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Ok... Well... I had a mini disc for awhile, but it recently broke. I was pretty happy with it but I don't really car for the auto level feature. I don't know if my model didn't have an option to turn it off or what.

I was looking at a Sony MZ-NHF800. Anyone know anything about it?

Is there anything else I should be considering? My main use is recording for summer fests, audition tapes, and personal recitals and concerts.

Is dat worth it?

Jim

also... what mics have you all had the most success with? I have a sony stereo mic that I see a lot of people with but I think there's probably something better out there.

I just ordered this very same model 24 hours ago. I'll let you know how I feel about it when it comes in.

I ordered mine from Minidisco.com

A recording engineer friend of mine pointed the site out to me, they have some of the newest and most popular minidisc recorders, mics, and accessories. Their prices seem to be about the lowest you'll find other than no-name pricewatch finds and ebay auction.

you may also want to consider the new generation of pocket mixer/recorders that record on smartmedia and similar cards. zoom, fostex, tascam, and other popular brands now make these.

As for vocal mikes the Shure SM-58 seems to be the most utilized by
pros around here. All Pro Sound of Pensacola recommended a Shure
SM-57 for my tuba.On our C.D.recording I was so pleased with the
sound the SM-57 got out of my old King recording bass.
If we ever get to wireless mikes the Senhiser wireless mike is tempting.
Your friendly Fart Man

I found a neat little piece of software for my MAC. It's called, "Sound Recorder for OSX" You can record straight to your MAC in MP3 format. It takes a lot of memeory, but if you have a separate hard drive, you're ok. I just record and burn to CD for listening later, then trash it. My car is now chock full of CD's of my practice. My 4 year old would rather hear Aladdin, and the quality so good that the bad really sounds bad, but it's a great thing.

Look here:
www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/11790

The Blue Ball mic works great for tuba.

I was looking at the Sony MZ-NH1. Does anyone have an opinion on this VS the MZ-NHF800?

I recently purchased the Sony NHF-800 and I've been very pleased with it thus far. I think that the MiniDisc format is very mic-sensitive, so be sure you get a mic you're gonna be happy with. I used the AT-822 for a long time until it was stolen (along with my MZ-R70) and was very pleased with the results. With the new Hi-MD player I picked up one of these mics http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/gs/gs-oak.html and I think it works fine for recording practice sessions, but it's not a great full-spectrum sound for audition recordings or anything like that. It's very portable and inexpensive, which is why I got it. The new Hi-MD format is great because the discs hold a lot more than they used to, and the player works as a portable drive, which is extremely handy.

A couple complaints about Sony's decisions about the new MD stuff though - They've got a program that they put out with it called Sonic Stage, which is like iTunes in that it's how you can compress CDs onto the MD and also purchase songs online. The Sonic Stage program is fine for what it is, but it's PC only. I can understand that Sony is trying to compete with Apple and all that, but it still feels like a cheap shot. I use a PC at work so I can do what I need to, but I'd prefer to use it on my iBook at home.

<rant>Secondly, the ONLY ONLY ONLY way that you can take stuff off the MD digitally and burn it to CD is if you are using a Sony Vaio computer. This really pissed me off. I thought, "oh, with the new format & software and stuff I can do digital transfers to my computer. So I'll be able to burn directly to CD, cool." WRONG! Sony is being so childish about this competition that you can't burn to CD, convert to mp3 or anything without using a Sony Vaio computer. So I'm back to doing analong transfers to make CDs from my MD. I'm sure someone will hack it before too long, but for the time being, I'm annoyed. </rant>

Here is a quote from Minidisco.com on the Sony issue related to computers.
"Important info about digital uploads and Hi-MD:
First the Bad news:
MiniDisc users have long desired a feature which would allow high speed digital uploads of microphone and analog line input recordings from MD to PC. While the new Hi-MD units will allow high speed digital uploads of these recordings, there is currently no way to export those recordings from Sony's Sonic Stage software to an open format. Simply put, you can upload your recordings, but only for playback on your PC or for the purposes of burning an ATRAC format CD (Sony's proprietary format, not a traditional audio CD).

Now the Good news:
Sony has announced plans to address this limitation by releasing a free application in the fall of 2004 called "Wave Converter". According to Sony, the promised application will allow users to export their recordings to WAV format and free them from any and all copyright restrictions. The bottom line is that with the new Hi-MD units, you can upload your recordings via USB, but it will be at least a few months before you'll be able to use them to burn audio CDs or create MP3s"

Perhaps help is on the way.

Roger

Here is a quote from Minidisco.com on the Sony issue related to computers.
"Important info about digital uploads and Hi-MD:
First the Bad news:
MiniDisc users have long desired a feature which would allow high speed digital uploads of microphone and analog line input recordings from MD to PC. While the new Hi-MD units will allow high speed digital uploads of these recordings, there is currently no way to export those recordings from Sony's Sonic Stage software to an open format. Simply put, you can upload your recordings, but only for playback on your PC or for the purposes of burning an ATRAC format CD (Sony's proprietary format, not a traditional audio CD).

Now the Good news:
Sony has announced plans to address this limitation by releasing a free application in the fall of 2004 called "Wave Converter". According to Sony, the promised application will allow users to export their recordings to WAV format and free them from any and all copyright restrictions. The bottom line is that with the new Hi-MD units, you can upload your recordings via USB, but it will be at least a few months before you'll be able to use them to burn audio CDs or create MP3s"

Perhaps help is on the way.

Roger

I have some pretty simple stuff that seems to work just fine.

First is a Zoom MRS4 digital recorder... about $60. Add a couple of Smart Media memory cards to get a couple of hours of recording.

Then... you will need a cheap card reader and a piece of software made for the MRS4 called the MRS4 Card Manager. The download from Zoom is free.

At that point, files are stored on your computer in .wav format. To put them on CD, you can use something as simple as the ADAPTEK CD creator that comes on many new computers.

If you want to get tricky and actually massage your digital files, there is another piece of software called 'Goldwave'. Download it for free and use it for quite a while before you need to register. I don't recall the cost to register but I thinks it's less than $100. This software will do some very incredible things... like the ability to change the tempo without changing the pitch.