Gear / Technical Help > Battery Boxes, Preamps, Mixers, ADCs, and Processors
Running a preamp in front of a recorder that doesn't have a true "line-in"
unclehoolio:
Good to know that Busman is no longer in the game.
I agree on the price being a huge advantage! I may well go ahead and get one and be the guinea pig! Stay tuned...
goodcooker:
--- Quote from: unclehoolio on September 24, 2023, 07:08:46 PM ---In addition to my query above, I'm also considering buying a 70D and having Doug mod it. I was quite impressed with the tapes of Dead & Co from NOLA that Goodcooker pulled, using a Oade mod Tascam (in that case, a 100mkii--but I believe that the 'concert mod' upgrade is the same for both decks):
https://archive.org/details/deadco2023-05-06.lineaudiocm3.oadedr100, and the thread is here https://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=201948.msg2392452#msg2392452
--- End quote ---
I'll add a word of caution here if you are thinking about having Doug mod a deck for you. I've had two instances of interference that ruined recordings using the Oade Concert Mod Tascam DR100mkii. Both times the interference was crippling and unfixable.
The first time was running at Jazzfest in NOLA for the Radiators and Continental Drifters - 10 or 15 feet in front of a repeater stack. There was a power supply for the stack underneath the tower and I was pretty close to it. Recording unusable. At first I thought it was a ground loop from the battery I was using since I had used the deck several times that weekend with no issues but I couldn't repeat the problem using the same gear later. It was the location and by deduction the giant probably unshielded power supply.
The second time was at an indoor club that I record at all the time including having used the Oade mod deck with no problems. That night I recorded with two decks simultaneously from the Portico 5012 - a Korg MR1 and the Oade Mod DR100mkii. The Oade deck had the same interference as the first time I had a problem with it. The Korg MR1 no issues. They were using a second soundboard that night for the opening band and it may have been the source of the issue based on it having a large external power supply.
Just giving a heads up. I've been putting off sending the unit back to Doug to see what's up with it. I've had other modded decks and never had a problem.
This reminds me I need to send Doug an email and see what he has to say about it.
voltronic:
I'm going to catch flak for this, but I'm speaking from experience as someone who owned a modded 70D for a long time:
It no longer makes sense to mod these older cheap recorders when you can get newer recorders that are superior in every way for about the same price after you factor in the mod cost. Sometimes even for the price of the original deck alone. The mods do likely improve performance a bit, but your money is better spent on a better deck. Get one of the new 32-bit float autoranging multi-DAC recorders and you will never look back.
I sold my modded 70D right after I got my Zoom F6, because the improvement in sound quality and features was huge. Yes, the F6 $750. But you can get similar quality for less money with these:
Zoom F3
Tascam X6
Tascam X8
The only old recorder I would still consider buying is a Sound Devices 788, for the fantastic mic preamps alone.
IMPigpen:
Just my experience since I run a SD Mixpre with my DR-70. My typical recording is amplified rock/jamband, etc, so not classical. I've run the MP XLR outs to DR-70 XLR ins with no overloading issues at all (line in and low gain setting).
Chanher:
--- Quote from: voltronic on September 26, 2023, 10:16:58 PM ---I'm going to catch flak for this, but I'm speaking from experience as someone who owned a modded 70D for a long time:
It no longer makes sense to mod these older cheap recorders when you can get newer recorders that are superior in every way for about the same price after you factor in the mod cost. Sometimes even for the price of the original deck alone. The mods do likely improve performance a bit, but your money is better spent on a better deck. Get one of the new 32-bit float autoranging multi-DAC recorders and you will never look back.
I sold my modded 70D right after I got my Zoom F6, because the improvement in sound quality and features was huge. Yes, the F6 $750. But you can get similar quality for less money with these:
Zoom F3
Tascam X6
Tascam X8
The only old recorder I would still consider buying is a Sound Devices 788, for the fantastic mic preamps alone.
--- End quote ---
No I think this is good advice. In the last few years alone the quality of recorders have only gone up IMO and you simply can't go wrong getting the latest gear. I got my Zoom F3 used for $275 and I'm officially a 32FP advocate now. It's simply a game-changer for me as I'm often taping in non-traditional taping scenarios. Being able to start the recorder an hour (or sometimes more) before the show starts, stow the bag out of harms way, and not return until the show is over is like a veil has been lifted.
If you're primarily a "taperssection" or "controlled-environment" style taper where you have clear and easy access to your bag, nothing wrong with sticking with 24-bit and it's older recorders. Any recorder/preamp from the last 10 years is still relevant IMO and will result in HQ recordings if you know what you're doing. I only keep my mod'd UA-5 from 20 years ago for nostalgia purposes; the last time I used it I noticed the (albeit subtle) drop in quality.
The ability to set levels correctly is an acquired skill (and even an art form) and I sometimes wonder if the next generation of tapers will not even have to learn it if 32FP technology continues at it's current rate haha.
We'll try to avoid the modification-debate, but I'll be the first to admit they are subtle, and certainly not necessary. They can add "flavor", and at best those "flavors" have allowed me to produce recordings that don't require any post-processing. In fact, I'll go ahead and advise to forget mods, forget the latest recorders, put your money in your mics! :)
--- Quote from: IMPigpen on September 27, 2023, 10:10:18 AM ---Just my experience since I run a SD Mixpre with my DR-70. My typical recording is amplified rock/jamband, etc, so not classical. I've run the MP XLR outs to DR-70 XLR ins with no overloading issues at all (line in and low gain setting).
--- End quote ---
This goes against all my experiences with my MP-2 but hey, real world results are real world results.
--- Quote from: goodcooker on September 25, 2023, 03:12:35 PM ---I'll add a word of caution here if you are thinking about having Doug mod a deck for you. I've had two instances of interference that ruined recordings using the Oade Concert Mod Tascam DR100mkii. Both times the interference was crippling and unfixable
--- End quote ---
That's definitely a bummer, it sounds like it could be isolated to the mod, or perhaps a defect in the recorder. Good to know though. There's hundreds of Doug's mods out there without this problem so hopefully this is an isolated incident with a quick fix.
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