Recording my Bands rehearsals

[slummy]

I am looking for an easy way to record the bands reherasals. I want to be able to record the whole 4 sets that are 45 minutes to a hour long.

 

I have been looking at something like the Fostex digital recorder MR8 but I do not know if it will give me the time needed even with a CF Card upgread

Please Help

[the stranger]

I had a MR8 for a couple of weeks. I sold it because I didn't really care for the audio quality. It had that grainy, sub-par a/d conversion thing going on.

 

I hate to rag on it, because it is a cool little scratchpad.

 

I would probably suggest the H4, since it does pretty much the same thing, but has a bit more versatility. (For the same price)

[boosh]

You can only record two tracks at the same time with that one.

 

The most easy way we've always recorded rehearsals is with an MD-Recorder and a good stereo mic.

 

We even did a live gig recording with it and burned 100 Cds which actually sold and the sound quality was amazing.

[slummy]

 

I had a MR8 for a couple of weeks. I sold it because I didn't really care for the audio quality. It had that grainy, sub-par a/d conversion thing going on. I hate to rag on it, because it is a cool little scratchpad. I would probably suggest the H4, since it does pretty much the same thing, but has a bit more versatility. (For the same price)

 

do you mean the Samson H4 ?

[the stranger]

 

do you mean the Samson H4 ?

 

 

Yeah.

 

http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1901

[UstadKhanAli]

Edirol R9, M-Audio M-Tracks, the new Korg $700 thingy, or any of those types of things with built-in microphones should do the trick if you want quick and easy stereo recordings. They all have provisions for external mics if you so choose.

[slummy]

what about play back... will it hook into my JVC stereo amp by RCA Jacks or line in or something?

[the stranger]

If the outputs are 1/4", no problem....1/4" to RCA cables are quite common. Same for if it's a 1/8" mini jack. YOu can get 1/8" to RCA cables.

[Bryan Bradley]

M Audio Micro Track has RCA outs as well as the headphone out. The Edirol R-09 and Korg MR1 have the 1/8" line out (or headphone out).

 

All of them will handle your time requirements if you record in MP3, but only the MR1 has enough built in capacity to handle that much recording time in a WAV file format.

[SpaceNorman]

I been using a Zoom H4 for recording my group's rehearsals. If you use a 2MB memory card (which you can get at pretty much any discount PC store for less than $20) - and record directly to MP3 - you can get hours of record time. I use the inbuilt mics with the sensitivity set on "low", put the thing on camera tripod and stick it in the middle of the room on axis with one of the PA speakers. I turn it on at the start of rehearsal - and forget about it until we're finished and I turn it off.

 

After rehearsal - I upload the "take" to my PC and review it - and use a copy of Cakewalk Pyro 5 to parse out anything I want to keep (Pyro allows you "segment" a large MP3 file into into individual files).

 

The unit has all sorts of 4 track recorder capabilities - however I've yet to use them. I wanted a device that I could simply "set and forget". Obviously, there's no control over the mix - however, the sound quality is reasonable for what it is - and you can't beat the ease of use.

[slummy]

I been using a Zoom H4 for recording my group's rehearsals. If you use a 2MB memory card (which you can get at pretty much any discount PC store for less than $20) - and record directly to MP3 - you can get hours of record time. I use the inbuilt mics with the sensitivity set on "low", put the thing on camera tripod and stick it in the middle of the room on axis with one of the PA speakers. I turn it on at the start of rehearsal - and forget about it until we're finished and I turn it off. After rehearsal - I upload the "take" to my PC and review it - and use a copy of Cakewalk Pyro 5 to parse out anything I want to keep (Pyro allows you "segment" a large MP3 file into into individual files). The unit has all sorts of 4 track recorder capabilities - however I've yet to use them. I wanted a device that I could simply "set and forget". Obviously, there's no control over the mix - however, the sound quality is reasonable for what it is - and you can't beat the ease of use.

Hello SpaceNorman, I bought the Zoom H4 and used it last Friday night at rehearsal... I had my girl stop and start it and got 3.5 hours out of it. I used two SM57's and put them out front. But one mic was much weaker? one cable was xlr on both ends and the other was xlr to 1/4th jack, Could that be why the signal was not the same on both mic's? I used the line out with an 1/8th jack to RCA and just pluged into my PA' inputs for review and that worked great with no time wating to up load to my Computer. Instant play back that way. We (my band) were suprised to hear some of the mess ups... Any other hints would be great... Thanks

[MikeRivers]

 

I bought the Zoom H4 and used it last Friday night at rehearsal. I used two SM57's and put them out front. But one mic was much weaker? one cable was xlr on both ends and the other was xlr to 1/4th jack, Could that be why the signal was not the same on both mic's?

