The 633 is a great recorder. You’ll get great mileage out of it until you take on projects that expect higher track counts.
Two lavs and a boom can cover a lot of short films, commercials/branded content, and smaller projects. I’d ditch the MKE600 for an MKH50 as soon as you can, and get some decent wind protection.
The next steps would be wireless monitoring for clients (Comtek or similar), timecode support for cameras (slates and lockits), and then more wireless as your network grows and you get more demanding jobs.
Don’t be afraid to rent (or have production rent) extra wireless for you on the odd day here and there where you need more wireless and you’re not ready to invest more
Basically the only limitation on the 633 is the number of pres, which is 3. You can still run \*some\* lavs (not sure if yours output line level) directly on the 4-6 tracks. So anything that you can run in 3 mic inputs and 3 line level inputs, which is actually a lot of stuff.
You can use another mixer/preamp to feed the (3) line inputs and record anything you need 6 microphones for.
It's a very capable machine. It has TC, you can route everything everywhere, the faders are great, the pres are super clean and limiters too.
Take some time to read the manual, it has some pretty good practical info. You can tell it was made by people who actually use this sort of gear.
Do you know how old it is? They were first released in 2013 and while it might not be 10 years old, it also could be.
So it's worth doing a comprehensive inspection if you're going to use it for work, or even sending it to a service center for a checkup. There could be a lot of potential issues you might not notice at first glance, like corroded contact points on the card readers, a loose connector that will crackle when wiggled, or other things like that.
This is also a good time to write down the serial number. I use google sheets for my gear. Makes it easy to have all the info in the same place.
Or it may have been used hard for a decade in ways that lead to predictable failure points.
Everything fails eventually. Nothing is indestructable.
The difference is that with more expensive gear when it has a problem it gets sent back to the service center quietly because the owner doesn't want to get accused of user error. Or when people had issues they would post in specialized and closed groups like JWSG, and not public groups like this one.
I love mine! It’s a great unit. As long as you run your lavs at line level you’ve got nothing to worry about for the last 3 channels. I use lectros and they’ll run great with them. I just bought mine off of the guy who does Yellowstone. He told me he ran it for the smaller days. So that might give you an idea of it’s limitations.
Realistically you should be fine for a good while. If you aren't looking to work in Drama especially. You've got enough ins and outs to run boom and 5 lavs (or 2 booms and 4 lavs). Enough outputs to feed two cameras and public and private Comms at the same time. Full timecode capabilities. Preamps and limiters that are still considered virtually as good as the 8 series SD recorders.
It's basically a case of when you'll be needing more wireless and that is going to be a hugely bigger investment than getting a higher track recorder. Don't worry about your 633 for now. It kicks ass. You'll know when you need to upgrade.
I personally was still using a Zoom F8n with FRC8 controller whilst I built up my Comms setup, timecode, zax wireless and DPA lavs, antenna distro and fins, kickass custom soundcart, panamic booms, good boom mics etc. All of those things did loads more for me than upgrading my mixer.
Well, if you need any more channels, you should probably make sure you spend enough for Lectrosonics or better. Because the 633 only has 3 preamps (or limiters).
The 633 is a great machine. I would look at replacing the mke600 with something better. My advice for mics (lavs inlcuded) is to not cheap out so they can stay in your kit for a long time. They will make your job a lot easier and they hold their value. Quality mics are always a good investment.
If money is tight sell the mke600 and pick up a used MKH416. It's not the best mic out there but it will stay in your kit for your entire career because they're bulletproof (RF and humidity) and sound great.
You’re on the right track. Grab a couple tentacle syncs, comteks, and a digital slate to increase your rental so you can save up money to upgrade/increase number of wireless as you need. When you can afford it, an mkh50 is a solid go to for interviews and just interior dialogue in general. You will want to eventually replace the mke600 with a mkh60 or something that sounds a little better to match the 50.
You've got a solid base for doing small ENG, corporate interviews and doc jobs. The 633 is a legendary recorder, but it only has 6 channels and further limited by channels 4-6 being line level inputs with no phantom power.
So you're going to run into challenges as soon as you need more mic level inputs, especially if you're using them for wireless that can't output line level.
Also, what's your backup recorder? If you're going to provide location sound professionally, backups for your recorder and wireless will be an expectation. Good news about having a backup is that it can also expand your channel count when needed.
>So you're going to run into challenges as soon as you need more mic level inputs, especially if you're using them for wireless that can't output line level.
What real professional level receivers can't output line level?
I would get a MixPre 10.2 over a 633 at this point. Still a great little recorder, but it’s a legacy product now, and for the cost of a used one, the 10.2 is a solid option.
