Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/714540
assigned to tracks 18 through 20 and line 4 from the ST8D Mix out to the mix track on the Cantar. For the locations in Cuba, Whit wanted a smaller footprint: "I went to a very small SKB case, where the Cantar was the mixer and the recorder. I had ten tracks with the Cantar, using it as a mixer. We needed to be very portable and I could just break the Cantar off and go with it when needed." Michael 'Kriky' Krikorian recently moved to the X3 and the Cantarem 2. "As a twenty-four-track recorder, I'm not wor- ried about running out of ISOs. I record two mix tracks on channels 1(Xl) and 2(Xr). Xl is at -20db while Xr is at -25db. My wireless mics are assigned to ISO tracks 3-14 and are also post fader to Xl and Xr mix tracks. There is a menu setting that allows you to move your Xl and Xr metering to the far right of the display screen. This aligns metering on the dis- play to match my fader assignments and place the mix tracks separate from my ISO tracks." Michael continues, "On the Cantarem 2, faders 1 and 2 are boom 1 and 2 respectively, while faders 3-12 are for my wireless lavs. I assign the ten linear faders and the first two line in pots on the X3 as my trims." The display screen is the largest of any HD recorder on the market and the brightness range can be controlled for any environment. The main selector, reminiscent of the Nagra, controls many features of the X3. For exam- ple, the one o'clock position takes you to 'Backup Parameters.' This function allows you to copy files from one media to another, restore trashed takes or create polyphonic files from monophonic ones. Since its intro- duction, the Cantar defaults to recording monophonic wave files but it allows you to create polyphonic files to any other media. Two o'clock is 'Session,' which includes the project and which media you record to, as well as the sound report setup. Three o'clock is 'Technical,' such as scene & take, metadata, file naming and VU meter settings. Four o'clock 'Audio & Timecode,' including sample rate, bit depth, pre-record length and of course, all Timecode settings. Five o'clock is 'In Grid Routing,' Six o'clock 'Out Grid Routing,' Seven 'Audio File Browser,' Eight 'Play,' Nine 'Stop,' Ten 'Test,' Eleven 'Pre-Record' and Twelve o'clock is 'Record.' There are also six function buttons that take you to numer- ous shortcuts depending on what position the main selec- tor is in. Michael Krikorian states, "One of the major positive things I have experienced with the Cantar-X3 is the responsive- ness of Aaton when it comes to firmware requests. They listen and respond. When you're buying a recorder like this, you get the folks that built it, not just product specialists." Whit Norris adds, "They have been one of the most respon- sive companies as far as coming out with software. Despite being in France, Aaton responded to any issues or to any- thing I wanted to change. They addressed it very quickly and would have beta software within a couple of weeks. But they really were lis- tening to myself and to others on improvements we wanted and acted very quickly on that." Michael talks about the sound report features. "I have been using the sound report func- tion on the X3. It gives you the option Routing screen for Norris's setup Left: Whit Norris's studio cart. Above: Whit's small footprint SKB for the locations in Cuba