OK this is the basic setup info I sent a buddy when he first got his. I've only run mic in - for a pre you'll have to do more work. Hopefully other people will correct any errors and/or improve my information.
Battery: You need to get one right away. The stock is way too small.
Sony NP-F970 are factory recommended. I have one but just got an Impact and it is better, and for the same price. Avoid the cheaper knockoffs. Shit, a show now costs $50 bucks, you don't wanna run outta juice from skimping on a battery.
I've had good luck with these, but a buddy has had less good results. Check out 722 battery thread in the remote power thread for more info.
Impact NPF-F975:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/465330-REG/Impact_NPF975_NP_F975_Lithium_Ion_Battery.htmlWhen you get it, plug in your mics to have phantom, hit record and let it run all night until it dies - one time. This will "reset" the battery if it has been sitting on a shelf for a while. After that it should charge to full and give you a solid 7 hours plus at 24/96 with the front panel light mostly off.
Basic 722 setup:
I skip the options that are either not important to begin with or that you can explore on your own to find a preference.
1) Sample rate: This is a personal call. Higher sampling rates record more information because you sample more times per second.
Anything above 96KHz is just overkill. The files will be huge and the battery burn hard.
I run 96KHz, this is probably a standard for most 722 users that tape "evening shows". People that tape a lot of festies may run at 48 to conserve battery and file space.
I suggest 96KHz.
2) Bit Depth - definitely 24 bit. 24 bit is the way to go because it gives you higher resolution, and you can record more information at much lower volumes. To get the same amount of detail running in 16 bit you have to run much hotter. Hot is not the sweet spot for a 722 direct mic in.
3) File Type: wav.poly. No decision, you don't want to record mono.
4) Media select: Up to you. I run INHDD only. Some people run CF only. The advantage is less power drain running CF. Not much point in recording to both CF and INHDD unless you have a lot of mileage and feel like the hard drive needs replacing soon, in which case CF gives you a backup if Harddrive fails. Recording to both uses more juice. For a new deck pick one or the other but not both. But ... If you are gonna run 24/96 smaller CF cards don't cut it - files are too big. If Phil runs a really long set you could possibly fill up a 4 gig card before the end. I recorded a Warren show last week and his second set was over 4 gigs.
5) Pre-roll time. Set to as high as it goes. This is the number of seconds you get buffered before you press record. If you set 5 seconds, as long as the unit is on you can be caught off guard, and you have 5 seconds to hit record before you lose anything. Mule cranks up by surprise and you fumble for the REC button for less than 5 seconds, the deck already has the first 5 seconds recorded for you.
6) Record Dither: Off
7) Error Handler- always set to Keep recording to new file. This is an option that is useless for tapers. People using these decks for non-concert taping may want to stop and restart. But there are no do-overs in show recording. If an error occurs starting a new file may or may not reset the error, but it is the only logical thing to do. Setting it to stop means you lose recording time always. I've seen my 722 restart a new file after recording to one for only a few seconds. The joined files had no loss, so I don't know if this is an error or not, but I've seen it happen, and would have been bummed if it had in fact just stopped.
8) Routing: 1-> A 2->B. This is one mic to one channel, second mic to second channel.
9) Inputs 1 and 2 Phantom Power: Set to each to mic on for mic in. As long as you are running mic in to the XLRs, you don't need phantom power to any line in. Also read the manual for how the XLRs work. For mic in phantom power the little switch above each should be far left.
10) Mic Input Limiters: Disabled. If you ever actually hit it, you are just running this box wrong. 722 mic in should be run cool. You should never run this box hot enough to have the limiter kick in, and if it does kick in it sounds like ass. (New note: I've read that newer firmware fixes problems people used to report about the limiters sounding like ass. Personally I have never needed them.)
11) Low Cut and Frequency: This is a topic in itself. I used to never use it, then I tried the 40/12, and love it. Probably want to start not using it a few times, read about it and you may want to try it and see for yourself.
12) Mic Input Gain Range - I always run Low and that is best for for rock and roll shows. Even bluegrass I run low, and maybe boost the gain more. Unless you are recording unamplified acoustic, Low almost always gives you plenty of signal. I've never needed normal. Again, always, soft is the sweet spot for the 722 pre amps.
13) Input 1, 2 Source Select: Auto select. If you ever have a board patch or something besides Mic in you have to do different stuff. See the manual.
14) Input 1,2 Linking: Start with unlinked. This means the left gain controls Left and Right controls right. Logical for the new user. Linked turns it into a "stereo". Top knob becomes volume, bottom knob becomes L/R balance. The result is the same. Some people swear by it. I've never liked the idea. You can try it once you are comfortable with the deck. Never use M/S linked - if you ever decide to run M/S you'll have to learn about it and then you'll understand why you never want to use this.
15) Line Input 1,2 Gain Controls - Knobs of course. Can't understand why anyone would want to use buttons.
16) File Max Size - this is important. File splits are seamless, and happen automatically. I think most people use 2 gig. 4 gigs does not offer a real advantage, and some older audio software cannot handle a 4 gig file. Also a FAT32 file system will have problems with files this size. My old version of CEP for example cannot load a 4 gig file. I personally use 1 gig because I do a lot of my processing on an older laptop, and even though CEP can handle a 2 gig file it is really slow because of memory use. That is a lot of extra work though. The Mule show at 24/96 was 7 files, about 6 gig total. If you have a good computer 2 gig files are less work.
17) Meter ballistics - your choice. I use Peak Hold + VU.
That is the basic setup. The rest of the stuff is either stuff you probably will not use or file system settings.
As far as gain goes.
Ask people who run a 722 mic in and like it and they will probably tell you about the same thing. For 24 bit, meters hitting the first red occasionally and second red lighting up only a little or not at all is ideal. If you are hitting the second red a lot you may want to back it down a little. Just add gain in post to bring up the final volume.
People that think the 722 pres suck probably have either never run one or just could not wrap their head around the concept of doing something other than running hot as balls.
That will get you started for mic in..
Sweet deck. Welcome to the team. I've had mine a couple of years now, no LEDs burned out ;-) and it has always performed flawlessly.
Topic: Just got my 722.... (Read 10143 times)