Topic: PT: 2 - New Marantz PMD661

[bephillips]

All my recordings recently have been Schoeps directly into an Oade Concert Mod PMD661. -18dB setting. For a loud show usually set around 5. Most have been announced above on this thread.

[jibooer]

I'm wondering what the general consensus is on the attentuation for a outdoor festy - wouldn't -18 db be a little too much? What about the use of attentuation w/ the HPF filter?

[audBall]

The attenuator is nothing more than a gain setting.  In my experiences, it's best to keep it as low as possible (-18db) provided you're still able to get levels in the -6 to -3db range.  Only during super quiet performances (regardless of indoor/outdoor) do I even consider the thought of increasing the preset gain.  Your microphones, of course, will have some influence over this as well depending upon their sensitivity. 

[jibooer]

I appreciate the reply Audball, and all my phellow 661ers...your help has eased the paranoia. It's funny how every new piece of gear you get, you go through those stages of uncertainty.

Anyway, I have been puttering aroung with the unit all week in hope of learning its ins and outs, and I am quite impressed with its features and its overall sound.

[tgakidis]

Joining the team with my 661 on the way.

I know I saw somewhere some pixs of the 661 and other recorders for a size comparison.  Can anyone send me the link?

[DigiGal]

Joining the team with my 661 on the way.

I know I saw somewhere some pixs of the 661 and other recorders for a size comparison.  Can anyone send me the link?

Welcome Ted, did you order a stock or modded unit? 

Here are a couple of size visualization links that were posted earlier, you could also enter dimensions for a size comparison to an unlisted device.

http://www.sizeasy.com/page/size_comparison/20269-Fostex-FR2LE-vs-Sound-Devices-702-vs-Marantz-PMD660-vs-Sony-PMD-D1-vs-Marantz-PMD661

http://www.sizeasy.com/page/size_comparison/20215-PMD661-vs-Tascam-DR-1-vs-Olympus-LS-10-vs-R-09HR-vs-PMD620

[taosmay]

I am still learning (although if I had a better memory from what I have done in the past, that would certainly help too...) about the in's and out's of using decks with SD cards: When using a brand new SD card, is one of the first things you do setting up the deck to record to format the card in the 661(under the "Utility" function, go down to  #7 card format, and press enter to format the card)?

Also under the Utility function, I have had the #5 load settings at "no" and #6 save settings at "no". Is that what some folks here also do?

Although I will be switching to a class4 card my next time out, I have been using standard class2 cards - when I was just trying to figure out what music I have on what cards, one card is saying "unformat" and "err card3": Does that indicate a bad card? It will not allow me to format the card in the 661.

Harold

[JasonSobel]

Harold,

Yes, I would recommend formatting whatever card you want to use in the 661 (Utility -> #7).  Not just the first time you use a card, but before every show that I go out to record.

In regards to the "load settings" and "save settings", I never use either of those.  Those commands are only there if you have a recording setup that isn't saved to one of your presets.  what you can do is "save" all of your recording settings to the SD card, and then at a later time, "load" the settings from the same SD card to get back exactly what you need.  But if you format that SD card, you'd lose the settings saved to it anyway (because formatting a card deletes everything from the card in the process).  Also, I find that the three pre-sets cover just about every situation I need to record in, and it's easy enough to modify the settings if I need to.  So no need to save the settings onto a SD card.

[jibooer]

I just wanted to share a few things which I learned this past weekend using my stock 661. I was running SP-C4 omnis at Mountain Jam and couldn't be happier with the results. It was my 1st field experience with the unit so there were some issues with the operation (mostly user brain-farts), but overall this unit did all I needed it to do. The main points that I feel necessary to share are the fact that this unit HAS to have the attenuator setting on at -18db or else there will be overloading at 24 or 16 bit. I decided to run the levels at @ 5 o'clock during GPN and the Avett's and unfortunately I have some ugly overloading of the kick drum, even though I never hit 0 on the meters. I learned early on that it is much better to run the unit with the meters barely hitting -6 on the meters and fix it in post.  The other thing is that the level controls are stiff and when turning them you really have to turn them slowly as the changes will be very apparent with the slightest movement.

