Sound Devices Scorpio - NAB 2019
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- čas přidán 13. 04. 2019
- As part of our coverage of the Nation Association of Broadcaster’s show in Las Vegas in April 2019, we talked with Paul Isaacs at Sound Devices about their new flagship mixer/recorder called Scorpio. This is a device which is aimed at larger budget, very demanding productions where lots of inputs and lots of outputs are required.
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Gear discussed and used to record this episode:
Sound Devices Scorpio
B&H: bhpho.to/2Uy4qDv
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K
B&H: bhpho.to/2JB7W5V
Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens
B&H: bhpho.to/2i6s2gv
Electrovoice RE50L Dynamic Interview Microphone
B&H: bhpho.to/2IRcEkq
Sound Devices 633 Mixer/Recorder
DVeStore: www.dvestore.com/guy-says-gear...
Copyright 2019 by Curtis Judd
Music Copyright 2017 by TVAC. Used with permission
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One benefit of flagship devices like this is that we may see some of the tech from the Scorpio move down the product lineup to more affordable devices in the future. So a future MixPre might have Scorpio preamps, for example.
Great point. Can't wait for the Scorpio mini!
The MixPre and 6 series preamps are already extremely good, what Scorpio gets me more excited about is that we can see the path ahead for the next generation of the 6 series (i.e. a "633 mk2") which will fix up the various issues of the 6 series which Scorpio addressed, and also the new features they'll be adding to future pro models.
After the release announcement I darted over to the website to digest the specs. When I saw that it supported Dante, a little tear fell down my cheek. I love that so much.
Of course, after each spec I saw, I could feel the price slipping ever further from my reach. This is a magic unicorn device that falls beyond even my imaginary needs but still well within my desire. If I could get one, I would be using it as a toy not a tool, which is a waste. But, boy do I like toys - especially nice ones.
I always like when you chat with Paul Isaacs. I appreciate his passion.
Thanks Ike. I think I'm in the same situation as you. The jobs I do don't generally require this, but I'd sure like to try it!
Great product! Thanks for this review!
👍
Regarding price on Nova, it is $5000 for unit, 633 is $3330. The Nova dual channel QRX RX inserts are $1750 each so $6750 would be a typical price for a Nova. I would add that Aaton has a fair share of the production sound market. They sold quite a few Cantar X3 and Minis while mixers outgrew their 788T and 688.
Thanks Allen for the details.
Fun to see what the Pro's use.
👍🏻
Now finally the 6xx and 7xx replacement from area 51. Every 20 years or so, a scientist escapes, and comes to Sound Devices and creates things like the Scorpio. Totally new mic preamplifiers and other alien tech. Great for us. Finally your one stop all inputs and outs in. One machine one man. Wow queue up the Movie Trailer man. Don LaFontaine. In a World where ordinary mixer recorders existed, one recorder rises above the rest. In a time where you need it most, and need it now. The playing is over. This time, it's for real! Scorpio! Electro mechanical genius. At your Sound Devices dealer this May 2019!
Hahahaha! 😂
top shelf, I used to record concerts fro the Rock Hall in Cleveland in the late 90's using networked Tascam da 78/88 taking time code from the video guys locking 4 to 5 recorders with sync, about the same money but a boatload of weight and bulk and 5 tapes per session. Got great results though and a lot of it went out on recordings. Big analog board with direct outs then iI bought the first gen O1v with tdif to the tascam recorder .
Sure has come a long way in this world, no reason why Dante cant be integrated in to cameras at some point given the ad / da is all off device and the cards and mxing boards supporting it are becoming more common. I like your channel and depth of knowledge since most of my pro work was done in live recordings I;m grateful for your tutorials and film video approach. Would be interested in your PCC4K rig I have one along with a c100. Ill support your channel soon with one of your courses .
Thanks, great to hear your experience and perspective on how this tech has evolved!
Finally again L battery (like 788T and 633) and perhaps routing options like 788T (big pain 664 and 688). After a long time a real successor for 788T.
Yes, cool!
Hi Curtis, just One question... as i see i can use any mcu midi controller instead of the icon platform or the sound devices one.
Do you think I can use a korg nanokontrolstudio? Which is smaller lighter and feed with battery.
Thx for answer. Max
Hi Max, no, Sound Devices has to specifically add support for each device, it appears. You might contact Sound Devices support to confirm.
@@curtisjudd ok thanx Curtis.
It's a little amusing to see, that when Paul Isaacs was talking about the MixPre 3M and 6M, he was much more enthusiastic and gave us a lot of info on the details - obviously because he's a musician himself and knew and understood everything about the MixPre M series from first hand experience. And really this genuine enthusiasm and detailed info - which I had sufficient knowledge to understand - was what sold the MixPre 3M to me. (Although I must admit that the fact that I've wanted just such a device for years did play a role too).
But here ... oh, he knows the stuff alright of course, but he has to dig the memory a little bit now and then. The the words don't sort of wait in line to burst out. And at the end he just gives a general "there's a lot more that I don't have time to tell you about". I guess it also goes to show that it's a much bigger machine with a lot more features to remember.
