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Author Topic: Zoom F8 - Part 2  (Read 124811 times)

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Offline acidjack

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Re: Zoom F8 - Part 2
« Reply #15 on: December 11, 2015, 02:04:37 PM »
I've been trying to get a reliable and reasonable-cost way to have external battery power for my Zoom F8.

I have one of these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-20000mAh-Multi-Voltage-Portable-Technology/dp/B00GSLRKJO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1449738157&sr=8-2&keywords=Anker+2nd+Gen+Astro+Pro2

It comes with a cable terminating in a 5.5 X 2.1mm plug for its 12V outlet.  I also have a load of adapter plugs, at least one of which fits in the F8's main 12V DC input.  But I've found it difficult to get the Zoom to reliably work with this.  Either it won't start up at all, or, if it does (after repeated trying), it has a tendency to shut down again, though last weekend I managed to power it through a 4 hour recording session with hardly a dent in the Anker's available power (even with 6 mics, all on phantom power).

Perhaps it's because when the F8 does come up working it's showing the voltage as 11.8V, so maybe it's just a tad on the low side for that DC input to be happy.

If I could find (in the UK) a cable connecting a HiRose 4-pin plug to standard 5.5 X 2.1mm socket, I suspect it might behave more reliably, as it's supposed to support 9 - 16V, but so far I can't find anything like that.

Anyone else found similar problems trying to power the F8?

Bingo, that's it. What you probably need to do is reduce the "shutdown voltage." You really do have to set the voltage you want to use with this thing at or below what the voltage is, or otherwise it will simply not look to that power source. I had a Tekkeon that was set at 9V while the unit was set to 12V. Didn't recognize it at all. I switched the Tekkeon to 12V, with shutdown voltage at 9V, and presto -- works like a charm. I also note that the Tekkeon is only reading at 11.8V most of the time, too.
Mics: Schoeps MK4V, MK41V, MK5, MK22> CMC6, KCY 250/5, KC5, NBob; MBHO MBP603/KA200N, AT 3031, DPA 4061 w/ d:vice, Naiant X-X, AT 853c, shotgun, Nak300
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Decks: Sound Devices MixPre 6, Zoom F8, M10, D50

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Offline carlbeck

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Re: Zoom F8 - Part 2
« Reply #16 on: December 11, 2015, 02:25:05 PM »
I'm powering my F8 off the same battery pack with no issues. I didn't even adjust the threshold voltage, mine reads 12v on the display. I ran it for 5 hours with 4 channel's of phantom recording four tracks & used 24%.
I know you like, tape for people's approval and stuff, and wave your tapes around like they're your dick...  but even you can't actually think section tapes from philips sound good.  



Mics: Telefunken Elam 260, 61, 62, MBHO KA200, KA500 > Niant PFA's, AKG C34L-MS
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Decks: Tascam DR-2d, Zoom F8

Old rig: Recording: AKG C34 & AKG CK1X or CK2X > MK46 > 460 > Aeta Mix2000 > Sound Devices 702

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Offline robtweed

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Re: Zoom F8 - Part 2
« Reply #17 on: December 11, 2015, 02:40:15 PM »
Aha!  On mine the Nominal Voltage was set to 14.8V and the Shutdown Voltage was 9V.  I Reduced the Nominal Voltage to 12V and now the Anker starts it up first time

Thanks for bringing those settings to my attention!

Rob
Mics: DPA 2011C, Line Audio OM1 & CM3, Calrec CM652D, Behringer C-4
Recorders: Zoom F8, Zoom H4n, Sound Devices USBPre2 + MacBook Air
Mixdown: Audacity, Cubase LE on Mac OS X
Playback: Beresford Caiman II DAC, Naim NAP 100 amp, PMC TB2i speakers

Offline phanophish

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Re: Zoom F8 - Part 2
« Reply #18 on: December 11, 2015, 05:13:41 PM »
checking in and seriously considering....
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Offline Ukiah Bass

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Re: Zoom F8 - Part 2
« Reply #19 on: December 11, 2015, 07:00:27 PM »
I ordered an F8 from Sweetwater on Nov. 17.  The rep said a "large shipment would be in next week."

On Dec. 5th I inquired about status and the rep said "hopefully in two weeks."  He said Zoom is back ordered and trying to get a production run done and into the US.

So my decision to not sell my H6 early paid off.  I bet they'll show up at Sweetwater after Christmas, maybe even into January.

Offline yltfan

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Re: Zoom F8 - Part 2
« Reply #20 on: December 11, 2015, 10:23:24 PM »
He said Zoom is back ordered and trying to get a production run done and into the US.

This probably means no sales for a while, maybe even a price hike...
Musician's Friend had a 20% off anything the other day, but no sign of any F8's :(
Mics: AT4051, AT4053, KM140, AKG C414, Beyerdynamic MEM86 guns, Nak cm300, AT853 4.7mod
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stevetoney

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Re: Zoom F8 - Part 2
« Reply #21 on: December 12, 2015, 11:59:24 AM »
He said Zoom is back ordered and trying to get a production run done and into the US.

