(2) SD442 linked vs Cooper 208 vs other console mixers for..

I have used the SD442 extensively for most of my mixing projects. I
have never used a console mixer and want to get some opinions if the SD
would be feasible to use to mix up to 8 channels. I am prepping for a
feature and am thinking of linking (2) 442s. Anyone mix a feature with
a 442? or should I rent a cooper board. Should I forget Mackie/Yamaha
01V96. Sorry if it is an amateur question.

Is the sound quality that much better with a Cooper than SD442 or is it
more of a convenience working with a console?

Does the cooper have discreet outputs for each input?

TIA

Gary Lehman wrote:
> Should I forget Mackie/Yamaha
> 01V96. Sorry if it is an amateur question.

Not really. Many professionals have used those boards for feature and
episodic projects with success. I think David Lee got a statue for a
movie he mixed on a Mackie. Would I do that? No. But that's just me.
Clearly, there are some folks out there mixing on Mackies and
audiences are not getting up in a stormy mood and walking out of the
theatre because of the poor sound. Whether the dialogue editor is or
not, I don't know. One thing for sure is that the Mackie is not going
to have the kind of preamps and headroom that a Cooper will, so if
you're just dipping your toe in the water for the first time it might
be awful cold there.

> Is the sound quality that much better with a Cooper than SD442 or is it
> more of a convenience working with a console?

"Convenience" is not really the word I'd choose. It's more about
control. With a Cooper, you're going to be able to use faders with
good throw and action across a number of microphones and make quick
adjustments to gain, pads, limiters (and EQ, if necessary) in a
logical, linear way. With a pair of 442s ganged together your fingers
are going to be scrambling over a bunch of pushbutton trim pots and
rotary faders scattered over two machines. Are you really going to be
able to do what you want to do in the fraction of a second you are
going to be afforded with that kind of a layout? There's also all the
other things besides fidelity that we have to worry about. Remember
you may need to talk to your boom operator mid-take, may need a
full-miked voice to express yourself over the Comteks when you're
explaining to the director why the take isn't good and you're miles
away from village, may need multiple busses, and so forth. Once you
start scrambling with cheap sounding slate mics bussed to the tracks
and the only busses being to a common L and R spread out over two
separate machines you may find yourself a bit scattered.

Both the Cooper 106/208 and Sound Devices 302/442 mixers have
exceptional preamps for DC-powered, portable location mixers, and both
sound great. But one's clearly made for a feature workflow and one's
clearly made for an ENG or over the shoulder workflow. If you try to
incorporate the latter into the former, you may find some parts don't
really fit right.


> Does the cooper have discreet outputs for each channel

Yes.

Regards,

Noah Timan