My Thoughts
One of the features of the NDrive is all of the channels are represented in a metering graph at the top of the screen. This way, you can see it’s recording all of the channels. The NDrive is designed to record all of the channels sent out from the mixer but the visual is a comforting reminder that it’s working.
It really is as simple as it gets. You could record the whole practice in one recording and add markers for song changes or stop and start for each song. That’s what I prefer so I can easily work on one song over and over.
Also, I can pop out the card and put it in my computer if the band wanted to get into creating an album so I could do mixing in a program like Reaper.
And did I mention it’s plug-and-play? No more messing with file drivers and software input sources. Also, the firmware for the NDrive can be updated when they push out a release.
Song / File Names
Each file gets a generic file name with a number. So recording on an empty sim card could get you files starting with 1.
I wondered if it would help if I was given the ability to edit the file name. Would it help come playback time? Honestly, I’m usually only dealing with 6 songs per service and even then, a cheat sheet would take care of anything beyond that.
If I really wanted to go the extra step, I could pull out the memory card and put it into my computer and rename the files (or mix it in something like ProTools or Reaper). Using the auto-numbering file names is fine with me.
At my church, our mid-week practice consists of practicing the songs and then running through all of them in a row. That last time would be perfect for recording each song.
Not Their Fault But Mine
I found the NDrive easy to use with one exception. The touch-screen buttons are the same size as the clickable buttons below the screen. So, when I was first using it, I thought the clickable physical buttons were doing double duty and I couldn’t figure out why they didn’t work.
Once I realized the touch screen and the buttons were independent, I was fine. I call that user error – and I was the user!
My Recommendation
I don’t give glowing reviews for everything I test. Some gear isn’t as great as a company may think – I once did a review for a magazine that never saw the light of day. But Gary Zandstra and his crew at NemoSyn got it right with the NDrive.
It’s plug-and-play, it’s easy to record and playback, and if home mixing is your thing, it’s got the capability to do that as well.
We, as audio techs, need all the practice time we can get and imagine how much better your band could sound if you had the ability to mix when the stage was empty.
Check out the NDrive by NemoSyn and make this next year your best mixing year ever.