Nice! I splurged on the 6 and it’s treated me exceedingly well. Get [this](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1382309-REG/hawk_woods_sd_2_mixpwr_sound_devices_mix_pre.html/?ap=y&gbraid=0AAAAAD7yMh2nzFQ04PophIzUuRPpwSBia&gclid=Cj0KCQiAzeSdBhC4ARIsACj36uEbzDORwlQFIUIoXy91UlNA1Y-itKhGGt2yp3hGTO2YVrKYVMBmy_IaAhG2EALw_wcB&lsft=BI%3A514&smp=y) to strap an NPF onto the mixer, and give you tons more battery life.
I just used a USB C power block on my mix pre 6 and it lasts 20 hours, probably down to about 10 now since I’ve used it so much over the past 4 years, I always had the AA in the sled as a backup since the usb c could get yanked out on occasion, I just found this setup way less clunky plus I can also charge phones or tentacles with it.
Yeah, I decided to skip the ‘Zoom H4n’ phase and just buy once, cry once and have a better product and deliverable to my clients.
Borrowing a mic and boom tomorrow and then it’s testing time to get my setup sorted before some interview work later this week!
Congratulations - they are great!
Some quick tips:
Use Custom Mode with everything set to Advanced, except Gain which you set to basic. It means the channel knobs control the full gain range without any button presses.
Check out the routing options, especially if you plan to use it as an interface as well as a recorder. There are loads of possibilities for input, headphone mix and USB.
Curtis Judd has 2 YouTube channels and in amongst them has some great MixPre content:
https://youtube.com/@LearnLightAndSoundSessions
and
https://youtube.com/@curtisjudd
I am a happy customer of [Curtis Judd's paid course on the MixPre](https://school.learnlightandsound.com/p/default-teachable-homepage). It is a very complex device so having a video walkthrough of all of the features and settings is really useful. Curtis holds weekly sessions for the community to ask questions too.
Using my MixPre10 right now to record a professional orchestra. It replaced a large rack of gear that cost 10x as much and is easily 99.5% as good as the Lynx Aurora(n) and Millennia mic pres I’m used to using for classical work. The big expensive stuff just sits in cases until I need more channels. Sound Devices is great. Congrats on your new gear!
The orchestra I work for does anywhere from 3-5 concerts per week in 4 different halls. Setups change based on the venue and size of the ensemble. Typically I use an AB pair of DPA 4006’s spaced around 24-27” about 3’ behind and 5-6’ above the conductors head as the main pair and another pair of 4006’s spaced about 20’ apart as out riggers. The outriggers are the same height as the main pair and also about 3’ behind the conductor. More often than not I use a pair of Schoeps ccm4’s on an stc4 for an ortf pair in front of the woodwinds placed about 7’ off the deck and centered on the woodwind section. If there is a soloist I add a message c for them - usually a Josephson e22 if it’s a violin or vocalist and an AEA R88 if pianist. This all goes direct to the mixpre10. If a piece isn’t sounding right during rehearsals and needs more spot mics then the mixpre10 is replaced with a 16 channel Lynx Aurora and 8 channel Millennia mic pres and gets recorded into Pro Tools on a laptop. Spot mics are omni Neumanns or Schoeps depending on the source.
In the largest hall we perform in for our masterworks series I much prefer a single mic behind the conductor with outriggers as described above in a Tel Arc type of configuration. It gives a really strong center image and an almost dreamy type of width and dimension. This also frees up a channel on the mixpre10 for an additional spot mic or for capturing a feed from the house if maestro decides to speak about the pieces.
In the smallest hall we do a lot of quartet/quintet work and there I use just an AB pair of Schoeps omnis.
Let me know if any of this doesn’t make sense and I’ll do my best to clarify things.
Makes perfect sense! So you’re typically only running 6-7 channels. That makes sense on how you’re running on the smaller device.
Completely agreed on quartets and smaller chamber ensembles the stereo pair is typically more than sufficient and standard in fact.
Interesting approach as historically I’ve ran something like a saffirepro40 and multiple mics into PT on a laptop for sessions.
I wonder if I’d be comfortable replacing with a recorder in this instance. You can always take the tracks and dump into a DAW still for mixing/editing/mastering.
I use mine mostly to record foley, found sounds and voiceovers, its a joy to use every single time. The quality of the device is just so satisfying in itself. ☺️
This is on my list of investments in the near future! Fuck yeah man. Hope it serves you well!
Nice! I splurged on the 6 and it’s treated me exceedingly well. Get [this](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1382309-REG/hawk_woods_sd_2_mixpwr_sound_devices_mix_pre.html/?ap=y&gbraid=0AAAAAD7yMh2nzFQ04PophIzUuRPpwSBia&gclid=Cj0KCQiAzeSdBhC4ARIsACj36uEbzDORwlQFIUIoXy91UlNA1Y-itKhGGt2yp3hGTO2YVrKYVMBmy_IaAhG2EALw_wcB&lsft=BI%3A514&smp=y) to strap an NPF onto the mixer, and give you tons more battery life.
