Hi there,
I know this question has been asked before (ish) and I know I have
hinted at it before. I am just trying to overcome
the 'buyers dilemma' and guess want some backup to know I am doing the
right thing! If anyone could help, that would
be great!
Okay, I have a potential (and kind of urgent) purchasing dilemma
between the following
Tascam HD-P2/SD mix pre into existing gear/Fostex FR2 or FR2-LE
I will be using various mics, from the Rode NT-4 to Senn 416 a various
points and hope to purchase my own MKH 30/40
combination soon.
Primary reason for purchase soundscape capture, Nature recording,
sound effects and possible Location audio on a
documentary. I potentially will also be 'off grid' for periods of time
too, therefore battery life (and recording
media) is also a prime factor
I currently have access to an Edirol R4 as well.
Okay, this is why the dilemma comes in. My main issue is wanting to
only by quality gear and currently I can't
stretch to a Sound Devices recorder. I would like to get something
that will have a fair bit of life in it, serve
many uses (i.e. a good investment!). I am feed up with buying stuff
that doesn't work properly and is superceeded
almost instantly (i have learnt that lesson the hard way!)
So as far as I see with that in mind the devices above have the
following pros and cons
FR-2LE
Pros ? Decent preamps and cheap
Cons Having read some of the reviews there seem to be a fair amount,
eg i/o options, one format per card, bad
metering, mono as stereo etc
HD-P2
Pros ? battery life, i/o options
Cons Preamps (given we have moved up from the FR-LE ie in the price
range), Ruggedness
FR2
Pros - Good preamps, good features
Cons - Appalling battery life!!
SD Mixpre
Pros - Excellent preamps, rec to various sources (eg video camera
etc), I can use it in my studio too.
Cons? None?
Therefore part of me is going for the Mixpre and using it as a
frontend for recording on to various media, and
sitting tight until the next range of recorders come out (Actually
will probably wait until the 3rd generation),
which will no doubt overcome a number of the issues in the existing
recorders. I feel that with the Mixpre, I am
getting something that will pretty much keep it's value compared to
the other recorders.
Therefore, does it make sense??
Thanks
Neil
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