Gear / Technical Help > Recording Gear
Tascam DR-70D - modification discussion
voltronic:
So as to not crowd the main 70D thread with mod discussions, I'm starting this topic. It would be interesting to hear recordings of modified units for those who have had them done. This may help people decide whether or not such mods are worth their while. So far, the only known mods are from Jim Williams (described on the FAQ) and Busman Audio.
My JWmod 70D arrived today, and now I have before and after recordings to share of me playing a short piano excerpt. As I said in the main thread, this is not really a valid comparison as the ambient noise in my apartment is somewhat high (DVR box and computer in same room, appliances, etc.) and the recordings are made more than a week apart. I did my best to keep my playing in the second recording somewhat consistent with the first recording, and other than the tempo I think I got pretty close.
For those that care, this is a Yamaha U1 upright, up against an interior wall and definitely overdue for a tuning. I'm playing very softly, although it doesn't seem so on the recording because I was using the HIGH gain setting.
Jim established that there wouldn't really be much reduction in self-noise, but there should be an improvement in detail / transparency in the mid and high ranges. These recordings are probably not the best to judge those things, but I had to go with something I could reasonably repeat most of the factors with.
The recording setup was exactly the same both times: CM3s in NOS, 5 feet up, 6ft away and at 3:30 position behind and to the right of keyboard. I did this to sound like you're sitting in a chair reading the music over the pianist's shoulder. This was direct into the 70D, running at 24/96, HIGH gain, pots at 10:30. The ambient noise before I started playing was reading about -45 to -50 dB for both recordings.
No editing was performed on these files, other than trimming the start and end and converting to FLAC.
The files are labelled A and B, but I'm curious to see if others can tell which one is the stock unit and which one is modified. I'll withhold my thoughts on how this turned out until we have some guesses as to which file is which.
EDIT: No more mystery - they are just labeled as what they are. I also uploaded a noise-reduced version of both files to remove the background hum from my DVR box and fridge.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/adfu4jc5z1r1qx9/AABMBw5LWl7rrekjqKhgQOCXa?dl=0
Colin Liston:
How much is the mod?
voltronic:
--- Quote from: Colin Liston on July 25, 2015, 08:09:34 AM ---How much is the mod?
--- End quote ---
Jim Williams does not do the mod himself - he modified his own 70D, and then made the details of it free for anyone who wants to do it themselves. I have posted this on the FAQ page.
You need to find a surface-mount shop to do this for you, so the price will vary. My shop asked that I source the parts myself as well. Parts came to $27.06 shipped, and that included one extra opamp and two extra caps just in case. USPS was $17.90, labor and return shipping $91.00. All together it ran me $135.96.
Other shops may charge a bit more for labor. The shop I used said they could charge me a bit less based on what they had learned from doing one of these before. They don't want to be publicly named, as they don't really have time to do lots of these, sorry.
I think at least one person here has gotten the Busman mod. I don't know anything about that, as he doesn't advertise it on his website.
Life In Rewind:
--- Quote from: voltronic on July 25, 2015, 08:57:03 AM ---
--- Quote from: Colin Liston on July 25, 2015, 08:09:34 AM ---How much is the mod?
--- End quote ---
Jim Williams does not do the mod himself - he modified his own 70D, and then made the details of it free for anyone who wants to do it themselves. I have posted this on the FAQ page.
You need to find a surface-mount shop to do this for you, so the price will vary. My shop asked that I source the parts myself as well. Parts came to $27.06 shipped, and that included one extra opamp and two extra caps just in case. USPS was $17.90, labor and return shipping $91.00. All together it ran me $135.96.
Other shops may charge a bit more for labor. The shop I used said they could charge me a bit less based on what they had learned from doing one of these before. They don't want to be publicly named, as they don't really have time to do lots of these, sorry.
I think at least one person here has gotten the Busman mod. I don't know anything about that, as he doesn't advertise it on his website.
--- End quote ---
Only True Believers need apply! ;D
voltronic:
--- Quote from: Life In Rewind on July 25, 2015, 09:40:12 AM ---
--- Quote from: voltronic on July 25, 2015, 08:57:03 AM ---
--- Quote from: Colin Liston on July 25, 2015, 08:09:34 AM ---How much is the mod?
--- End quote ---
Jim Williams does not do the mod himself - he modified his own 70D, and then made the details of it free for anyone who wants to do it themselves. I have posted this on the FAQ page.
You need to find a surface-mount shop to do this for you, so the price will vary. My shop asked that I source the parts myself as well. Parts came to $27.06 shipped, and that included one extra opamp and two extra caps just in case. USPS was $17.90, labor and return shipping $91.00. All together it ran me $135.96.
Other shops may charge a bit more for labor. The shop I used said they could charge me a bit less based on what they had learned from doing one of these before. They don't want to be publicly named, as they don't really have time to do lots of these, sorry.
I think at least one person here has gotten the Busman mod. I don't know anything about that, as he doesn't advertise it on his website.
--- End quote ---
Only True Believers need apply! ;D
--- End quote ---
I'm not sure where your snark is directed - at the mod I got, at Busman, or at all of this in general.
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