Topic: Help: Rig Upgrade Decision

[Patrick]

I have a trio of Nakamichi CM300's, a D7 and a JB3.  For the time being, I run mic in, into the D7, and sometimes patch my jb3 in for transferring (I usually never seed my recordings, they are generally for me and friends).

I need to invest in a preamp, and basically left with two options:

     [1] Keep the D7, sell the JB3 and purchase an SBM-1

...or

     [2] Keep the JB3, sell the D7 and purchase a UA-5 or equivalent.

Both of these options seem to yeild about the same costs, including batteries and such for the UA-5.

So I am stumped.  I love using the D7, because of it's wide options as far as digital patching and backup/archiving ease.  But then again, I love my JB3 because of the super fast transfers.

Does anyone want to help me out!   

[Swampy]

Dump D7, buy UA-5. The D7 is gonna be probably useless in a few years. It is a little more dangerous to just use the jb3 (Ive lost a couple of tapes) but its fun to live dangerously

[Brian Skalinder]

Dump D7, buy UA-5.

What Alex said.

[OFOTD]

If you have a D7 that still works then why get rid of it.  I know the whole taper world has gotten hard for the jb3/sd722 and other new recorders but the D7/8 line are true workhorses.  It still for the money gives you the most options in most taping situations.  Truly with the exception of maybe 10-15 people on this board what are you more likely to run into 16bit or 24 bit?  SPDIF or Optical? 

I have always believed that those on a tight budget should always play the percentages.  What do you usually find when you tape/patch?  In most cases today that would be keeping the D7.

Sometimes I think this site puts too much pressure for those with a smaller budget to try and get on the bleeding edge and while that great for some it is certainly not best for all.

Figure out what your needs are.  Make a decision that way.  The new way is not always the best way!

[Brian Skalinder]

OFODT has a point about the workhorse D7/D8s.  So...I'll amend my comment:

Dump either the D7 or JB3 and get the UA5.  Either way, the UA5 (unless you're stealthing) is a far better option than the SBM-1.  Which recorder you keep is less important and a case of personal preference since it won't impact your sound at all.

[OFOTD]

since it won't impact your sound at all.

This is the damn truest statement Brian.  I had a guy patch out of me at a Black Crowes show a few weeks ago with a JB3.  Told me that he wanted to put his JB3 ahead of my D10.  He swore up and down that the JB3 would get better sound and whatnot.  Well first of all I was taping when the kid still believed that Barney was a real talking animal.  Knowing that he was wrong and quite frankly out of his league here I asked him why the JB3 would get a better sound than either my D10 or D8 of which I was running both?  He says that the circuitry was better and get this "it has better sound because its new".  Mind you this better signal was coming from the SPDIF out of my V3.  Needless to say he decided he was more knowledgable and decided to patch from someone else.

Patrick I say buy whatever you can afford.  Listen to tapes made with the gear you are interested in.  There are a number of tapers that just use mics > sbm1 > d7/d8/jb3 and there are a bunch that use mics > ua5 > d7/d8/jb3   

Figure out what you like.  What works for me doesn't mean it will work for you.   If I had to choose between the SBM and UA5 I would go with the UA5 for versitality in the field although I still have my original SBM.

OFOTD

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

I think the D7 vs JB3 as a transport decision should swing on your transfer procedures.  If the D7 is your only deck and it's doing additional duty as a playback and transfer deck and it will wear out sooner than the JB3 under the same load.  So take that into account.  My D7 is solid but I only record with it. 

If you already have the JB3 and are happy with it's performance as a capture device, you can get a relatively inexpensive format converter to use for patching.  You can mount the converter and JB3 in a little custom rack and it will be just as convenient to carry and patch as a D7 though not as small.

If you ever decide to get some little DPAs and stealth tape, you might be happier with the JB3 because you will be able to get it through security with less explanation (the D7 says "tape-corder" right on the lid) and not have to swap tape during a show.  Brian, didn't those line-in test results reveal the JB3 to be slightly better line-in than the D7/D8? 

I'm thinking that you might want to take into consideration some applications beyond just your next upgrade.