>this They have excellent in-house battery options that massively extend battery life and also Fast Chargers to help fill those batteries
I know, I just love a good NPF. They take ages to charge and they’re heavy but god damn are they reliable.
I just used a USB C power block on my mix pre 6 and it lasts 20 hours, probably down to about 10 now since I’ve used it so much over the past 4 years, I always had the AA in the sled as a backup since the usb c could get yanked out on occasion, I just found this setup way less clunky plus I can also charge phones or tentacles with it.
Nice ! I love my SD gear.
Yeah, I decided to skip the ‘Zoom H4n’ phase and just buy once, cry once and have a better product and deliverable to my clients. Borrowing a mic and boom tomorrow and then it’s testing time to get my setup sorted before some interview work later this week!
Wish I did this a few years ago, my H4n Pro just recently refused to power on.
Congratulations - they are great! Some quick tips: Use Custom Mode with everything set to Advanced, except Gain which you set to basic. It means the channel knobs control the full gain range without any button presses. Check out the routing options, especially if you plan to use it as an interface as well as a recorder. There are loads of possibilities for input, headphone mix and USB. Curtis Judd has 2 YouTube channels and in amongst them has some great MixPre content: https://youtube.com/@LearnLightAndSoundSessions and https://youtube.com/@curtisjudd
I am a happy customer of [Curtis Judd's paid course on the MixPre](https://school.learnlightandsound.com/p/default-teachable-homepage). It is a very complex device so having a video walkthrough of all of the features and settings is really useful. Curtis holds weekly sessions for the community to ask questions too.
Using my MixPre10 right now to record a professional orchestra. It replaced a large rack of gear that cost 10x as much and is easily 99.5% as good as the Lynx Aurora(n) and Millennia mic pres I’m used to using for classical work. The big expensive stuff just sits in cases until I need more channels. Sound Devices is great. Congrats on your new gear!
I’d be curious of your setup here! Having a background in similar classical audio myself.
The orchestra I work for does anywhere from 3-5 concerts per week in 4 different halls. Setups change based on the venue and size of the ensemble. Typically I use an AB pair of DPA 4006’s spaced around 24-27” about 3’ behind and 5-6’ above the conductors head as the main pair and another pair of 4006’s spaced about 20’ apart as out riggers. The outriggers are the same height as the main pair and also about 3’ behind the conductor. More often than not I use a pair of Schoeps ccm4’s on an stc4 for an ortf pair in front of the woodwinds placed about 7’ off the deck and centered on the woodwind section. If there is a soloist I add a message c for them - usually a Josephson e22 if it’s a violin or vocalist and an AEA R88 if pianist. This all goes direct to the mixpre10. If a piece isn’t sounding right during rehearsals and needs more spot mics then the mixpre10 is replaced with a 16 channel Lynx Aurora and 8 channel Millennia mic pres and gets recorded into Pro Tools on a laptop. Spot mics are omni Neumanns or Schoeps depending on the source. In the largest hall we perform in for our masterworks series I much prefer a single mic behind the conductor with outriggers as described above in a Tel Arc type of configuration. It gives a really strong center image and an almost dreamy type of width and dimension. This also frees up a channel on the mixpre10 for an additional spot mic or for capturing a feed from the house if maestro decides to speak about the pieces. In the smallest hall we do a lot of quartet/quintet work and there I use just an AB pair of Schoeps omnis. Let me know if any of this doesn’t make sense and I’ll do my best to clarify things.
Makes perfect sense! So you’re typically only running 6-7 channels. That makes sense on how you’re running on the smaller device. Completely agreed on quartets and smaller chamber ensembles the stereo pair is typically more than sufficient and standard in fact. Interesting approach as historically I’ve ran something like a saffirepro40 and multiple mics into PT on a laptop for sessions. I wonder if I’d be comfortable replacing with a recorder in this instance. You can always take the tracks and dump into a DAW still for mixing/editing/mastering.
Congratulations! Welcome to the very slippery slope 😉
Next here he's back here posting about his Scorpio!
This is a terrific piece of kit. Good choice!
Congrats! You'll love it! 😊
Absolutely love my mix pre 3 II! Just wish they had a solution to split 32 bit tracks in post
I use AudioMove to split the tracks from my mix pre 6. Have made a Autohotkey Script so I can simple drag and drop the files.
Hey thanks for posting this. I have also been looking for the Wave Agent equivalent for float files!
I use mine mostly to record foley, found sounds and voiceovers, its a joy to use every single time. The quality of the device is just so satisfying in itself. ☺️
Congrats!
Being a Cheesehead, i'm partial to SD. I love my MixPre-3. It sleeps with me.
What did you upgrade from?
Straight into cam with my Godox Movelink wireless lav receiver.
Ah okay. That's a huge step up then.
Oh yeah! Like I said, skipped a couple steps in between.
Enjoy! I have 😊
Nice! Also, what are those things to the right of the case on the shelf?
GVM P80’s