this mean that you have no control over the incoming trim level in terms of what is recorded to the track wav files?


With the F8, the trim knobs control the volume of what is recorded to the SD card for tracks 1-8. You can then change the gain for tracks post-fader to alter what is sent to the outputs or to l/r. Is the above statement saying the same thing?

In the manual they say it in a different way which leads me to believe its more like the F8

"Gain (sometimes referred to as Trim) at the preamplifier stage has historically
been a confusing subject for many users. As implemented in the MixPre-6, Gain
sets the level of the incoming signal from the outside world before the signal
gets routed to anything else in the mixer or recorder. In a traditional workflow,
it would be typical to connect the input device to a channel and set the Gain
so that the loudest parts of the audio signal just touch the red segments of the
meters. In other mic preamplifier designs, this was a very necessary part of
the workflow in order to assure the best signal-to-noise performance (minimize
hiss). The Kashmir mic preamplifiers change the traditional workflow paradigm.
Now, precisely setting the Gain is much less critical (in most cases unnecessary)
due to the extremely quiet (lack of hiss) nature of their design. This allows
you to use the MixPre-6 with the confidence that even if optimal Gain levels
haven’t been set, your audio will still be handled and recorded with grace. The
extraordinarily low noise floor of the Kashmir mic preamplifiers allow recorded
tracks to be “normalized” (the process of adding level to a whole recorded track
as to align the loudest peak with near-maximum) in post-processing without
fear of ruining the track due to the added noise that would have been present
in other preamplifier designs. Finally, you’re free to capture audio on the fly
without worry!"
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Offline pohaku

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Re: Sound Devices New MixPre Series
« Reply #24 on: April 19, 2017, 04:35:32 PM »
I agree, this is confusing.  The language suggests that the individual channel gain knobs only affect the L/R mix when recording in Advanced mode and are not used to set the gain of the individual tracks when recording.  So does the unit set the gain "arbitrarily" with the expectation that you will fix it in post since the pres are so quiet?
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Offline rippleish20

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Re: Sound Devices New MixPre Series
« Reply #25 on: April 19, 2017, 04:39:33 PM »
I agree, this is confusing.  The language suggests that the individual channel gain knobs only affect the L/R mix when recording in Advanced mode and are not used to set the gain of the individual tracks when recording.  So does the unit set the gain "arbitrarily" with the expectation that you will fix it in post since the pres are so quiet?

That is basically the impression I got when reading it
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Offline willndmb

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Re: Sound Devices New MixPre Series
« Reply #26 on: April 19, 2017, 08:29:35 PM »
"Tracks   8 (6 channel + mix)"  so I would guess yes, 6 discreet channels


4 mono xlr/trs plus one mini stereo is how I see it so those last two are prob locked together

You're probably right, I was thinking more along the line of 6 independent channels.

User Guide is up now:  https://www.sounddevices.com/download/guides/MixPre6-UG_en.pdf
there are typos or it just doesn't make sense to me, like two spots where it says three channels are 48v powered
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Offline drewloo

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Re: Sound Devices New MixPre Series
« Reply #27 on: April 19, 2017, 09:01:07 PM »
there are typos or it just doesn't make sense to me, like two spots where it says three channels are 48v powered

It says the same in the Mixpre 3 manual, my guess is that they did the manual for the 3 first and did a sloppy job of porting that manual over for the 6.  At least let's hope so.

Offline noahbickart

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Re: Sound Devices New MixPre Series
« Reply #28 on: April 19, 2017, 09:07:07 PM »
Given all the business we Tapers have sent SD's way over the years, is there no rep who posts here? I know we ran the tascam guy off...

I too read the guide to suggest that the big 4 knobs only affect the stereo mix. Hopefully one can set which gain stage they control in the menu.
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Preamps:    Schoeps VMS 02iub, Naiant IPA, Sound Devices Mixpre6 I
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Offline voltronic

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Re: Sound Devices New MixPre Series
« Reply #29 on: April 19, 2017, 11:28:28 PM »
If the gain control really works as described in the manual, that would be a deal-breaker for me.  I don't care how spectacular the preamps are; I still want to be able to control gain on my tracks, and crank the hell out of them if needed.  That's one of the things you're paying for with high-quality pres, right??  I'd have that capability with digital mics running into AES inputs, and the noise levels are way, way low there.  The "never mind about gain, just normalize in post" attitude is very surprising coming from SD.

How low must SD be setting the (presumably) fixed input gain to be sure that it's never going to clip?  Or are the limiters always active?  Analog limiters are great, but for music recording I will still avoid them unless absolutely necessary because you can hear them working in some situations.

The whole input approach seems very contrary to the normal workflow most people have learned.  You should be able to set gain for your ISO tracks, and then go into your L/R mixdown and use the knobs as channel faders (not gain controls) for your mixdown.  That's pretty standard in pro field recorders, I believe.
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