Recommend recording device?

djones · Post by **djones** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 5:08 pm

To those of you who make recordings at workshops such as at a Tionól: What kind of recorder do you use / like / recommend?

Thanks-
DJones

djm · Post by **djm** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 5:11 pm

Do a search on the user name eskin. Michael has introduced us to all sorts of great devices on several of the these forums.

djm

eskin · Post by **eskin** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 5:46 pm

Well, here's my arsenal these days:

Session tunesucker: Olympus DS-20 (only available at Radio Shack, you can get the DS-2, which is the same device with half the internal memory at BestBuy). Plug in a Sony ECM-DS70P "T" style stereo mike and its nearly as good as MiniDisc. Price for the DS-20 around $200.00, the mike around $70.00

When I want a great recording of a session: M-Audio MicroTrack 2496. Includes a very nice stereo "T" mike. Works with most pro mikes that can handle phantom power voltage of 30v, also accepts digital in. Price around $350.00

When I want a really great recording of our Tionol concerts: Marantz PMD-670 + Crown SASS-P stereo HTF mike. Price around $650.00 for the recorder, $750.00 for the microphone.

Of course MiniDisc and HiMD work great, but they're so 2004...

I've just updated my site on digital recorders for sessions and lessons:

http://www.uptospeed.net/hoi/digitalrecorders.html

Cheers,

Michael

WallyS · Post by **WallyS** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 6:38 am

Have you been able to try or evaluate the Edirol R1?

eskin · Post by **eskin** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 8:38 am

The R1 is a very nice device, several people I know use them. I've used one for a few days and was very pleased with the results. The only concern I have about the R1 is that they seem a bit delicate in build, I'd be concerned about pieces coming off over time...

Dazzle1 · Post by **Dazzle1** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 11:30 am

Thanks for the info, it's very helpful

D

upiper71 · Post by **upiper71** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 10:02 am

eskin wrote:Well, here's my arsenal these days:

Session tunesucker: Olympus DS-20 (only available at Radio Shack, you can get the DS-2, which is the same device with half the internal memory at BestBuy). Plug in a Sony ECM-DS70P "T" style stereo mike and its nearly as good as MiniDisc. Price for the DS-20 around $200.00, the mike around $70.00

When I want a great recording of a session: M-Audio MicroTrack 2496. Includes a very nice stereo "T" mike. Works with most pro mikes that can handle phantom power voltage of 30v, also accepts digital in. Price around $350.00

When I want a really great recording of our Tionol concerts: Marantz PMD-670 + Crown SASS-P stereo HTF mike. Price around $650.00 for the recorder, $750.00 for the microphone.

Of course MiniDisc and HiMD work great, but they're so 2004...

I've just updated my site on digital recorders for sessions and lessons:

http://www.uptospeed.net/hoi/digitalrecorders.html

Cheers,

Michael

I've recently purchased a Sony DVR device (ICDP-210) around $150, I found the sound wasn't that great wit hthe condenser type mic built-into the unit.

I'm planning to buy another which one would you suggest to buy? I thought of this one around $140 (ECMZS90) by Sony Canada, do you think this is a good one to compensate for the sound it now picks up by itself, and would you think it would be just a good as a mini-disc?

upiper71

eskin · Post by **eskin** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 6:50 pm

I like the Sony ECM-DS70P for use with voice recorders.

Harry · Post by **Harry** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 7:19 pm

Anyone got a Samsung YH J70 Digi audio Player and tried to record live audio to it through the line-in?

Cheers,

H.

malanstevenson · Post by **malanstevenson** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 12:05 am

Harry wrote:
Anyone got a Samsung YH J70 Digi audio Player and tried to record live audio to it through the line-in?

Harry, I posted this last week or so here http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php ... 5&start=15 :

Apropos field recording solutions, I've been looking into MP3 players with recording capability for some time, and have finally concluded that most of the devices out there currently are deliberately crippled to some extent or another to accommodate DRM restrictions and avoid RIAA lawsuits. After trying out (and returning) one of the newer iRiver T-series and a Samsung YH-820, I finally gave up on newer players and found me one of the (now discontinued) iriver H-i120 players on e-bay, and am thus far impressed with the versatility compared to other gizmos out there.

