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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Any body using JUICEDLINK ?

I use the JuicedLink DT454 - only when I'm actually doing sit-down interviews or talent towards camera as it's primarily a mixer. It has good signal to noise ratio (much better than the H4N). What I will do is go Mic - Juiced Link - H4N - Epic. I record higher quality audio to the H4N, and send the signal to the Epic. I turn the volume pretty low on the H4N (using the preamps of the DT454). There are cheaper alternatives, I just like having dual XLR inputs. :-) The 454 doesn't have XLR out, ONLY mini.

Depending on your mic, you may or may have the Gain Setting to High or low. I normally set it to low, but if you need more volume, switch it to high. You don't need AGC enabled.
 
Thanks Chris this is really helpfull. So what you say is the quality of Rode NTG2-Juicedlink-Epic is not as good as Rode NTG2 - Juiced Link - H4N - Epic right? So juiced link will not be enough for a proffessional production?

by the way i have cx231
 
juiced link is a poor man's (like myself) mixer. I have used it on professional jobs, and I haven't had any clients complain about the sound quality (yet). :-0

Recording separately via the H4N is a good idea just because you can record the audio at a much higher bit-rate. If you're just doing personal projects, or ones without a large budget, I wouldn't say it's absolutely mandatory to go from the JL - Zoom - Epic. You could just go straight to the Epic.

However, I'm still getting audio hits occasionally when recording audio directly to the epic...I know it's been a bug and I don't think RED has fixed it yet (pls correct me if I'm wrong), so I normally will record backup audio to the H4N. You could even pick up an H1 (much smaller) and record to that as well.
 
Arturo, why do you think Beachtek is the best solution? I saw the video on their site, and Beachtek definitely looks interesting. Any real experience to share on it?
 
The key is the audio limiter.

From Cinema 5D news:

This is the only device of its kind that provides an audio limiter to be used with your HDSLR at this price point. The limiter will kick in once your levels become too high thus preventing peaking much like analogue audio did. It's like getting the "film look" for audio


Yousuf Abbasi said:
Arturo, why do you think Beachtek is the best solution? I saw the video on their site, and Beachtek definitely looks interesting. Any real experience to share on it?
Click to expand...
 
When you do that, do you get better quality audio recorded directly to Epic, than if you were going strait from Mic?

Chris McKechnie said:
I use the JuicedLink DT454 - only when I'm actually doing sit-down interviews or talent towards camera as it's primarily a mixer. It has good signal to noise ratio (much better than the H4N). What I will do is go Mic - Juiced Link - H4N - Epic. I record higher quality audio to the H4N, and send the signal to the Epic. I turn the volume pretty low on the H4N (using the preamps of the DT454). There are cheaper alternatives, I just like having dual XLR inputs. :-) The 454 doesn't have XLR out, ONLY mini.

Depending on your mic, you may or may have the Gain Setting to High or low. I normally set it to low, but if you need more volume, switch it to high. You don't need AGC enabled.
Click to expand...
 
juicedLink is fine. I have a DT454. It doesn't have a XLR out because it was meant for DSLRs. Its preamps are good. So you can directly record to EPIC through the juicedLink. NTG2 -->juicedLink-->EPIC.

You can monitor through headphones and adjust the gain as per requirement. You just need to ensure that the connection is not loose.

juicedLink is better than the beachtek.

If you want to be doubly sure, then use a lavalier microphone for the interview and plug it to the juicedLink and then output to EPIC. And use another microphone for recording to a H4N or some other recorder. If I were recording to my Sound Devices recorder then I would do double sound. Else no. I had checked the H4N and then bought a Tascam to be used as an extra recorder when needed. Mostly use the SD 702T. juicedLink goes for special applications.


Mike Tylor said:
Thanks Chris this is really helpfull. So what you say is the quality of Rode NTG2-Juicedlink-Epic is not as good as Rode NTG2 - Juiced Link - H4N - Epic right? So juiced link will not be enough for a proffessional production?

by the way i have cx231
Click to expand...
 
I have the Micro Riggy and it works well. I like the idea of having a physical knob to control the gain. It's bigger than the A-Box which I have to. Need to do more comparisons with my Tascam recorder too as to what is cleaner.
 
I have the Micro Riggy and it works well. I like the idea of having a physical knob to control the gain. It's bigger than the A-Box which I have to. Need to do more comparisons with my Tascam recorder too as to what is cleaner.
Click to expand...

#Bob how do you monitor sound (Headphones) using the Micro Riggy? I'm new to RED waiting for my RED to arrive still and this is something ive been trying to find out. I have a Micro Riggy for my 5DmkIII and love it.
 
Paul Wildman said:
#Bob how do you monitor sound (Headphones) using the Micro Riggy? I'm new to RED waiting for my RED to arrive still and this is something ive been trying to find out. I have a Micro Riggy for my 5DmkIII and love it.
Click to expand...

I monitor through the headphone jack on the RED camera.
 
I have used both the JuicedLink and the Beachtek, and my opinion is that neither sounds very good. For this amount of money, you're getting $10 preamps (at best), with a very "plasticky" kind of sound, very prone to overload. This is about the same thing as using a $100 lens on a $10,000 camera.

I understand that a lot of people are operating under a tight budget, but using a $200 audio box on top of an $8000 camera (let alone a $40,000 camera) is just sad. Get a real mixer, preferably tied to a better audio recorder than a Zoom.

I have absolutely no problem using something like the Beachtek if it's just for a scratch track. And in truth, most wireless camera hops can be stepped down to mic level, which I routinely do for both Red Epic and Scarlet with no problem. It actually sounds good enough to use... but I always tell my clients to go to the trouble to sync up the "real" tracks from my recorder, because it'll sound better.

You're fooling yourself if you think these toy boxes are good enough, let alone professional. There's a reason why actual pro audio components cost what they do. (And I would include the little Sound Devices MixPro in that category -- it doesn't suck at all, and is quite usable at only $600.)
 
Don't get me wrong -- the Juiced Link (and similar products) have their use. But I wouldn't count on it for final audio as the only sound source on the set. Fine for a quickie scratch track.
 
Here's a recent review we did of the Beachtek with a few examples of it's sound using the NTG-2, Hope it helps :)

(Click "CC" for English Subtitles)


We'll also be doing a review of the similar JuicedLink RA222 in the next couple of weeks.

Both are good units, Beachtek have a better physical design but Juicedlink adds a bit more gain to the signal, but both offer pretty clean audio overall.
 
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