Zaxcom Nova Routing & Automix Setup
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- čas přidán 13. 07. 2024
- Boston-based Production Sound Mixer Jim Keaney gives a step by step tutorial showing how to set up Routing and Automixer on the Zaxcom Nova Mixer / Recorder.
Watch more Zaxcom Nova Tutorials HERE: • Zaxcom Nova Overview &...
Products shown in this video:
▸ Zaxcom NOVA Mixer / Recorder: geni.us/nBs9MK
▸ Zaxcom MRX414 4-Channel Receiver Module: geni.us/ArfcBS
▸ Zaxcom CL3 Camera Link Wideband Stereo Transmitter: geni.us/XPtf
▸ Zaxcom TRXLA3 Beltpack Transmitter: geni.us/HYBl8QU
▸ eSMART 98W Battery: geni.us/ZAVU
▸ Schoeps CMIT5U Shotgun Microphone (shown): geni.us/SkLZplw
▸ MiniCMIT (not shown / smaller option): geni.us/t6NPRG
CREDITS:
▸ Sennheiser MKH50 Microphone (used to capture my voice) geni.us/WEWP09u
▸ Recorded to a Sound Devices Recorder: geni.us/2eqzmO
▸ Canon 70D DSLR (overhead) geni.us/ZnV2W
▸ Edited in Adobe Premiere Pro amzn.to/2Qv8TpD
Music original by me
If you need production sound in Boston, MA, New England or beyond, contact me: Jim.Keaney@gmail.com
HubLocationSound.com
Follow me on jimkeaney
Discussion @ / hublocationsound
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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:07 Why I Made This Video
0:34 Our Scenario
0:53 Nova I/O Overview
1:38 Meter Views
1:58 Track Routing
2:26 Record Enables
4:27 Automix
5:04 Output Bus Routing
5:20 Fader Assign
6:09 Headphone Routing
6:27 Automix On/Off
7:08 Duplicating Output Busses
7:53 Playback Routing
8:06 Conclusion
As an Amazon & BH affiliate, I earn from qualify purchases. - Jak na to + styl
First Day playing with a friend’s NOVA and I come home to find this gem of a video is released. Now I gotta try this!
Great video man! I agree that zaxcom really needs to invest in making more tutorials to help explain this stuff. I've made videos in the past, but I really enjoyed this. Hope to see more come from you.
Thanks Shelby!
Thanks for this. It's been a wild ride learning the zaxcom ways the past few weeks!
I'm a sound devices guy but this presentation looks so well prepared that made me look for a nova online lol
I'm currently a Zaxcom AND Sound Devices guy (I used both to make this video!) They are both great in their own ways. The Nova is unrivaled in size and when used with the Zaxcom wireless systems, the integration (remote controlling talent packs) is otherworldly. Sound Devices 8-Series has a lot of great features, flexible routing, prettier GUI, iOs app-support and a little more plug'n'play.
@@HubLocationSound I'm looking at the 888 right now, and the a10 integration looks great to have a wireless boom
@@HubLocationSound Does the Nova have sends on faders?
@@Ballistic23 Hi Bal! The Nova doesn't have adjustable level sends, so no sends-on-faders. 8-series has more complex routing flexibility. In the Nova, all routing is simply pre or post fader. However, the Nova fader/encoders are unique because they offer multiple functions. If you hit the Trim button, the faders turn into a Trim control for their respective sources. If you hit the ZNET button the Faders adjust talent packs gain remotely. I use that feature all the time. I almost never touch the input trims since the signal chain is 100% digital after the transmitter conversion.
Thanks for this! Yes, more Nova content and tutorials please!
Anything specific?
@@HubLocationSound Actually everything about it! Can't find many info apart from the manual. Would love to see how you set up your bag, how you power it. And wireless management, from scanning to sending out the frequencies to the txs and re-recording the takes on the Nova playing back from the tx recorder.
@@HubLocationSound Do you have the ZMT3-X? I'm wondering if the extra battery life is worth the size and weight compared to the TRXLA3. I also like the idea of the microdot right on the X.
@@robertfeliciano5723 Hi Robert, I do own a pair of those. I don’t use them as much as I thought I would, not because I dislike them but I tend to reach for my TRXLA3 first. Also the LA3’s offer 100mW power whereas the 3X’s only go up to 75 mW. Not a huge difference in performance but there is a slight noticeable difference. On range. The long BT100 battery life is welcome and the slightly thicker pack is negligible in my opinion. Nice to have some packs with the battery life of that in my arsenal. I’m not a huge fan of microdots they just seem kind of fragile and are the odd ducks among my mic collection. Although the ZMT3X packs are great for car rigs with the DPA 4097 mini-shotguns which also have microdot goosenecks: www.trewaudio.com/product/dpa-4097-core-micro-shotgun/refid/hubjk/ 👍
Your channel is a gold mine. Keep up the great work.
Supplementary info (based on some questions):
In Nova's Automix Menu, ADD allows any non-automixed sources to enter a Bus or Track that Automix is also routed too - so both the Automix Bus AND any non-automixed sources WILL be heard at that destination. The other option is REPLACE which (if selected) simply allows the Automix Bus to supersede any non-automixed sources that may be routed to that same destination.