To wit:
- a 20 GB hard drive
- it can be treated as an external drive once connected to your computer via USB, so you can drag and drop files both to and FROM device (the samsung doesn't allow this)and create directories to your heart's content.
- recording in WAV or MP3, with a wide range of bitrates; you can record via a line-in OR microphone jack, or an internal mike (which does pick up hard drive noise), and adjust the external mike recording level.

Field recording to such devices, mike choices, etc, are discussed ad infinitum on misticriver.net: http://www.misticriver.net/showthread.p ... +recording

The iRiver came with a cheesy external mike, but I just ordered stereo omnidirectional mikes with a 9V pre-amp from Giant Squid Audio Labs [ http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/ ] , which builds (relatively) high quality 'stealth' recording mikes and pre-amps designed for digital recording at very affordable prices - the mikes come with little alligator clips to affix them to your glasses, hat, lapels, etc. Not that anyone here would use them to produce bootleg recordings of anything, perish the thought.

The Samsung I had (have, actually, I gave it to my daughter) had the problem that you could hardly hear anything at all when I recorded with an external mic through the line in jack - you'd probably have to use some software to boost the sound levels and clean up the hiss. The other problem was that what I did record with the voice recorder seemed impossible to download from the machine onto my PC - you can add files using music match, delete files, but not download apparently (at least that I could figure out). A mic with a 9v preamp (Giant Squid or Church audio) ought to boost the signal to the line-in jack, but you might still have the upload problem to a computer.

Cheers,
Mark

upiper71 · Post by **upiper71** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 6:22 am

eskin wrote:I like the Sony ECM-DS70P for use with voice recorders.

I went ahead and purchased that exact mic yesterday and whoa! What a difference thanks for the recommendation.

upiper71

Harry · Post by **Harry** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 8:13 am

Thanks for the info., Mark.

Have had the same trouble with recording through the line-in. Have yet to try the software.

The Clancy tape ran into it at quite a low volume level from my stereo amp.

I say it would be grand at recording from a little desk that had some gain.

I wonder how it would fare with one of those little Sony mics for minidisk that takes an AA battery?:

http://www.shopireland.ie/electronics/d ... ty-Stereo/

Anybody else got 'that Friday feeling'?

Regards,

H.

malanstevenson · Post by **malanstevenson** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 11:07 am

Harry,

I had a Sony ECM-MS907, but just returned it because it wasn't working somehow. I read good things about them, and the battery power should mean that you get enough gain from them to get a decent sound level on your recordings, although I think I'd still prefer a 9v pre-amp. They seem to work best with the SONY mini-disc recorders - the misticriver site has a 'recording guide' which discusses mics ad nauseum (written by a guy in Dublin, actually): http://www.misticriver.net/showthread.php?t=4980

Good luck,
Mark

No E · Post by **No E** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 11:27 am

I've been using the Sony ECM-MS907 with a mini-disk recorder for years, with very good results, but bear in mind that it is intended for use with mic inputs, not line-in. The battery in the 907 gives it increased sensitivity, but it's not a substitute for a pre-amp. I did try it once with the line-in on an mp3 recorder, but the results were barely audible.

Got that Friday feeling all over.

-Larry

Harry · Post by **Harry** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 1:29 pm

malanstevenson wrote:
The Samsung I had (have, actually, I gave it to my daughter) had the problem that you could hardly hear anything at all when I recorded with an external mic through the line in jack - you'd probably have to use some software to boost the sound levels and clean up the hiss. The other problem was that what I did record with the voice recorder seemed impossible to download from the machine onto my PC - you can add files using music match, delete files, but not download apparently (at least that I could figure out).

Mark,

Not sure if this applies to the Samsung you have, but I managed to download files recorded on my thingy onto a PC. I just hooked it up the PC and clicked on 'My Computer' where the player was recognised as an external drive, I opened that up and extracted the recorded MP3s from there. The quality was very good (recorded through mic/ little desk remember). There is no indication that you can do this in the booklet and no function for it in the support software.

Regards,

Harry.