School Audio Board Advice

[WBHoenig]

Our school (Lake Travis Middle Schol in Austin, Texas) is planning to set up something in the effect of a video recording studio, not for live TV. We were wondering what is a good entry to mid-range input mixer for our needs. We have been looking at the Behringer UB2442FX Pro. 😕

[WBHoenig]

Please Reply!

[Anonymous]

patience grasshopper, you will soon enough receive a reply, people have jobs and stuff. Best of luck with whatever you set up.

[WBHoenig]

It could be that while most of us have video experience, most do not have much music experience and this is mainly a musician’s mixer.

Okay… I just stumbled across another one on Froogle… It is the Edirol M-100FX (http://www.jacksmusicstore.com/catalog/computer-music-products/edirol-corporation/cmp-edi-c~edim100fx). It seems to be a good one for video production. Has anyone heard of it 😕

[Anonymous]

I’ve heard of it. Suppost to be a great mixer. B&H has it for $179 I think.

[Anonymous]

If you’re planning on using the mixer board as part of a class, to teach broadcasting or what-not you may want to consider Mackie. A simple 16 or 32 channel mackie mixer is great for learning on and also functions as a great video studio mixer. Also, the Mackie mixers retain their resale value when used nicely, thus allowing your school to retain their investment should they choose to upgrade to a more complex piece in a couple years.

I’ve found them to be quite durable too. Since they are quite common, most audio techs are already familiar with there set up conventions as well.

[TomScratch]

The Edirol mixer mentioned above is a solid machine that can support basic video editing or advanced NLE applications. Have used to direct single and multiple sound sources, mixing live, into a tape to tape video edit. Have mixed several sources off line onto a CD and then uploaded the CD for video editing. Inputs audio, from one or several channels simultaneously, directly into your NLE’s USB port. Great at cleaning up audio quality of compromised sources. Doesn’t take up much space. Less than $200 from B&H. At the Middle School level, however, vocal effects portion could prove to be distracting. Boys can deepen their voices. Girls can sound like men. Everyone can sound like Space Aliens. It is a very practical machine, but also has impressive entertainment value.
REGARDS … TOM 8)

[WBHoenig]

Thanks for the advice… This looks like a good one. Is there one comparable (just to compare…) that you can think of?

Also (I know we are complete novices), can you reccomend a good Mini-DV mic? 😕 😕 😕

[TomScratch]

Hi,

You should look beyond simple Mini-DV mikes. Many top rate professional (XLR) mikes can be hard wired to your (mini) DV cam; and wireless is an option for some mikes. Likewise, many top mikes can be input to the Edirol mixer mentioned earlier.

There are a ka-zillion articles on mikes in the Videomaker archives. If your issue isn’t handy, the secret word this month is: studio. To save some time, recommend that you start with an excellent article on mike basics at this link:
http://www.videomaker.com/scripts/article.cfm?id=2758

Lots of training tapes/DVDs out there. I stumbled on this one: Location Sound For Video, described at http://www.soundforvideo.com. This is an excellent training DVD that effectively presents all you need to know about mikes to at least get you started on the search and decision process about what to acquire. This is done in a very straightforward, no muss no fuss fashion, no distractions, no humor, an information packed 25 minutes. While it is not MTV, it is not boring and you will probably still be learning from it after 10 or 20 viewings. Cost is $20.

(Note. This outfit is located in Orlando. My order was delayed when they closed shop early that week to prepare for a hurricane. Was worth the wait!)

There is a major focus on XLR to pin input issues. Virtually all of the info is good for studio shoots as well as outdoor field shoots. There is a brief presentation on a field-use mixer, when using 2 or more mikes for an outdoor shoot. Note that the Edirol mixer is intended for stationary use in a studio/editing suite, not for video camping trips. The end credits state that some audio heard on the DVD was originally recorded via an XLR to pin input to the cam.

REGARDS … TOM 8)

[WBHoenig]

Thanks! X-D X-D X-D 😀

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