The features which came in most handy were the key lock which worked well when the unit was in my gear bag while still allowing me to adjust the levels.  The ability to use different presets on the same SD card was also useful as I was running out of memory, so it was easy to switch to 16bit and increase my recording time.

Anyway, this stock unit has my full endorsement and I think it sounds pretty good. There were many different bands with different ranges and the PMD661 seemed to like 'em all.

Tonight is Hamid Drake indoors which should serve as another learning experience...

[MBHOTAPER]

Harold,

Yes, I would recommend formatting whatever card you want to use in the 661 (Utility -> #7).  Not just the first time you use a card, but before every show that I go out to record.

In regards to the "load settings" and "save settings", I never use either of those.  Those commands are only there if you have a recording setup that isn't saved to one of your presets.  what you can do is "save" all of your recording settings to the SD card, and then at a later time, "load" the settings from the same SD card to get back exactly what you need.  But if you format that SD card, you'd lose the settings saved to it anyway (because formatting a card deletes everything from the card in the process).  Also, I find that the three pre-sets cover just about every situation I need to record in, and it's easy enough to modify the settings if I need to.  So no need to save the settings onto a SD card.

So if I am using a large sd card for 2-3 shows/days (16gb), I would not want to reformat each day because I would lose all prior data/files/show(s). Thus I would need to download on my computer before reformating for another show? Would not reformating for a 2nd show cause a problem? Or would it be better off using smaller sd cards for each individual show? Just trying to figure the best alternatives and least costly ways to save on sd cards.

Thanks,
MBHOTAPER

[JasonSobel]

Harold,

Yes, I would recommend formatting whatever card you want to use in the 661 (Utility -> #7).  Not just the first time you use a card, but before every show that I go out to record.

In regards to the "load settings" and "save settings", I never use either of those.  Those commands are only there if you have a recording setup that isn't saved to one of your presets.  what you can do is "save" all of your recording settings to the SD card, and then at a later time, "load" the settings from the same SD card to get back exactly what you need.  But if you format that SD card, you'd lose the settings saved to it anyway (because formatting a card deletes everything from the card in the process).  Also, I find that the three pre-sets cover just about every situation I need to record in, and it's easy enough to modify the settings if I need to.  So no need to save the settings onto a SD card.

So if I am using a large sd card for 2-3 shows/days (16gb), I would not want to reformat each day because I would lose all prior data/files/show(s). Thus I would need to download on my computer before reformating for another show? Would not reformating for a 2nd show cause a problem? Or would it be better off using smaller sd cards for each individual show? Just trying to figure the best alternatives and least costly ways to save on sd cards.

Thanks,
MBHOTAPER

It's fine to use a large card to record many shows over several days.  What I meant was, I would not recommend deleting files with your computer on the card.   If you just leave the card in and record additional sets or shows, you should have no problem.  But when you do copy the files to your computer, don't just delete the files.  Use that opportunity to format the card to clear it.

[MBHOTAPER]

Harold,

Yes, I would recommend formatting whatever card you want to use in the 661 (Utility -> #7).  Not just the first time you use a card, but before every show that I go out to record.

In regards to the "load settings" and "save settings", I never use either of those.  Those commands are only there if you have a recording setup that isn't saved to one of your presets.  what you can do is "save" all of your recording settings to the SD card, and then at a later time, "load" the settings from the same SD card to get back exactly what you need.  But if you format that SD card, you'd lose the settings saved to it anyway (because formatting a card deletes everything from the card in the process).  Also, I find that the three pre-sets cover just about every situation I need to record in, and it's easy enough to modify the settings if I need to.  So no need to save the settings onto a SD card.

So if I am using a large sd card for 2-3 shows/days (16gb), I would not want to reformat each day because I would lose all prior data/files/show(s). Thus I would need to download on my computer before reformating for another show? Would not reformating for a 2nd show cause a problem? Or would it be better off using smaller sd cards for each individual show? Just trying to figure the best alternatives and least costly ways to save on sd cards.