Definitely. The 1/4" jacks are designed for line level sources. A mic has 20-30 dB lower output level than a line level device.

 

I'm told that the built-in mic on the H4 sound quite good. Have you tried recording with them rather than external mics?

 

To SpaceNorman - most of these portable recorders can record directly in MP3 format at usually more than one sample and data rate, so you can get a lot of mileage out of a flash memory card if you're willing to accept lower fidelity. 128 kbps 44.1 kHz will get you about 10 hours of stereo recording on a 1 GB card and it will sound about as good as a cassette without the flutter if you're careful setting the record level. At 44.1 kHz 16-bit, that same gigabyte will last about an hour and a half. .

[slummy]

Definitely. The 1/4" jacks are designed for line level sources. A mic has 20-30 dB lower output level than a line level device. I'm told that the built-in mic on the H4 sound quite good. Have you tried recording with them rather than external mics? To SpaceNorman - most of these portable recorders can record directly in MP3 format at usually more than one sample and data rate, so you can get a lot of mileage out of a flash memory card if you're willing to accept lower fidelity. 128 kbps 44.1 kHz will get you about 10 hours of stereo recording on a 1 GB card and it will sound about as good as a cassette without the flutter if you're careful setting the record level. At 44.1 kHz 16-bit, that same gigabyte will last about an hour and a half. .

So I should use both the same XLR cables on both Mic's. I have not tried the built in Mic yet because I was trying to figure out a way to be able to operate the H4 from my drum kit. I thought I would need to turn it off and of between songs. I noticed with the built in Mic you get a lot of noise if you touch it trying to set levels or start recording or stop recording. so I thought a Mic would get my hands off the device. I would be nice if it had a remote so I could start it and stop it from my drums.

[MikeRivers]

So I should use both the same XLR cables on both Mic's.

Yes.

I have not tried the built in Mic yet because I was trying to figure out a way to be able to operate the H4 from my drum kit. I thought I would need to turn it off and of between songs. I noticed with the built in Mic you get a lot of noise if you touch it trying to set levels or start recording or stop recording

That doesn't sound normal to me and I've never heard anyone reporting noise such as that. I think that changing the level may create clicks in the recording but that's not a result of touching it, it's a function of how the adjustment is made inside - it's software. Or maybe it's the chain mail gloves you're wearing?

 

These little "personal" recorders were meant pretty much set-and-forget recording. If you want to start and stop it, you need to get up close and personal. Just buy a couple more memory cards and let it run through the whole set. Micro Center has 2GB SD cards for $14 now. Get enough so you can use one for each set.

[slummy]

Yes.That doesn't sound normal to me and I've never heard anyone reporting noise such as that. I think that changing the level may create clicks in the recording but that's not a result of touching it, it's a function of how the adjustment is made inside - it's software. Or maybe it's the chain mail gloves you're wearing? These little "personal" recorders were meant pretty much set-and-forget recording. If you want to start and stop it, you need to get up close and personal. Just buy a couple more memory cards and let it run through the whole set. Micro Center has 2GB SD cards for $14 now. Get enough so you can use one for each set.

The noise I heard might have been just when I was setting the leavels and picking it up to stop the recording. I think the H4 will be very useful even when we play in the local clubs...

[SpaceNorman]

 

To SpaceNorman - most of these portable recorders can record directly in MP3 format at usually more than one sample and data rate, so you can get a lot of mileage out of a flash memory card if you're willing to accept lower fidelity. 128 kbps 44.1 kHz will get you about 10 hours of stereo recording on a 1 GB card and it will sound about as good as a cassette without the flutter if you're careful setting the record level. At 44.1 kHz 16-bit, that same gigabyte will last about an hour and a half. .

 

 

Mike,

 

Thanks for the tip. I've been giong direct to MP3 using the lowest sample rate of 64 kbps which according to the manufacturer will capture a maximum of 4166 minutes using a 2GB memory card. Even at that low sampling rate, the resulting captures are very listenable. Heck, the batteries will die before you can fill up the capture memory at the rate.

 

As others have said - it's not worth the headache of turning it on and off. Granted the unit has lots of features packed into it - however the tiny little screen and the little joystick control are exactly that (tiny and little) - which makes exploiting all it's capabilities a little bit of a challenge (especially for us old guys with failing eyesight and fat fingers!) Just set it and forget it and let it capture whatever goes on. Even if you try to time pushing the buttons....you'll never get it clean enough. It's better to simply edit it down at your PC with whatever software you use to slice up the captured MP3.