Topic: What is a good deck for patching?

[mc1620]

Hey everyone, I'm new here and just getting back into the swing of things after a few years hiatus. I used to use a D-8 and mostly just sought patches at shows. I would like to know what  would be a good deck for doing this now?

Thanks for helping out a born again noob!

[run_run_run]

an iriver 120 is great. You can go line or optical in. Great meters, easy to use and it mounts up on the computer with out any drivers.

[TNJazz]

Except that very few decks have an optical out.  You really need a coax enabled deck for patching.

I'd go with a Microtrack, if you want something small and simple.

Any larger, look at the Tascam P2 or the Marantz 671.

[Scooter]

or get a hosa box for spdif > opti for use with the iriver.  even w/ the hosa, it's still fairly cheap.

[mc1620]

The microtrack II looks interesting...although it lists for $500 I'm seeing some out there for just over $250. Thanks for the tips, anymore advice is welcome. If I were going to be spending $500 already though, I might consider going for the Tascam or the Marantz. What about the Edirol R44?

[firmdragon]

laptop + assortment of usb cables.

[jlykos]

Marantz 671 has coaxial in and out, and would make a great patching deck, although it may be a bit overkill if you only use it as such.  The Sony PCMD50 has optical in and outputs; I think it is the only deck of that size and format that has digital inputs and outputs.  MTII only has a coaxial input and no digital outputs so you really couldn't use it in a chain, but you could if you were the end deck.

[run_run_run]

or get a hosa box for spdif > opti for use with the iriver.  even w/ the hosa, it's still fairly cheap.

good point

[mc1620]

MTII only has a coaxial input and no digital outputs so you really couldn't use it in a chain, but you could if you were the end deck.

Hmm that's not good

[datbrad]

The PMD671 and PMD670 only output digital when taking in a digital from an A/D like a V3 or MiniMe. When running these as front ends, with or without outboard preamps, they do not output digital. I am not sure what the Tascam HDP2 does with digital signals, or the PCMD50 for that matter.

This basically means that you could face constant roadblocks with not being able to be fed a digital signal, except from units like the Sound Devices 7XX series using the correct adapter to connect to it. At least, you need a recorder that can handle analog input signals as well as digital, and be compatable with everything.

If I was going to get a deck for patching, I would get an R44 because it has full size analog inputs and outputs, and coax in and out, it's smaller than a P2 or 671, and it could one day serve as the foundation for buildling a full rig. You could even run your own matrix recordings without owning your own mics, by taking feeds from the SBD and someone else's mic rig and only have to carry the R44.

[JasonSobel]

The PMD671 and PMD670 only output digital when taking in a digital from an A/D like a V3 or MiniMe. When running these as front ends, with or without outboard preamps, they do not output digital. I am not sure what the Tascam HDP2 does with digital signals, or the PCMD50 for that matter.

the Tascam HD-P2 always outputs a digital S/PDIF signal, regardless of whether the input is S/PDIF, mic-in (via XLR) or line-in (via RCA).

[mc1620]

If I was going to get a deck for patching, I would get an R44 because it has full size analog inputs and outputs, and coax in and out, it's smaller than a P2 or 671, and it could one day serve as the foundation for buildling a full rig. You could even run your own matrix recordings without owning your own mics, by taking feeds from the SBD and someone else's mic rig and only have to carry the R44.

I like the sound of this...lots of versatility and from what I've seen the R44 retails for less than $1,000.