Portable Recording Devices

[EuphDad]

We need to make a Falcone audition "tape". I know I've seen a thread similar to this before, but darn if I can find it. I'm looking for a portable device for recording performances and to make practice and audition "tapes" etc. that I can load to my computer and burn a CD to send off. What type of recorder and mike creates a good sounding CD? I'm not a techie, so the least complicated process the better. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[JayW]

Well for a simple and very effective approach get yourself a mini disc recorder. They are realy great recordong devices and you can then hook it up with your comp and do what you like , if you want to get into editing there are many many good programs that are quite affordable and good to have around. If you want to be a little more serious you could drop about $300 on a tascam portastudio or fostex (forget the model #) ...they record digitally and then allow you to transfer files to your computer.
As for microphones you can get crazy or stay simple....the cost differences is amazing, but in general SURE is a high quality brand that should do the trick.

[Anterux]

Edirol R-1.

The best for that kind of job. and it has a quite good build in Stereo mic.

Very portable, good quality (for a "one point recording") it's a little mor expensive then the minidisc but also better and no problems to transfer "on the run" to the PC. great.

[ThomasDodd]

The recording device is the least of you problems. Almost anything will work, even an analog tape, which can be sampled by most PC sound cards.

The real trick is getting a good mike, and positioning it properly. compare a good mike with cheap recording devices to good recording device and a cheap mike.

Kind of the inverse of reproduction, where the best sources are useles without good speakers, but most low end amps can sound good with the right speakers (at low, non distorting levels anyway).

[chevy68chv]

I recently got a KORG Pandora PXR4. Its a four track digital recorder which seems to work great. Its got an onboard mic, can run on batteries, and is small enough to take with you anywhere. Its also pretty easy to connect to a computer through a USB port.

[Anterux]

About minidiscs:

With the new Hi-MD devices we can copy what we record by mic to the computer on the run? by USB? or they have the same foolish problem the "net-MD" ones had?

[Alex C]

Anybody have experience with the ZOOM MRS-4B?

[katfey]

I recently bought the Sony MZ-NH1 minidisc HI-MD from minidisco.com which is one of many recommended in earlier posts. (If you buy off ebay, just note whether you are getting the Japanese model which has a slightly different number and some differences in usage/language).

I had to download the latest software from minidisco, but then I could transfer to my computer using USB, run it through a wav conversion tool that Sony has (also available on minidisco) and burn it to CD with RealPlayer. You can take an hour long session and burn it to CD in about 10 minutes - the longest part being the upload from the minidisc.

I am still learning about the sound dynamics, but in general the sound is quite good. I bought the Audio Technica AT-822 mic that was recommended here. The only other things I needed were a microphone extension cable from Radio Shack and a microphone stand (some good solid ones for about $25 including shipping from ebay stores). I also bought a tiny mic for covert recording from
http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/gs/gs-oak.html
This is the one Alan Baer recommended and besides being a conversation piece it works great!

Besides recording tuba we have loaned it out for a clarinet/piano recording and it worked great.

The whole setup was about $700

Kathy (mother of a tubist)

[tubatooter1940]

A good mike is the first step to a quality recording.The pros use Shure SM 58's for vocals and Shure SM 57's to record instruments.
I used a SM 57 on a tripod boom stand to record our live C.D.I preferred my SM 57 to the fancy studio mikes because I thought it had a better sound for my tuba.I like a mike on a free standing tripod so I can rock the horn to the left away from the mike when it is necessary to blow out the waterkeys.
tubatooter1940
www.johnreno.com/

[tubachris]

this may be a bit crazy I bypassed the minidisc option and bought an iriver 790 and a single point stereo mic. it records at 44.1khz up to 320bps. a great little device which is very portable and runs on one battery. . . uploads to the computer and converts directly to MP3

i'm sure purists say that you lose something somewhere but darned if I can tell.

my two cents.

[Alex Reeder]

A few months ago I bought an iriver HP120 20 gig recorder. I really love it. You can record in a number of formats, including CD-quality wav and MP3. It is a little larger than a deck of cards and easy to use. It even has a feature where you can play back a track in slow motion to really listen to yourself carefully. It's really easy to get into a computer and onto a CD.

I was planning on buying a mic to replace he little one it came with, but when I tried it out, the mic seemed surprisingly pretty good. This is a high-quality deal, I would recommend it.

Oh, yeah, and it also does everything an ipod can do, for the same price.