Why do Pros Use Zaxcom Mixers/Recorders/Wireless?

Consider this an educational piece. I am not trying to convince enthusiast and semi-pro film-makers that they need gear in this price range to make meaningful films. Instead, consider this a quick tutorial so that some day when you reach sound ninja status and you're working or assisting on a job where they are using Zaxcom gear, you'll be all set with a good overview of why they chose to use Zaxcom.

Knowledge is power. Here's some knowledge.

Again, not trying to sell here, but if you are curious about pricing, you can visit Trew Audio.

Sound for Video Session: Setting up Your Recorder or Mixer

This week, more requests for "How do I set up my recorder?" My goal is to help you understand the concepts so that you can set up ANY recorder/mixer.

We gave examples using the Tascam DR-60DmkII and Zoom F8 but the settings are similar on all recorders.

The main settings you need to set: 

1) Record format: WAV or BWF (on the Zoom F8, this is the default so you don't have to set this up)

2) What to record - tell it how many channels (on the Tascam) or on the Zoom F8, tell it whether you want just the ISO channels or ISO + a stereo mix (L & R channels). Remember that if you have a recorder like the F8 which is also a mixer, the faders affect the levels of the sound in the stereo mix track, not in the ISO tracks.

3) Sample Rate: 48kHz for broadcast, 44.1kHz if for YouTube or other online distribution

4) Bit Rate - 24 bit. I do this because then I have more room in post to process the audio. if you choose 16 bit, your audio files will be smaller, but you'll potentially have a harder time doing things like noise reduction.

5) Gain (sometimes called input or level) - set this until the peak meters show the loudest parts hitting -12dB. Of course your talent needs to talk while you get this set. Typically I'm looking for them to talk for 30 seconds so that I feel comfortable

Sound for Video Session: Setting Gain or Gain Staging

When first learning the art of dialogue sound recording, one of the more mysterious matters is setting up your gain. What is gain? What is trim? What is a pot(entiometer)? What is a fader?

In this session, we introduce the concepts and put you on the path to getting things set up for the best possible dialogue recording.

Record Two Lavaliers to Your Recorder or Camera

One question I've received more times than I can count is how do I record two lavalier microphones with 3.5mm plugs into my camera or small stereo audio recorder (like a Zoom H1 or Tascam DR-05)?

Beachtek has a solution in their DXA-Pocket mixer. In terms of size, it is perfect for a Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera but it'll work with any camera that has a 3.5mm stereo mic input.

You can connect two microphones with 3.5mm plugs and this will send them to separate channels so that they're recorded cleanly and that makes post-processing a lot easier.

Looks like a simple solution to a problem that we all encounter at one point or another. Through the 10th of November, B&H Photo has the DXA-Pocket for $80 USD

Interview with Location Sound Recordist Scott Vanderbilt

If you've ever wondered what its like to be a location sound recordist/mixer for film, here's an opportunity to get the perspective of Scott Vanderbilt. He records sound for feature and short films, commercials, and corporate pieces. He's based in Los Angeles and has some good insights for those trying to improve their sound recordings for film.

Zoom F8: Good Enough for Pros?

Zoom's new F8 eight input field recorder seems to be aimed at professional recordists, location sound engineers, and professional sound designers. This seems to be the message from Zoom's marketing group.

And indeed, the Zoom F8 has many of the features a professional sound engineer would expect in a modern digital field recorder. But not all of what they'd expect.

First, let's define "Pro" for the purposes of this piece. By pro, I mean a person who makes the majority of their personal income as a sound engineer or recordist, or designer.  By this definition, I am not a pro sound engineer. I'm a semi-pro.

Also, I'm only putting these thoughts down to help clarify things for myself and perhaps for other curious audio for film enthusiasts. I'm not setting myself up as the definitive word on this matter or any other. These are just my thoughts, from my semi-pro perspective.

From the perspective of this definition, most pros will probably not choose to use the Zoom F8 as their primary field recorder. This is not a criticism of Zoom and I am not saying that the F8 is a bad device that has no use for anybody. I'm just saying that most pros will find this device lacking in a few key areas that make it less than the optimal tool for their jobs. They are better served by Sound Devices or Zaxcom recorders and mixers.

Here is a list of features that the Zoom F8 has or does not have at present that may cause many pros to take pause:

• Cannot gang groups of inputs together aside from simple stereo or M/S pairs
• Headphone pre-amp produces colored sound that does not match what is recorded (fortunately the recording is much better than the headphone amp)
• No switch or menu option to toggle an input between line and mic level
• Pots only control gain trim, not fader. Cannot currently be set to control faders (though this could potentially be addressed with a firmware update)
• Pots are very small. Probably ok for setting up gain but not great for mixing
• Both the limiter and high pass filter are post fader and in the digital stage (this is possibly, though not absolutely, a problem depending on how much dynamic range is available in the pre-amps and analogue to digital converter)
• Not sure that Zoom has a service and repair department like Sound Devices and Zaxcom, two of the main designers in the pro field recorder/mixer market

These factors are things that are generally important to pros. Remember, these guys spend a lot of long days with their recorders and mixers. That they sometimes seem so picky makes a little more sense when you consider how much time they spend using these devices and the fact that their careers are on the line when they miss too many takes.

However, does that mean that pros won't buy Zoom F8s? I think that some of them would consider having one for backup purposes. Lots of pros already have one or another of the Zoom Handy recorders. They don't use the Handy recorders all that often but they can be useful sometimes.

And for those of us that are semi-pro, or one-man-production-crews, doing smaller budget projects like corporate videos, is this thing useful for us?

I think yes, absolutely!

The pre-amps on the Zoom F8 seem very good to me after the subjective tests I've done. The build quality is quite good. That I can use a proper pro-level battery like an Anton Bauer to power the F8 via its hirose input for well over 20 hours even when phantom powering multiple mikes is great. Timecode on the F8 is seemingly as good as a Sound Devices 744T.

So in short, just because this device isn't totally up to par for most pros as a primary field recorder, doesn't mean that it isn't useful for semi-pros and enthusiasts. I have no regrets spending $1000 for mine.

More to come...