ADD = when routing automixed and nonautomixed sources to the same output bus (or track).
REPLACE = when you ONLY want what is in the Automix Bus to reach the output bus(ses) or track(s) that it is routed to.
Just wanted to add my voice to everyone else, I really appreciate you taking the time to put this video together, very helpful as I learn all the amazing stuff the Nova can do!
Thanks, Evan. Always nice to hear that people are finding the content useful.
Really well explained, great video.
great video I'm sold
Great Video!!
@3:58 Important to note that as of firmware 4.00 (released after this video) you can now route tracks to Out 1-4, if you wanted to do it that way.
Correct! As of firmware 4.00z, any single track can now be routed to Outputs 1-4, which makes the ‘using Tracks as Busses’ approach more flexible. One day the Nova will be complete…
Curious what made you decide to go with Zaxcom over your other previous recorders, was there one or more specific features that made you switch ? Maybe something to do with wireless transmission ?
Nice wings on the nova do you have a link for those??
🙏🙏🙏
Thank you very much for this video. I feel confident climbing from Nomad on to the Nova after watching this. How is the RF reception range on the Nova? I would love to run it with two Betso Bowtie Antennas in the bag.
Hi John, I own Bowties but I've never used them on the Nova as I've been happy with the range on whips. The Nova has a 'Micplexer' (adjustable front end filter) built in. From what I've read on the Zaxcom facebook group, people are using the Bowties (or SNA600a dipoles) and some see an improvement while others tests report similar performance to whips. If I really need more range I use the LPDA Blue Fins and at that distance I'm probably not wearing the Nova.
If you come from any kind of 21st century audio/sound background Zaxcom matrix is a norm and what people are used to.
Thanks for this amazing vid! Any thoughts in attack and decay times in general and in specific contexts?
For automix I like fastest attack and slowest release.
@@HubLocationSound thanks! What do you mean exactly with slowest decay? In this video you have it set to 10ms attach / 50ms decay. I currently have it set to 10ms / 350ms as standard setting.
@@KeepingItRealArtCritics I think at some point (since posting this video) I made the decay slower. So whatever the longest is (500ms)? And still 10ms for attack.
@@HubLocationSound thanks, you are amazing.
Hi Jim, thanks you for the review. It would be appreciated if you review (or give your opinion) about the on body 32 bit float recorders like the Zoom F2 and the Tentacle Track E. compare them with each other and the conventional wireless solutions and other solutions. It seems so practical ...or is there a catch?
I don’t yet own anything with 32-bit float. I’m curious what sort of recordings you’re working on where it’s necessary?
@@HubLocationSound I think it's useful in the making of a documentary (abroad), with more than one or two actors in which I won't have control over who is going to speak. I thought i could ease things with the use of Plural Eyes in postprod? I will be using 1 camera and max 4 or 5 32bit float devices (zoom or tentacle). Is it doable? Perhaps it's to early to adopt these things?
Btw I have done things abroad in the past and didn't carry any equipment with me.....hiring a local team (in France) with equipment. That didn't work out for me.....several times. Personal policy now is to keep everything in control. Taking my own guys with me is just too expensive.
@@zagorcuk1966 I think there is some misinformation surrounding 32-bit float. Some manufacturers are marketing it as a 'safety net' for not setting proper gain staging/levels. If you're not monitoring what you're recording (like using individual Track-E's) I can see why that might make you feel better as 32bit does give you a wider dynamic range than 24bit, but 24bit offers a pretty large dynamic range of approx 145db and most Lav mics have an SPL slightly lower than that - meaning the Lav might even clip before a 24bit recording does. If you're recording both whispers and bazookas on the same mic, you may have trouble but for most scenarios, with proper gain staging (laugh loudly or shout when gain staging - to find a safe 'ceiling'), 24bit is still the standard for dialogue recording. The Track-E's also have 24bit mode with an inbuilt limiter (to avoid clipping). If you go 32bit, I'd just make sure whoever is handling your audio in Post knows what they're working with. Here's a pretty good video explaining 32bit... czcams.com/video/fTI3l1LedVk/video.html
Hi Jim, i got an issue in the nova that flips my RX channels 3 & 4 , the channel third of wireless sounds in the four-channel and the four-channel sounds in the third channel, you got a similar issues or know something about that? i apprecite if you can tell my how i can fix this problem.
