Topic: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder (Part 3)

[Mike D (VT)]

Just received my Busman DR-70D over the weekend. Very excited to try it out at WSP/ UM on Friday. I have not upgraded the firmware to get the mid range; but I think I'll be OK without it for this show, right?

[voltronic]

Just received my Busan DR-70D over the weekend. Very excited to try it out at WSP/ UM on Friday. I have not upgraded the firmware to get the mid range; but I think I'll be OK without it for this show, right?

You should be fine.  I've used HIGH for everything but one concert that was loud, and I switched it to LOW.  If you go with LOW, be prepared to crank the pots unless it's a very loud show.

[ButchAlmberg]

Mike D, I'll be using mine for the first time at WSP/UM on Saturday, so.... if you have any last minute pointers.

[Chomps]

Just received my Busan DR-70D over the weekend. Very excited to try it out at WSP/ UM on Friday. I have not upgraded the firmware to get the mid range; but I think I'll be OK without it for this show, right?

You should be fine.  I've used HIGH for everything but one concert that was loud, and I switched it to LOW.  If you go with LOW, be prepared to crank the pots unless it's a very loud show.

I have not had to pump anything in post and have recorded all my shows in Low. I am also running a SD MP2.

[tomuo]

I thought about doing this, but unfortunately the monitoring is not accurate (again, the thing that I really wish Tascam had devoted their attention to).  See the FAQ page for an explanation.  Short version - the display moves in 2 dB steps, while in reality the gain is changing in 0.5 dB steps. 

I don't think this is a bug.   The display moves in 2dB steps, and the mic-pre takes 0.5dB steps to reach that displayed value.   There is no difference once the 0.5dB stepped ramp has ended.

Tom.

[ButchAlmberg]

Been a busy 7 day since I got my D70 and have only had the opportunity to put a few hours on it. I just installed the 1.10 firmware and am ready to go on the road for WSP/UM at Jones Beach. The thing I'm most worried about (besides the wind) is insuring that I'm running p48 from my Rolls vs. phantom power from the D70. The literature is unclear to me.

[2manyrocks]

There are 3 relevant menu  areas.

Phantom power is turned on and off via the menu on the 70d.  Go to menu by pressing the menu button, scroll to input rotating the data wheel, press data wheel to select INPUT and it will bring up CH1/CH2/CH3/CH4 menu.  Under that menu , go to input gain and the 3 options are line/ mic/mic+phantom.  You have to set the input gain here for each channel individually by scrolling down for each channel. 

What is confusing is there is a similar menu for all four channels under BASIC where you tell you which channels to turn on and select from low/mid/high/high plus gain as well as pick inputs.

Then there is the MIC menu where you choose 24v or 48v phantom power.

[ButchAlmberg]

Am I correct in assuming that Mic provides power to the mics from the D70 and Mic+phantom switches to external phantom?

[voltronic]

I thought about doing this, but unfortunately the monitoring is not accurate (again, the thing that I really wish Tascam had devoted their attention to).  See the FAQ page for an explanation.  Short version - the display moves in 2 dB steps, while in reality the gain is changing in 0.5 dB steps. 

I don't think this is a bug.   The display moves in 2dB steps, and the mic-pre takes 0.5dB steps to reach that displayed value.   There is no difference once the 0.5dB stepped ramp has ended.

Tom.

Hi Tom,

Glad to see you active again here.  I'm not sure I understand your explanation though.  Are you saying that once you stop moving a gain pot, the actual gain "settles" into a preset 2 dB step despite that it is in fact changing by 0.5 dB steps to get to that point?  In other words, are you saying that it's not possible for channels to be mismatched by 0.5, 1.0, or 1.5 dB because the software will nudge the gain up or down to the closest 2 dB step?

While you're part of the conversation here, would you please pass the Known Issues / Firmware Requests on the FAQ (link in my signature) on to someone at Tascam who deals with firmware issues?  I have twice sent very polite emails to both Tascam and Teac customer support and technical support and have not received any replies.  Regardless of your answer to my question above, I still consider the metering to be a significant problem with this unit, and there are some other significant issues you'll see on the list that we have discovered.

[voltronic]

Am I correct in assuming that Mic provides power to the mics from the D70 and Mic+phantom switches to external phantom?