This probably means no sales for a while, maybe even a price hike...
Musician's Friend had a 20% off anything the other day, but no sign of any F8's :(

I don't think you should read anything into the back order.  These units have been backordered since Day 1.  Zoom hasn't been able to keep up with demand on these units since the first units shipped and people started reporting positively.  While I don't think a price hike is out of the question at some point, with all the hype and publicity of the $999 USD price point, I'd be kinda surprised if they hiked it this soon after initial release.  My random thoughts anyway.
« Last Edit: December 12, 2015, 12:10:38 PM by tonedeaf »

Offline robtweed

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Re: Zoom F8 - Part 2
« Reply #22 on: December 14, 2015, 08:08:05 AM »
Quick mixdown of a piece from a live amateur big-band concert last night, recorded on my F8 in a small village hall:

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/robs-music-files/wishumerryxmas.flac

Mics used were an ORTF pair of DPA 2011C + 2 Line Audio OM1s set up as a Tony Faulkner phased array.  Tracks from the OM1s mixed 7dB down from those from the DPAs, otherwise no processing - what you hear is pretty much straight off the mics as captured by the F8 (originally at 192k/24).  F8 was battery powered using my Anker power pack - barely used any of its capacity for the full 2 hour concert.  This track was split across 2 files by the F8, but I was easily able to merge it together seamlessly using Audacity (which I also used for mixdown) without any loss at all.

Being able to use the F8 remote on my iPhone was great - so I could sit in the audience and watch the performance while recording.  Meanwhile the F8 was mounted on a camera tripod (which means it's at eye-level when I set everything up), and tucked out of the way at the side of the band.

Overall, very pleased with the F8 - very easy to set up and control in a live environment.  Can't wait to get out doing more with it!


Mics: DPA 2011C, Line Audio OM1 & CM3, Calrec CM652D, Behringer C-4
Recorders: Zoom F8, Zoom H4n, Sound Devices USBPre2 + MacBook Air
Mixdown: Audacity, Cubase LE on Mac OS X
Playback: Beresford Caiman II DAC, Naim NAP 100 amp, PMC TB2i speakers

Offline yltfan

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Re: Zoom F8 - Part 2
« Reply #23 on: December 15, 2015, 03:33:57 AM »
He said Zoom is back ordered and trying to get a production run done and into the US.

This probably means no sales for a while, maybe even a price hike...
Musician's Friend had a 20% off anything the other day, but no sign of any F8's :(

I don't think you should read anything into the back order.  These units have been backordered since Day 1.  Zoom hasn't been able to keep up with demand on these units since the first units shipped and people started reporting positively.  While I don't think a price hike is out of the question at some point, with all the hype and publicity of the $999 USD price point, I'd be kinda surprised if they hiked it this soon after initial release.  My random thoughts anyway.

Agreed, but I still think it means no sales (like this 20% coupon).
Mics: AT4051, AT4053, KM140, AKG C414, Beyerdynamic MEM86 guns, Nak cm300, AT853 4.7mod
Pre: V3, CA-9100
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Offline voltronic

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Re: Zoom F8 - Part 2
« Reply #24 on: December 15, 2015, 06:28:12 AM »
Quick mixdown of a piece from a live amateur big-band concert last night, recorded on my F8 in a small village hall:

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/robs-music-files/wishumerryxmas.flac

Mics used were an ORTF pair of DPA 2011C + 2 Line Audio OM1s set up as a Tony Faulkner phased array.  Tracks from the OM1s mixed 7dB down from those from the DPAs, otherwise no processing - what you hear is pretty much straight off the mics as captured by the F8 (originally at 192k/24).  F8 was battery powered using my Anker power pack - barely used any of its capacity for the full 2 hour concert.  This track was split across 2 files by the F8, but I was easily able to merge it together seamlessly using Audacity (which I also used for mixdown) without any loss at all.

Being able to use the F8 remote on my iPhone was great - so I could sit in the audience and watch the performance while recording.  Meanwhile the F8 was mounted on a camera tripod (which means it's at eye-level when I set everything up), and tucked out of the way at the side of the band.

Overall, very pleased with the F8 - very easy to set up and control in a live environment.  Can't wait to get out doing more with it!

Very nice.  Did the band have a strange layout?  Sounds like saxes are normal, but trombones to the right and then trumpets to the very far right.  Typically they'd be in rows behind one another.

Please post more jazz recordings - there isn't enough of it here!
I am hitting my head against the walls, but the walls are giving way.
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Offline robtweed

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Re: Zoom F8 - Part 2
« Reply #25 on: December 15, 2015, 10:05:42 AM »
Thanks voltronic!

Yes it was an unusual layout and pretty much as you'd figured, except on the right were two rows - trombones at the front, trumpets behind them.