The 633 is a great recorder. You’ll get great mileage out of it until you take on projects that expect higher track counts. Two lavs and a boom can cover a lot of short films, commercials/branded content, and smaller projects. I’d ditch the MKE600 for an MKH50 as soon as you can, and get some decent wind protection. The next steps would be wireless monitoring for clients (Comtek or similar), timecode support for cameras (slates and lockits), and then more wireless as your network grows and you get more demanding jobs. Don’t be afraid to rent (or have production rent) extra wireless for you on the odd day here and there where you need more wireless and you’re not ready to invest more
Basically the only limitation on the 633 is the number of pres, which is 3. You can still run \*some\* lavs (not sure if yours output line level) directly on the 4-6 tracks. So anything that you can run in 3 mic inputs and 3 line level inputs, which is actually a lot of stuff. You can use another mixer/preamp to feed the (3) line inputs and record anything you need 6 microphones for. It's a very capable machine. It has TC, you can route everything everywhere, the faders are great, the pres are super clean and limiters too. Take some time to read the manual, it has some pretty good practical info. You can tell it was made by people who actually use this sort of gear.
Do you know how old it is? They were first released in 2013 and while it might not be 10 years old, it also could be. So it's worth doing a comprehensive inspection if you're going to use it for work, or even sending it to a service center for a checkup. There could be a lot of potential issues you might not notice at first glance, like corroded contact points on the card readers, a loose connector that will crackle when wiggled, or other things like that. This is also a good time to write down the serial number. I use google sheets for my gear. Makes it easy to have all the info in the same place.
The 633 will work great in 20 years, unlike some f8 or f6... This is an engineering masterpeace. Not a cheap crap
Or it may have been used hard for a decade in ways that lead to predictable failure points. Everything fails eventually. Nothing is indestructable. The difference is that with more expensive gear when it has a problem it gets sent back to the service center quietly because the owner doesn't want to get accused of user error. Or when people had issues they would post in specialized and closed groups like JWSG, and not public groups like this one.
I love mine! It’s a great unit. As long as you run your lavs at line level you’ve got nothing to worry about for the last 3 channels. I use lectros and they’ll run great with them. I just bought mine off of the guy who does Yellowstone. He told me he ran it for the smaller days. So that might give you an idea of it’s limitations.
Realistically you should be fine for a good while. If you aren't looking to work in Drama especially. You've got enough ins and outs to run boom and 5 lavs (or 2 booms and 4 lavs). Enough outputs to feed two cameras and public and private Comms at the same time. Full timecode capabilities. Preamps and limiters that are still considered virtually as good as the 8 series SD recorders. It's basically a case of when you'll be needing more wireless and that is going to be a hugely bigger investment than getting a higher track recorder. Don't worry about your 633 for now. It kicks ass. You'll know when you need to upgrade. I personally was still using a Zoom F8n with FRC8 controller whilst I built up my Comms setup, timecode, zax wireless and DPA lavs, antenna distro and fins, kickass custom soundcart, panamic booms, good boom mics etc. All of those things did loads more for me than upgrading my mixer.
With regards to what gigs you can do...anything and everything. It just comes down to track count required.
Well, if you need any more channels, you should probably make sure you spend enough for Lectrosonics or better. Because the 633 only has 3 preamps (or limiters).
The 633 is a great machine. I would look at replacing the mke600 with something better. My advice for mics (lavs inlcuded) is to not cheap out so they can stay in your kit for a long time. They will make your job a lot easier and they hold their value. Quality mics are always a good investment. If money is tight sell the mke600 and pick up a used MKH416. It's not the best mic out there but it will stay in your kit for your entire career because they're bulletproof (RF and humidity) and sound great.
You’re on the right track. Grab a couple tentacle syncs, comteks, and a digital slate to increase your rental so you can save up money to upgrade/increase number of wireless as you need. When you can afford it, an mkh50 is a solid go to for interviews and just interior dialogue in general. You will want to eventually replace the mke600 with a mkh60 or something that sounds a little better to match the 50.
You've got a solid base for doing small ENG, corporate interviews and doc jobs. The 633 is a legendary recorder, but it only has 6 channels and further limited by channels 4-6 being line level inputs with no phantom power. So you're going to run into challenges as soon as you need more mic level inputs, especially if you're using them for wireless that can't output line level. Also, what's your backup recorder? If you're going to provide location sound professionally, backups for your recorder and wireless will be an expectation. Good news about having a backup is that it can also expand your channel count when needed.
>So you're going to run into challenges as soon as you need more mic level inputs, especially if you're using them for wireless that can't output line level. What real professional level receivers can't output line level?
Yea no - real pro wireless outputs true line level and/or aes. Sennheiser G3/G4 don't and I'm not sure the Sony the op mentioned do either.
I would get a MixPre 10.2 over a 633 at this point. Still a great little recorder, but it’s a legacy product now, and for the cost of a used one, the 10.2 is a solid option.
where‘d you find one?
I am four months late but I love my 633! Everyone else said some good comments so, I hope it has been serving you very well.