No - MIC means that the input is set to mic-level (as opposed to line-level) but without any powering.  MIC+PHANTOM activates phantom power through whichever XLR jacks you activate it for.  If you're using an external preamp, you'd want to set the input to LINE.  If it's only an external phantom power device and not a preamp that adds gain, you may find MIC would work, but certainly do not use MIC+PHANTOM unless you want to power your mics directly from the 70D.

2manyrocks is correct that it's a little cumbersome to have to go through two different menu trees to do the relevant settings of channel enabling and phantom powering, etc.  BASIC and INPUT are the ones we're concerned with.  Here's an example of two different kinds of mic powering scenarios where that gets a little confusing:

1. If you want to connect a pair of phantom-powered mics directly to channels 1 and 2, you go to BASIC and then set INPUT 1/2 to XLR/TRS.  Then you exit out of there and go to INPUT > INPUT GAIN and set it to MIC+PHANTOM to power said mics.  You also need to go into the MIC menu to check that you've set it to provide 24V or 48V phantom, but that only needs to be done once assuming you always use the same voltage.
2. If you want to connect a pair of PIP-powered mics terminated to a 1/8" stereo plug (Church Audio, Darktrain/tgakidis AT853s, etc.), you go to BASIC and set INPUT 1/2 to EXT IN (if using a battery box) or EXT POWER to power them directly from the 70D.  You do not do anything in the INPUT GAIN menu when dealing with that EXT IN 1/2 input with respect to powering the mics.

In practice, the PIP voltage the 70D is too low to get good performance out of most PIP, mics and you'd be better off with a battery box (in which case you choose EXT IN).  But it is a little strange that you activate PIP powering for the 1/8 input in the BASIC menu, but phantom powering for the XLR inputs in the INPUT menu and the choice of voltage in the MIC menu.  Perhaps these things are purposely separated so one doesn't change them accidentally.

[2manyrocks]

Been a busy 7 day since I got my D70 and have only had the opportunity to put a few hours on it. I just installed the 1.10 firmware and am ready to go on the road for WSP/UM at Jones Beach. The thing I'm most worried about (besides the wind) is insuring that I'm running p48 from my Rolls vs. phantom power from the D70. The literature is unclear to me.

You might be pleasantly surprised to run your phantom powered XLR mics directly into the 70d without a preamp. 

A good 5v cellphone battery  to power the 70d will make it run for hours without worry, too. 

[ButchAlmberg]

Thanks for the clarification. I've favored the idea of using my CM3's with the Rolls (strictly v48, no pre) mainly because... well, I have it. But I'm going to run the D70 with USB power so maybe it's just time to break that habit. It would be one less thing to carry, as well.

[voltronic]

Thanks for the clarification. I've favored the idea of using my CM3's with the Rolls (strictly v48, no pre) mainly because... well, I have it. But I'm going to run the D70 with USB power so maybe it's just time to break that habit. It would be one less thing to carry, as well.

Yeah I haven't used my FP24 at all since getting the 70D except for one concert where I ran 6 channels and the last 2 were FP24 > M10.  If you need lots of gain though, run an external pre as the 70D is not in the same league as SD or other similar preamps when at the highest gain levels.

If you just need phantom powering, then I agree completely with 2manyrocks that you get an external USB battery and have your Rolls at home.

[Mike D (VT)]

Mike D, I'll be using mine for the first time at WSP/UM on Saturday, so.... if you have any last minute pointers.

I'm going to be "that guy" in the tapers section flipping through the owners manual with a flashlight (trying not to curse too loudly).
But seriously, I've tested the new rig once, briefly in my living room. I hope to get in and set up early and test with the house music.
I'll def report back if an obvious mistake was made or my recording got botched.

[Life In Rewind]

Here's a sample of the built-in mics.

This is is in the back of a theatre - maybe 35 feet from stage.

https://soundcloud.com/eugene-beecher/sets/pennsylvania-opry-tribute-to-the-andrews-sisters

I did have a problem this outing...I have 2 quick bursts of static in the right channel.

(The third spike that appears in both channels is actually a gunshot - part of the comedy segment.)

I did format my card pre-show - and I've only used this Lexar card - 5-6 times.

You'd think a card issue would affect both channels...?