Topic: Info on the new microtrack II

[phishin024]

I found this while I was searching for info on the new microtrack II. Great price, it's going for $262.50 Thought I'd share it...

http://www.fullcompass.com/product/344062.html

http://aabaca.com/microtrackII.pdf

[j.mart]

at that price i might even pickup one... after somewone here is used as a guinea pig, that is

[j.mart]

after reading the pdf.. meh

built-in battery (bet it's going to suck).. they should have dropped the CFs and go with SD, as CF is considered a dying format. it's more like a MT v1.1, no big improvements imo. i don't really care for the seamless split, i don't record many bands that play more than 2h, or without an encore pause.. i don't care for phantom power either, all it's going to do is drain out the battery quicker. improved gain control is worthless for those who have an external pre, but it's a nice feature for those who don't. not worth the investment if you don't need the seamless splits. great price for those who need a new bit-bucket or just a new recorder. but i'm not considering the "upgrade", only if i'll need a backup recorder in the future.

[dallman]

after reading the pdf.. meh

built-in battery (bet it's going to suck).. they should have dropped the CFs and go with SD, as CF is considered a dying format. it's more like a MT v1.1, no big improvements imo. i don't really care for the seamless split, i don't record many bands that play more than 2h, or without an encore pause.. i don't care for phantom power either, all it's going to do is drain out the battery quicker. improved gain control is worthless for those who have an external pre, but it's a nice feature for those who don't. not worth the investment if you don't need the seamless splits. great price for those who need a new bit-bucket or just a new recorder. but i'm not considering the "upgrade", only if i'll need a backup recorder in the future.

I have not heard anything about CF being a dying format. Yikes, I though CF was humming along with the other formats. Do you think this means they will not be releasing larger CF cards like 32 gb's? Is it true that SD is pulling away from the pack? I had not noticed that at all. I know SD is smaller, but then again SD is pretty big when you look at all the storage devices out there like cell phones etc.

So far I still see new cameras coming out every day with the CF cards in them. I know for may like me who primarily play with an MT a Tascam and a Canon SLR, the CF format is all I need.

[NOLAfishwater]

Has anyone ordered one of them yet? Don't think they are shipping until mid-october or november.

[dorigatti]

CF cards are not on the way out. Top pro camera models from Canon and Nikon use them exclusively. Nikon has just announced two new pro bodies (D3 and D300) available in December that use only CF cards.

[Kindguy]

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,88437.0.html

[Nick's Picks]

good price indeed (gatta love FCs buying power).

[Kindguy]

good price indeed (gatta love FCs buying power).

Before anyone thinks about ordering from FC. They need to check with parker at sonic sense.

[Chilly Brioschi]

Parker at Sonic Sense has e-mailed me stating that she can and will BEAT Full Compass' shipped price!!!! (by $1...but nonetheless)
I hope that I can say that here. I don't think that she's making special prices for me.

Full Compass has notified me that the MicroTrackII is now scheduled for release on November 30, 2007 (and I can get a refund or wait, my choice)


                                       

[ghibliss]

Aside from the new piece being in Black and having true 48 volt phantom power it states that the file split is now "faster".  Unless it is seemless and you do not lose any data it still is no good.  This is not an important make or break function for me as I simply make a manual file split after about 50 minutes or so into a concert when they are taking a short break between songs. So far I have never missed any of the music so missing a band introduction or something trivial does not bother me.  This is a hobby for me not an occupation so I doubt the upgrade if you want to call it that is really worth it. 

One other new feature which does sound nice on the new MT II is that it provides microphone monitoring via the spdif input which it presently does not support.  I wish they could provide that upgrade via firmware on the current MT and I would have just about everything I need for the typical show I attend.  When I can buy  a replacement for the MT which has seemless file splits I will buy one just for the conveneience of not having to monitor the recorder fro the entire show once I have set the levels during the first few moments of the show.

With the current firmware I have had no problems at all as I use the spdif input and use the piece as a bit bucket which it does a very good job of for the investment.  The Zoom and others which are out do not offer spdif input so I do not know what is so exciting about them.  If you want a truly great s/n ratio you are not likely to get it with the noisy microphone preamplifiers in any of these products.  The 24/96 perfromance which I get using the MT as a bit bucket is as good as it gets even if you were to have a SD 722 which is too large to stealth record the shows which I attend you would have only the seemless file split as a n advantage and be out several grand for the luxury of just that!  They will not sound any better then the MT when all is said and done (were talking strictly digital here).

Battery wise I never have an issue with the MT for recording a typical show or two  as my a/d runs on its own battery and powers the microphones as well.  I typically can get about 4 hours or more at 24/96 even with the backlight set to always on at full brightness so I have no complaints there.  I am still using the original battery which takes a full charge and works like a charm every time.  I feel that this recorder gets a lot more of a bad rap then it deserves considering all that it offers for the money.

[Kindguy]

I'm going to be one of the guinea pigs for the new microtrack.

From sonic sense

The following is the question I emailed my M-Audio contact and his response:

>what does "* Multi-part recording of files greater than 2GB" mean?

This means that if you record past the 2gb limit it will write another file seamlessly

If this is true I should be happy with the microtrack II.

[Kindguy]

Parker at Sonic Sense has e-mailed me stating that she can and will BEAT Full Compass' shipped price!!!! (by $1...but nonetheless)
I hope that I can say that here. I don't think that she's making special prices for me.

Full Compass has notified me that the MicroTrackII is now scheduled for release on November 30, 2007 (and I can get a refund or wait, my choice)

Looks like FC is charging $294.00 for it now.