You can get an idea of the band layout from the photo I took here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/14645984@N05/23640258872/in/album-72157661820194240/

You'll also see my mics on the wonderful brute of a Superlux MS200 stand.  The aluminium bar holding the mics in the array format is my own creation, all pre-marked out for quick rigging and orientation at the correct angles.

I'm also wanting to get more jazz recordings done - hoping to get some solo piano work recorded soon.  I'll post what I can here :-)

Rob
Mics: DPA 2011C, Line Audio OM1 & CM3, Calrec CM652D, Behringer C-4
Recorders: Zoom F8, Zoom H4n, Sound Devices USBPre2 + MacBook Air
Mixdown: Audacity, Cubase LE on Mac OS X
Playback: Beresford Caiman II DAC, Naim NAP 100 amp, PMC TB2i speakers

Offline caymanreview

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Re: Zoom F8 - Part 2
« Reply #26 on: December 15, 2015, 10:10:39 AM »
cool pic! thanks for sharing!

Offline robtweed

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Re: Zoom F8 - Part 2
« Reply #27 on: December 15, 2015, 02:07:05 PM »
Some more Big Band jazz specially for voltronic!

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/robs-music-files/silentnight.wav

Again from the Zoom F8 recordings made on Sunday, straight from the DPAs and Line Audios - I think this one showcases the F8's abilities pretty nicely, especially on the quiet sections.  96k/24 mixdown by the way.

Rob
Mics: DPA 2011C, Line Audio OM1 & CM3, Calrec CM652D, Behringer C-4
Recorders: Zoom F8, Zoom H4n, Sound Devices USBPre2 + MacBook Air
Mixdown: Audacity, Cubase LE on Mac OS X
Playback: Beresford Caiman II DAC, Naim NAP 100 amp, PMC TB2i speakers

Offline voltronic

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Re: Zoom F8 - Part 2
« Reply #28 on: December 15, 2015, 07:10:59 PM »
Some more Big Band jazz specially for voltronic!

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/robs-music-files/silentnight.wav

Again from the Zoom F8 recordings made on Sunday, straight from the DPAs and Line Audios - I think this one showcases the F8's abilities pretty nicely, especially on the quiet sections.  96k/24 mixdown by the way.

Rob

Wow, really nice!  The band was feeling it a bit more on this one, I think.  SO much better sounding than the typical jazz recording where there's lots of spot mics but no natural stereo image.  I don't want to hear the sound of a mic 4 inches from a bari sax; I want to hear the whole band sound like it does when you're there!  Given where I'm posting this, I suspect I'm preaching to the choir in a big way...

I'm curious - did you adjust the default spacing of the "Faulkner II" array since you're using cards and not subcards?  Either way, I think it sounds great.  I came across this kind of array after picking up my subcard CM3s, wondering what interesting things you can do with that pattern of mic. 

I'm sure you know about this, but for those here who don't, here is Mr. Faulkner himself posting about this setup:
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/remote-possibilities-acoustic-music-location-recording/492654-faulkner-array-insta-snake-action.html#post5400879
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/remote-possibilities-acoustic-music-location-recording/930912-three-mixes-boojum-jnorman-case-study.html#post10946336
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- Gustav Mahler

Acoustic Recording Techniques
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Team DPA

Offline ArchivalAudio

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Re: Zoom F8 - Part 2
« Reply #29 on: December 16, 2015, 01:22:48 AM »
Some more Big Band jazz specially for voltronic!

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/robs-music-files/silentnight.wav

Again from the Zoom F8 recordings made on Sunday, straight from the DPAs and Line Audios - I think this one showcases the F8's abilities pretty nicely, especially on the quiet sections.  96k/24 mixdown by the way.

Rob

Wow, really nice!  The band was feeling it a bit more on this one, I think.  SO much better sounding than the typical jazz recording where there's lots of spot mics but no natural stereo image.  I don't want to hear the sound of a mic 4 inches from a bari sax; I want to hear the whole band sound like it does when you're there!  Given where I'm posting this, I suspect I'm preaching to the choir in a big way...

I'm curious - did you adjust the default spacing of the "Faulkner II" array since you're using cards and not subcards?  Either way, I think it sounds great.  I came across this kind of array after picking up my subcard CM3s, wondering what interesting things you can do with that pattern of mic. 

I'm sure you know about this, but for those here who don't, here is Mr. Faulkner himself posting about this setup:
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/remote-possibilities-acoustic-music-location-recording/492654-faulkner-array-insta-snake-action.html#post5400879
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/remote-possibilities-acoustic-music-location-recording/930912-three-mixes-boojum-jnorman-case-study.html#post10946336

Thanks for the links to the firsthand Faulkner comments! +T
I recently ran a Milab DC196 figure 8 Faulkner  array  at an out door venue and it sounded fantastic, and I was curious about slightly wider spacing.
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