Thanks,
MBHOTAPER

It's fine to use a large card to record many shows over several days.  What I meant was, I would not recommend deleting files with your computer on the card.   If you just leave the card in and record additional sets or shows, you should have no problem.  But when you do copy the files to your computer, don't just delete the files.  Use that opportunity to format the card to clear it.

Thanks. What sd cards would you  recommend and where would you suggest to buy them for the best price and reliability for shipping?

Thanks again,
MBHOTAPER

[MBHOTAPER]

in my opinion, there's no need to pay extra for the SanDisk Extreme III series of cards.  One of the cards I use is an 8gb SanDisk Ultra II card, and no issues with 24/96 over extended periods of time.  I have no doubt that the Extreme III is a great card and will work with no problems, but you'll pay more for it relative to the Ultra II series.  (FWIW, I also use a 16gb PNY class 4 card - also have no issues with 24/96 over extended periods of time.)
[/quote]

Are you referring to the san disk ultra or the san disk ultra II memory stick?

Also are you still not having problems running the PNY class 4 16gb card? If not which specific pny sdhc card are you using?

Thanks,
MBHOTAPER

[JasonSobel]

I just responded to your PM, but for everyone's benefit:


I currently use (and have ever only used) a SanDisk Ultra II 8gb card, and a PNY class 4 16gb card.  I use both at 24/96, and I've never had any problems with either.

This is the exact PNY card that I use (and would recommend) -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178196

based on a quick look at the SanDisk website, it looks like they've renamed the "Ultra II" series to just "Ultra", and likewise, they have renamed the "Extreme III" series to just "Extreme".  So, I think the newer "Ultra" cards are in fact the same cards as the older "Ultra II" cards.  though it is a bit confusing and I'm not 100% sure.

[taosmay]

Harold,

Yes, I would recommend formatting whatever card you want to use in the 661 (Utility -> #7).  Not just the first time you use a card, but before every show that I go out to record.

In regards to the "load settings" and "save settings", I never use either of those.  Those commands are only there if you have a recording setup that isn't saved to one of your presets.  what you can do is "save" all of your recording settings to the SD card, and then at a later time, "load" the settings from the same SD card to get back exactly what you need.  But if you format that SD card, you'd lose the settings saved to it anyway (because formatting a card deletes everything from the card in the process).  Also, I find that the three pre-sets cover just about every situation I need to record in, and it's easy enough to modify the settings if I need to.  So no need to save the settings onto a SD card.

So if I am using a large sd card for 2-3 shows/days (16gb), I would not want to reformat each day because I would lose all prior data/files/show(s). Thus I would need to download on my computer before reformating for another show? Would not reformating for a 2nd show cause a problem? Or would it be better off using smaller sd cards for each individual show? Just trying to figure the best alternatives and least costly ways to save on sd cards.

Thanks,
MBHOTAPER

It's fine to use a large card to record many shows over several days.  What I meant was, I would not recommend deleting files with your computer on the card.   If you just leave the card in and record additional sets or shows, you should have no problem.  But when you do copy the files to your computer, don't just delete the files.  Use that opportunity to format the card to clear it.

Jason,
Thanks a lot. I think I understand this info, but it is difficult for me, because working on computers is hard for me. I think I have all the basic functions on how to use the 661's presets and utility functions understood now. I did not previously know that I had to reformat the SD card each and every time I was about to record a show though, so that was very helpful information. The load & save settings info was helpful too, and basically confirmed what I thought, although I needed to hear it from someone who knew what they are talking about (unlike me...).

I am confused about the transferring of files between the 661 and my computer, per your discussion with MBHOTAPER above. I understand that it is fine to use a large card to record many shows over many days, but I do not understand what you mean by "not recommend deleting files with your computer on the card". So far, I have only transferred one of my cards to my computer - via a card reader - and when I double clicked on one of the two .wav files on that card, my iTunes program opened and transferred that file into iTunes. Then when I quit iTunes, I apparently lost the entire file which I did not previously click on. I need to open the files in a program where I can track the recording, and boost levels, etc, correct? That may, in my case, be more of a discussion in the Mac OSX thread, since I use a Mac Mini, running v.10.4.11, w/a 1.5GHz Power PC G4 processor.

Harold