Topic: Old rig needs new flavor

[BlugrassBri]

Here's the skinny.  I haven't taped much in the past couple years (bought a house, had a daughter, etc) and the rig has been sitting in the closet for a while.  Last time I taped the JB3 was just getting popular..now there seems to be a plethora of hd recorders. 

Currently, I run akg 391/93>akg actives>UA-5>D8.  I would like to reduce the "volume" of gear I need to bring...and also get setup for stealth recording.  I am considering getting a PS-2 phanton power unit and a small recorder (R-09, MT2496, ?)...what do you all think?

[NOLAfishwater]

why not move to an all in one unit that has been modded. I have heard great things about the Oade or Busman modded FR2LE which records in 24/96. Or if you really want go lightweight, you can go for some Church Audio Cards/Omni package + Microtrack II. You can fit that whole rig into a smaller camera bag and should cost you around $620 new ($270 for MTII, $275 CA cards/omni + 9100 preamp, $40 SP 12" flexible mic mount, $25 custom RA 1/8 to RA 1/8 cable, $25 small camera bag).

Good luck.

[grider]

you could probably get rid of the UA5 and go with an all in one box and get an improvement in sound in a single move

[Jammin72]

Another Vote for the FR2-LE great all in one, many powering options, easy to use, small footprint, with 24/96 Capabilities. I've heard good things out of the Busman Mods and I love my new Super-WCM Oade box. 

[BlugrassBri]

you could probably get rid of the UA5 and go with an all in one box and get an improvement in sound in a single move

Any particular "all-in-one" box?

[silentmark]

Fostex FR2-LE is a great little allinone box, been thinking about one myself since I've heard some the recordings that ericB has done with it, I like it better than the high & mighty SD7XX series. Regardless it is a great little box, the only knock being is the trim pots are tiny Sell your UA5 & JB3 and you're almost there for a modded one ...

[grider]

well you will be limited to boxes that provide phantom power, so the tiny ones like the Microtracker and Edirol R-09 and the Korg box will all be out of the picture, but people are using many others made by Edirol and Fostex and Tascam, all of which have pres/adc/solid state recorders in one box, check the Kickdown section here and check out the boxes people are now using

[Javier Cinakowski]

The Marantz PMD660 is another great option.  It only does 16bit, but it is slightly smaller than the Fostex and it is outrageously user freindly...

[F.O.Bean]

my vote also goes to the modded fr2le for this type of situation. I can almost guarantee a better sound as well!

[BlugrassBri]

Great. Thanks for the recommendations.

Forgive my ignorance but is recording at 24/96 then downsampling to 16/44 (cd) extremely noticable?

[bgalizio]

Either the fr2le (busman or Oade modded) or a modded Marantz 660 (for 16bit only). Can't go wrong with either. Both are nice and tiny all in one boxes that sound great!

[NOLAfishwater]

I used to run a Busman PMD660 and was very happy with the recordings I made with it. Just keep in mind that if you record in 24bit, you also have to have a 24bit sound card on your computer and a stereo capable of 24bit playback. What is nice about the FR2LE is that you can choose either 16 or 24. Good luck with your purchase.

[BlugrassBri]

I used to run a Busman PMD660 and was very happy with the recordings I made with it. Just keep in mind that if you record in 24bit, you also have to have a 24bit sound card on your computer and a stereo capable of 24bit playback. What is nice about the FR2LE is that you can choose either 16 or 24. Good luck with your purchase.

As an avid fisherman, I drool everytime I see your avatar.........the fish is nice too.

Thanks...looks like I need to do some comparing of features....

[RobertNC]

I think what you should do is go to a retailer that sells the various units and really look at them. Sure you can look at the dimensions on the specs, but IMO, something that seems pretty damn small on paper looks a helluva lot bigger in your hand.

I only do open shows myself, but as a former PMD660 owner, I can say that while yes it is small enough to be "stealthable" it is still not exactly what I would call "stealthy".  I mean yeah, if stealth to you means something you can carry in a coat or your wife's purse, you have a lot of options.  But if stealth to you means something that you can put in your pants pockets, sorry, the 660 is one of the smaller "all-in-one" boxes with phantom power, and even being on the small end of the range, it still really just does not quite cut it for pocket size.  I mean it's not even close to a JB3.  It's really not even *that* much smaller than the UA-5 you already have.  Not exactly something you shove in your pocket or waistband.

I think once you actually look at some of your options, you may come to the realization that the question here is how to best spend the money.  Do you want to go full stealth - in which case you probably want to mothball the AKGs until you can afford a second open rig and get a micro kit from scratch, sorry can't help you on that one.  Or do you want to forego major stealth capabilities and add a more "professional" all-in-one back-end to what you have.  In which case I would definitely look hard at the Busman modded Fostex FR-2 as the best feature set of what has been mentioned so far.

Sorry, that might not be exactly what you wanted to hear, but like I say, go look at some of these boxes and decide for yourself what is really "stealth" and what is not...

[Nick's Picks]

The Marantz PMD660 is another great option.  It only does 16bit, but it is slightly smaller than the Fostex and it is outrageously user freindly...

not to mention it sounds amazing.
its the size of a brick, only a little thinner.  same footprint though.
it is easily stealthable.  not as easy as an r9, but still..for an all in one p48 supplying recorder, its pretty damn small.

[Jammin72]

Didn't think Stealth was Necessary.

Having owned both the 660 and the FR2-LE...   I wouldn't want to have to crotch either one of those things but It's doable. The 660 is just a wee bit smaller.  The placement of the Jacks on the side of the box and it's orientation make the FR-2LE easier to work with for the way that I run despite the increase in size.

[BlugrassBri]

Didn't think Stealth was Necessary.

Having owned both the 660 and the FR2-LE...   I wouldn't want to have to crotch either one of those things but It's doable. The 660 is just a wee bit smaller.  The placement of the Jacks on the side of the box and it's orientation make the FR-2LE easier to work with for the way that I run despite the increase in size.

I don't really need true "stealth" capabilities....more like, very low profile.  I wouldn't be sneaking the rig into Springsteen concerts....more like Bela and Grisman sit-down theatre type shows where a small unobtrusive stand/gear bag is nice, to not cause a stir with the audience...

Thanks all for the help....looks like the marantz and Fostex are the choice all in one boxes.

[intpseeker]

I admit to lusting after the Oade or Busman FR2-LE, but I run the OADE modded pm660 and it is a great all-in-one, and I've decided to stick with 16 bit...for now. 

[barrettphisher]

How about a Oade Modded HD-P2?  It does the same things as all the mentioned units above.  I love mine and enjoy the various options it provides for in/outs. 
Barrett