Members B-Bottom Posted June 17, 2009 Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 I'm interested in finding a decent (not very expensive) digital recorder that I could use for band practices and shows. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpaceNorman Posted June 17, 2009 Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 There's a bunch of 'em ... I use a Zoom H4 and love it. I bought mine before the H2 came out. If I had to do it now - I'd buy an H2. Turn it on, press record ... forget about it .... it's about as simple as that. Here's a link to something I recorded on my H4 at rehearsal on Sunday afternoon - our first get together with our new vocalist. The H4 was on a camera tripod - sitting in the middle of the rehearsal space ... aimed away from the drums and at on of the mains. http://www.box.net/shared/q9tbrv3sgo For a dirtball - press record and forget it recorder - I'm happy with the ease of use as well as the sound quality. For a couple hundred bucks it works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mspizziri Posted June 17, 2009 Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 I would also recommend the Zoom units, they work great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members enuenu Posted June 17, 2009 Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 Heard the Zooms are good. A few years ago I wanted something super cheap for rough recording of riff writing sessions. I went for something from the Olympus WS line. It wasn't cheap (is anything in Oz?) However for what they were charging the unit was terrible and I took it back in 48 hours. It placed all these quiet little electronic squeals in the background of all recordings. Luckily, I got my money back. I then bought a super el cheapo JNC recording device similar to this for about a third of the price of the Olympus. I did not get the model shown in the link, mine is now about 4 years old. It is a simple USB recorder with internal memory, mic and came with rudimentary software. The thing is it cost me almost nothing and does what I need. The sound quality is crap, it is basically a dictaphone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimmymio Posted June 17, 2009 Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 I too have the H2 and I'm pleased with it. I have to say it is a pain to navigate through the different screens. But in terms of its ability to record it's a great value. Then again there are many products on the market and the prices keep dropping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B-Bottom Posted June 17, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 There's a bunch of 'em ... I use a Zoom H4 and love it. I bought mine before the H2 came out. If I had to do it now - I'd buy an H2. Turn it on, press record ... forget about it .... it's about as simple as that. Here's a link to something I recorded on my H4 at rehearsal on Sunday afternoon - our first get together with our new vocalist. The H4 was on a camera tripod - sitting in the middle of the rehearsal space ... aimed away from the drums and at on of the mains. http://www.box.net/shared/q9tbrv3sgoFor a dirtball - press record and forget it recorder - I'm happy with the ease of use as well as the sound quality. For a couple hundred bucks it works great. damn that actually does sound pretty good. I'll have to check those out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members deMille Posted June 17, 2009 Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 I prefer the H4 for the inputs. I've never compared sound-wise with the H2 but find the connections easier to work with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members srp72ee Posted June 17, 2009 Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 I have the Tascam DP02-CF. Works good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chris K Posted June 17, 2009 Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 I have used: Edirol R-09...sounds really good, SD cards, Built in mics, line in jack. up to 24/96 recording (with the HR version). I usually record 24/48 with it. M-Audio Microtrack II....lots of inputs (2x1/4", 1/8", and spdif) which I really like...detachacble stereo mic. It has its own personality and takes a bit of getting used to, but I find I use this the most since it has better input options...can get soundboard feed, run mics into it as it provides phantom power, and can get a digi patch and use it as a bit bucket I have not used but have heard good things about the zoom, as well as the new sony pcm-d1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members samkokajko Posted June 17, 2009 Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 I think the H2 and H4 (and new H4n) are almost the same in the sound department. It just adds features. I bought an H4 for the inputs. I wish I had an H4n so I could record two inputs and two ambient at the same time though. I have a couple guys with H2s and they work great also. Anybody checked out the R16 yet? I'm really drooling for one. 8 channels simultaneous record, interface/control surface/16 track mixing and playback all in a battery powered SD recording package. $400 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry M Posted June 17, 2009 Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 I use a Zoom H4 with a Rode condensor. Both are placed out in the listening area, ideally in front of one stack as high as possible (mic that is). It makes good live recordings. The onboard mics would really distort when they were used at concert levels. The condensor made up for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rick6 Posted June 18, 2009 Members Share Posted June 18, 2009 I have the H2. I prefer the sound with my external mic, a Sony ecmds70p, which costs about $50. I use it for recording band rehearsals and performances. The recordings are good and I'm happy, but the unit isn't perfect. Before I get to the negatives, I want to disagree with a couple of negatives I've read elsewhere. 1. The menus aren't really a hassle. Most of the things you set once and leave as is. 2. The buttons are fine. 3. The build quality seems to be okay. I've dropped it a few times without any apparent damage. Negatives. 1. It isn't click once and record though. Actually, it's click twice and then be careful not to click again. I made mistakes in both ways and lost recordings. 2. The built in mics don't sound that good to me and I tried them with every possible combination of settings. I ended up prefering the external mic, the medium position on the sensitivity switch and mp3 format at 192 (although I suspect lower would work fine). The wav format might sound a bit better, but the file sizes and transfer times were annoying. 3. My old recorder, which sounded about as good, was an Iriver IFP 799. It recorded for about 20 hours on a single AA. That was very convenient. The H2 runs only about 4 hours on 2 AA's. So, you end up having to plug in the wall wart, which is sometimes inconvenient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kaiborg Posted April 8, 2011 Members Share Posted April 8, 2011 If you're still looking, there's a screaming deal on a Tascam DP-02 Here. Although I've only used older tascam units, I have to say that this one looks pretty good. To be honest, these things are more effective bedroom recorders (over DAWs) for 90% of users. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IsildursBane Posted April 8, 2011 Members Share Posted April 8, 2011 Anybody checked out the R16 yet? I'm really drooling for one. 8 channels simultaneous record, interface/control surface/16 track mixing and playback all in a battery powered SD recording package.$400 I'm trying not to be a snob, but that's a lot of crap to be squeezing into $400 - corners have to be cut somewhere. (compare that to a Sound Devices 702, which is only a 2-track recorder, but goes for about $1800). If I were inclined to get an R16, I'd first make sure I could return it if it sucked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.