Our Gear

The FinalRune Productions process has been truly a work in progress, and about as "indie" as it can get. The bottom line has been to do as much as possible with scant resources. We've learned a lot in the process.

Currently at our disposal we have:

A Marantz PMD-660 Portable Recorder - This is actually the main recording device for pretty much everything, because we don't have a dedicated studio. Fred bought the Marantz after good reviews on Transom and elsewhere on the net, and has been blown away with its performance. It's truly a workhorse, and while some might have some complaints about its sound quality, we don't. After all, the thing is inconspicuous enough to be hidden underneath a winter jacket when tromping through Boston on a drizzly afternoon but powerful enough to record several sources of high-fidelity audio through a mixer in more comfortable conditions.

Shure SM57 and SM58 Microphones - These are new additions to the FinalRune ditty bag, and haven't been through enough rigors for us to have a detailed opinion. However, practically anywhere on the web we read rave reviews for these microphones, which are virtually indestructible, cheap, versatile and sound good. What's not to like?

Azden SGM-2X - This combo shotgun/omni mic Fred bought when he was still doing Mini-DV work and is splendidly suited for that purpose. It's a really nice-sounding microphone, but it's really intended to be a shotgun first and an omni mic second. Fred's incentive to finally upgrade was due to frustrating amounts of popping while trying to do simple promos.

Audio Technica ATR-30 - Almost embarassing to put these up here. Fred used these a lot during "Day of the Dead," on Best Buy's "100% Deposit 30-Day Lending Policy." For a $50 mic, they're pretty capable, though the levels are a bit low and off-axis sound reduction is practically non-existent. They're basically a cheap knock-off of the Shure SM-58, and believe us, you get what you pay for.

Yamaha MG 10/2 - Basic mixer with lots of XLR inputs and 1/4" output for the Marantz. Sounds pretty solid, but nothing to write home about.

Lexicon Alpha - This replaced a Soundblaster Extigy as primary USB recording apparatus for a computer. Not gonna lie to you -- we bought it because it's the cheapest USB/XLR interface that showed absolutely any promise whatsoever. It's a world above the Soundblaster, however, which while doing pretty crisp and clean sound always recorded at ridiculously low levels (seeing as it had no levels control). This one still has a little bit of level issues (I think it's all those dynamic mics) but does as product specifications say. Not a bad buy.

HP TC-4200 Tablet - This little tablet notebook is the workhorse that's edited all of the productions to date. Yes, on a 12" 1028x768 screen. But after having a gigantic laptop, we find this one actually goes with us places and it has excellent battery life and the tablet functionality to boot. Fred took a calligraphy class for the explicit purpose of designing the logo.

Access to space at WMPG in Portland, Maine - Without this, we'd be pretty SOL. As a volunteer at WMPG (for his Radio Drama Revival! show), Fred is kindly given latitude to book out space free of charge in one of two rooms. The production room tends to have limited availability, while the performance room sometimes has a little sound leakage from the nearby music studio, but the excellent proximity to USM (the primary source of our voice talent) makes the studio a prime location for our work. It's also got cool people hanging out all the time and a generally good vibe.

Note that these aren't meant to be comprehensive reviews, but unsolicited user opinions by someone who's been throwing this stuff around for a few months and using it for somewhat unconventional, though not entirely absurd, purposes. I've been pretty satisfied with my decisions so far, but that wouldn't be true without so much good info on the internet.