Topic: Setting up a new DR 680- the things to know

[MULETAPER]

So being A NOOB with a DR-680

any tips,tricks,things to know about setting up the machine? I think others down the line will benefit from this thread too.

any suggestions?

Bought a sandisk ultra 32 gig card,

I AM reading the owners manual as I always do,but somethings in this hobby is outside the manual! (we all have learned this!)

I will be using it tomorrow for the first time running my 930's and a sbd patch.

which brings my question, since I dont need 48v power from the board to the 680,should I use channel 3+4 on LINE setting for sbd?

any advise anyone might have will be helpful. Thanks ahead of time...

Heres a PDF link for those who might not have a manual:
http://tascam.com/content/downloads/products/43/E_DR-680_OM_vA.pdf

[hi and lo]

Here's a few in the 2 minutes I have to think about this:

- Update to firmware v1.2 (if it's not already). This will add the ability to gang channels together for easy level setting along with a few other things.
- There are two lock switches on the unit. The physical lock switch on the top of the unit doesn't do anything more than lock the power button. The other lock (the button to the right of channel 6 on the front panel) is controlled through one of the menus and can be set to lock all front panel buttons, top buttons, or both. I set it to both to prevent accidentally stopping a recording.
- None of the top physical switches (Mic/Line, Hi/Low Gain, Phantom Power) can be locked and it is possible to accidentally move them. Plan accordingly
- If you want to arm or disarm certain tracks (best not to record all 8 channels if not in use), it's most easily done when in pause/rec mode. Just click the channel buttons on the front panel, however you cannot arm/disarm them once in Rec mode.

The menu settings are a bit funky and take some getting used to. Spend 5 minutes before every show to go through them before recording. Changing them in a hurry can be tricky.

[kirk97132]

I'm assuming your recording in 24bit...which means, record in 24 bit   There is a line on your display it is a perfect target to aim for when setting levels.  Leaves plenty of headroom and hs plenty of level.  any boosting can be done in post but this will avoid any overs, well for the most part.  MAKE SURE TO HIT STOP WHEN DONE!  NEVER UNPLUG UNIT OR LOSE POWER WHEN RECORDING!  Deck does not do automatic saves.  Stop will make deck do a save.   You can use any combination of channels you want on 1 thru 6.  7 & 8 need a pre with spdif or AES output.  FORMAT card before each use. 

[MULETAPER]

I didnt see where I could turn the low-cut off,only change it 40-80-120 any tips?

any other tips on "settings"

[hi and lo]

I didnt see where I could turn the low-cut off,only change it 40-80-120 any tips?

any other tips on "settings"

Front panel menu.

[Chuck]

If you use NiMH batteries in the bottom tray there is a setting in the menu to select between NiMH or alkaline batteries.
I'd also suggest getting familiar with the menu and where things are in that menu before using it in the field. It gets a little tricky if one of your sources is digital. You have the option of assigning it to tracks 5-6 or 7-8. ...and if I remember right, those settings are not under the same menu tab together.

[MULETAPER]

Machines all hooked up. went thru the settings.

my only question now, is how do you adjust your recording levels(on the fly)? or do I have to refer back to gain settings in the menu?

[MULETAPER]

im going to be running 1+2 with MC930's

I will be running sbd in to Line on 3+4

and have it set up to record mix.  sounds right...

[hi and lo]

Machines all hooked up. went thru the settings.

my only question now, is how do you adjust your recording levels(on the fly)? or do I have to refer back to gain settings in the menu?

Front panel menu again.. this time it's the "rec trim" button.

[MULETAPER]

24 hr crash courses kinda suck, so thanks for your input, its appreciated. im gonna nail it down one way or another!

btw thanks, that was easy...


>>>>Last gear purchase: <censored> and <censored>
 love that... thats why I bought new.

[Chuck]

It's not difficult to use, once you get all the menu stuff down.

[Gutbucket]

and have it set up to record mix.

Control the resulting mix with the pan and level buttons on the front panel.

Note: the unit always defalts to showing the stereo mix level on the far right side of the meter.  If you ever want to record and monitor a digital input to instead of the internal mixdown to the stereo channel, you need to change from MIX MON to DIN MON in the quick menu each time you power up. That's one setting it will not retain, and can be a head scratcher the first few times using the SPDIF input.

[edit- if you are playing back from the machine, the multi-channel/stereo button (I think that's what it's labled) on the top pannel will switch back and forth seemlessly between playback of the stereo channel and the individual channels (mixed or direct output)]

[fsulloway]

24 hr crash courses kinda suck, so thanks for your input, its appreciated. im gonna nail it down one way or another!

Gut Bucket gave me a 2-3 hour crash course. I had the manual out too as I was setting up.  So far I've used the deck about 5 times with no issues. I've been running digi out of the 722 and sbd into the dr680.

[MULETAPER]

im aiming for 60% aud and 40% board would I be better running SBD>UA5>SPDIF instead? or use channels 3+4

panning will give me that ratio? I know channel level will.

and im a little confused the way the tracks are labeled once recorded but thats a learning curve

[ShawnF]

im going to be running 1+2 with MC930's

I will be running sbd in to Line on 3+4

and have it set up to record mix.  sounds right...

Sounds like you're in good shape.  Just a thought, though--if your mics are back near the soundboard, is there going to be a large time lag between the sbd patch and the mics that would render recording the mix useless?  I mean, you can still monitor the mix even if you don't record it (no SPDIF in for this gig, it sounds like), and if you know in advance it's not going to be usable, why record it?  Of course, if you are close enough to the stage so the time lag isn't a problem, or even think it might be usable, go for it.  I find I almost always get better mixes in post, though--just hard to dial it in precisely during the performance when you're in the same room. 

Panning just controls left/right placement in the stereo image.  If you're concerned about sbd/mic ratio in the mix channel recording, it's the "MIX LEVEL" button on the front that you want.

Good Luck