Hi there, this sounds like a familiar problem for some users lately. I believe it is related to firmware (depends which RX modules you’re using too). You should email howard@zaxcom.com and ask him for the latest firmware to fix this problem. In the meantime there is a Zaxcom facebook group where I’ve seen this mentioned: facebook.com/groups/zaxcomusers/permalink/4507477975945342/ & facebook.com/groups/zaxcomusers/permalink/4460188634007610/
if i m using sennheiser ew g4, i end up with 4 receivers dangling through cables from my recorder. not neat ,
Great video! Where'd you he that cage around your Nova?
theaudioworkbench.ca/boutique/ols/products/feather-rig
Is it a custom coga order then? Could not find the cage on there site. The winglets are kind of in the way for the antenna sma when changing to sharkfins etc, and the one you have looks much better for that👌🏻
@@eirikhalsen4393 my mistake, I updated the link. It’s actually the Audio Workbench “Feather Rig” shown here. I did a video about it here czcams.com/video/YzIOmzDs5FU/video.html
I've been using replace mode for my auto mix, so I never really grasped the significance of Post Bypass. Thanks for showing it's practical use. I've mostly been using auto mix in NR only to notch out a couple db of the self noise in my LA3s. I've honestly been a little disappointed by auto mix on the Nova. Every time there's a pause in dialogue it seems like it bounces back and forth between mics rapidly and I find it really distracting. I've seen plenty of people in the FB groups claim it to be comparable to Dugan, so I feel like I must be screwing something up
The common issue I've seen/heard lately (and was guilty of it for a while myself) is not understanding that Automix in the Nova is essentially it's own virtual bus which lives somewhere between the Inputs and the 6 Output Busses. So if you're mixing both Automixed mics with non-Automixed mics, you really have to be in ADD mode, but also you don't want the Automixed mics to ALSO be traveling 'Dry' (in the Outputs matrix) to your Mix Bus. Because then you'd get a wet/dry 'parallel compression' type effect. That's what I was doing wrong initially - which is exactly why I thought the Novas Automix seemed too subtle. Try my settings shown in the video, I'm curious to know if you like it better.
@@HubLocationSound Yeah I was also initially thrown off when automix got added because I had routed a dry and wet signal to my mix and didn't notice til I set it to prefader. I didn't really understand what the Add/Replace setting was doing until I had that discovery. Experimenting with every setting has been crucial for my learning process with Zaxcom.
What do you mean you don't want the automixed mics to also be going dry to your mix bus? Does that mean you don't want to also route non-processessed prefade ISO tracks to the mix?
@@polymathenator not prefader isos, but postfader sources that are routed to the mix bus which are also traveling through the automixer bus. That was one of the more common mistakes with the Automixer routing from people I spoke with... double-bussing the sources + the sources automixed to the same destination.
@@HubLocationSound Ah gotcha! Thanks for the clarification! I wish the manual was more clear on that. That's a very common mistake to double up on routing.
There is a simpler way to route.Your is very very confusing
Do tell... Are you routing differently than this? Or just approaching it in a different order?
@@HubLocationSound Nice job on the video Jim. It is possible to route any of the 18 inputs to any of the record tracks. You don't need to route your inputs to an Output Bus and then record the Output Bus on Track 1. This may be what Rado is referring to.
The 16 Tracks are the Card Tracks... the tracks we are recording to the Media. We can route any of the physical inputs to any of the 16 (Card) Tracks... which makes every card track essentially a Bus... and then we can route any of the Card Tracks to a physical output. That's how I've done it for years. I never start with the Outputs. I build my Mono Mix on (Card) Track 1 and then route (card) Track 1 to the physical Output.
Of course, you can also build your Mix on an output bus and then record the Output Bus to a Card Track, which is what you did here. And that is one way to Automix your wires and Add the Automix to a card track which is already receiving the Boom directly.
@@defman9414 Thanks for the comment. I’m curious if you use the Nova or a different Zaxcom recorder, because you say “we can route any of the Card Tracks to a physical output” which on the Nova is only 33% true. On the Nova, you can route Card Tracks 1-16 to Outputs 5-6, but cannot route Card Tracks directly to Outputs 1-4. I specifically mentioned this limitation at @3:58 which is why I record my Output Bus (Mix) instead of using a Card Track directly as the Mix Bus.
For setups where you’re only feeding a wireless hop transmitter, stereo at most, using physical Outputs 5-6 would be sufficient for the workflow you're describing (ie. Mic Sources directly sent to Track 1 & Track 1 feeding Output Bus 5-6). But that approach (using a Card Track as a mix bus) leaves physical Outputs 1-4 unable to receive that Card Track Mix*** which sort of ties our hands for other configurations where you might want to feed your mix to several cameras using more physical outputs than the 5-6 pair. I think the workflow I’ve outlined is the most flexible possible considering the odd limitations of the Nova’s Output Routing.
***The workaround to bring your Card Track “mix” to physical Outputs 1-4 would require building the exact same post-fader Mix (that you've created on Card Track 1) routing those same input sources to each physical Output 1, 2, 3 and 4 ....and that can be a lot of Matrix boxes to check. So I look at it like: why not just do that in the first place and use the Output Busses as Mix Busses.
To be fair, it's ALSO a bunch of Matrix boxes to check the way I'm doing it too... To get a mono mix to appear on all 6 physical Outputs for example, I have to mirror the same routing I've done to Output Bus 1 to Output 2, 3, and 4 (shown @7:22).
6 of one, half a dozen of the other? Either way, the Nova's bizarre output routing limitations cause us essentially the same amount of routing work. I guess it can be looked at either way, but they're both confusing - hence this video ;)