Yes and this is for a much different audience who are typically rather annoyed by too much enthusiasm as it often comes across as marketing hype. Instead, he’s appealing to the engineers here.
Even though I'm not en engineer, I too generally hate the kind of over-enthusiasm you're talking about. When that Mark Wallace from Adorama “really, really likes” what ever product he's reviewing, or when Chris Niccolls tells us what he's “really excited” about in a new camera, I tend to be rolling my eyes a little bit. Not only because they use these phrases all the time, but also because their enthusiasm doesn't ring quite true.
But to me Paul's love of the MixPre Ms didn't sound quite as fake. I don't know, maybe it was my own excitement that made me think he meant it, but to me it sounded like he did. Your brother seemed to be impressed as well. Anyway, I think he and I just realized what a useful tool such a device would be.
What they didn't tell you is that it fell off an alien ship from the Andromeda galaxy, so, it was therefore cost millions to back engineer....hence the kings ransom needed to purchase it.
Hahaha! 😂
Drooling....... 🤑
Haha, yes!
Curtis you dont have to convince me to buy a Scorpio I just cant afford one lol.
Me neither!
I wonder how it would compare to a Zoom Livetrak L20. One obvious difference is the portability, of course, but I'm curious what else you get for the extra money.
Robust build (vs. plastic), top-notch RF shielding, dual Dante inputs, analogue limiters. Analogue HP filters, more outputs and returns for feeds and coms, far superior dual headphone amps, superior analogue preamps and A/D converters, internal SSD plus dual SD card slots, and a few other things. 😀
Timecode generator and word clock on Scorpio as well. USB control surface support for higher quality controllers with motorized faders.
Thanks. I knew there had to be a reason or two for the higher price... :)
Livetrak L20 vs Scorpio is like apples vs pears, two completely different products intended for completely different markets and for completely different purposes. I expect there is very very little overlap (if any!) of people considering either a Scorpio or a Livetrak L20 instead.
@ Sound Speed! If you need a lot of channels and don't have the budget for a Scorpio, what other options are there?
Sound Devices definitely has the biggest market share for sure in the pro world when it comes to pro recorders, and Zaxcom would easily be #2. The others (which like Aaton and Sonosax and others do make very compelling products as well) would have a smaller market share even when compared to Zaxcom.
(assuming we're ignoring the Zoom brand here)
I'd say it is quite unfair to state the Zaxcom Nova sits where the 633 is, as the Nova is definitely overall a better specced machine than the 633, and I feel that Nova's significantly higher price fairly reflects that. (for comparison, the 688 used to be Sound Devices most expensive product ever, and the Zaxcom Nova is "only" a grand cheaper than the 688. While the 633 is Sound Devices' cheapest ever mixer/recorder. Well, until the MixPre series showed up!)
If I was already in the Zaxcom ecosystem instead Lectrosonics then I think the Nova might be a no branier for me, but at the moment I feel like Nova also needs a hefty investment in Zaxcom to fully 100% make Nova worthwhile? However I certainly am far more tempted to buy a Nova than a Scorpio, it just would suit me better.
My hope/dream is that Zaxcom makes a "Mava" (if we do the same play on words as Zaxcom did with "Nova"! And combined the goodness of a Deva 24 with a Maxx), which would be a somewhat cut down Nova in specs/price/size.
Or alternatively a "Scorpio Micro" (which is a "633 mk2" in the same general sense a Scorpio is a "688 mk2"), as that would fit much better both my budget and the type of work I do.
Will wait and see what happens first, a Mava or a Scorpio Micro! Either which way, I find both Nova and Scorpio to be very exciting, as it shows the direction each company is going in for the future.
Thanks for the perspective/correction. Maxx is more of a 633 equivalent, I guess. Nova is tempting but like you, I'm invested in SD and Audio Ltd. Looking forward to a Scorpio Micro. :)
@@curtisjudd, arguably Maxx is positioned slightly "under" the 633? (well, depending on which Maxx you mean) But yes, 633 is definitely closer to a Maxx than a Nomad/Nova (welllll.... depending on which Nomad you mean! "Arguably" the Nomad Lite is closer than a base model Maxx? Ha! Matter of opinion. I reckon it is a good thing that Zaxcom is having only *one* version of the Nova and Deva 24, than in the past when they had a mildly confusing range of different types of Maxxs / Nomads / Devas all being sold at once)
I wonder if Zaxcom did this intentionally? Positioning their gear above/below Sound Devices rather than going straight 100% head on against Sound Devices? The Nova is positioned clearly below (in specs and price) the Sound Devices Scorpio, while the Deva 24 is positioned above even the Scorpio.
My guess is it was just a coincidence.
The specs say "64-bit audio processing precision"... does this means that audio is captured at 64-bit? I doubt it. How does this 64-bit whatever it is compare with the new zoom F6 32-bit floating point "gain-insignificant", etc etc?
All great questions that I’m hoping to answer as we learn more.
I don't think so. 64 bit audio processing precision means that it uses 64 bit floating point for all the internal processing. Which makes sense given that they are adding features such as EQ.
Thank You Curtissssssss. See you soon. Yes i know who i am hahaha. Later
See you soon!