recording myself

[Biggs]

Naturally, recording to your playing and listening to yourself is very beneficial. However, I am unfamiliar with how best to accomplish this. I can either:
1.) Record myself on my laptop (would have to buy a mic) with recording software I already have
or
2.) Buy a minidisc setup

Which of these is preferable, and can anyone recommend any particular products?

Thanks!

[Leland]

I'm really not sure if I should give my opinion, because I'll say that the fidelity doesn't matter a whole lot when you're going to listen critically to yourself. Tempo control & pitch stability issues will still be evident on a recording cassette Walkman-type player from Radio Shack.

The convenience of putting it directly on your laptop would be pretty nice, though. But, it would be a little less portable (can't just toss it in the tuba case, for example), so it would be more difficult to see what you sound like in different venues.

Funny... one is more convenient, while the other is more portable.. lol

Hmm.. thinking about different locations...

Maybe recording fidelity does matter when you're trying to hear how well you come across in clarity & style. For example, if you record in a church-like room, you won't hear every detail on a cheap cassette recorder.

Still, I'll volunteer the idea that even the most basic handheld cassette recorder can reveal enough problems to be pretty humbling.

[tubadude08]

i actually went through this same kind of thing, and when i went to best buy, i found a hand held recorder that would record, and then plug into the computer and download it. i found this to be the route to take, but you may want something different, just look around

[ufoneum]

For what you are doing, primarily making a recording of yourself in practice - for your own use, I would use a simple tape recorder with a built in speaker.

You don't need to waste $ on a MD setup when all you want to know is - "what do I sound like on THAT side of the horn." You want something that has quick response, and something that you don't need to be either (a) playing w/ headphones on to listen to, or (b) stop to put on headphones to listen to it.

Keep things simple - if quality is not a huge concern, stick with something cheap and easy.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... s&n=507846

And if you feel like spending more $, here is another one...

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... s&n=507846

[tubacdk]

I disagree re: your negative minidisc experience. I've owned two different minidisc setups and have been very happy with the results. My current setup is with the Sony NHF-800 and a little oak stereo mic from giant squid audio labs (google it). The oak mic has a very good tone for its size and I can control the mic input level with this minidisc recorder (VITAL for hearing an accurate representation of your tone). It's very portable, I can toss it in my bag (with the GBA-SP aluminum case I modded to fit the MD setup) and it all runs on a single AA battery. Very convenient, high quality, invaluable feedback.

-ck

[Mike Finn]

find out if it will record off the batteries

I've got the Sony Net MD Walkman MZ-N707 type-R, which records with either AC or a single AA battery.
I've been very happy with the results, except for one thing: In order to dump your (digital) recording into the computer, you've got to use a 1/8" mini plug from the headphone jack to the line-in on the computer. This brings it down to analog. There is no generation loss that I can discern, but it kind of defeats the purpose of recording in digital. The USB port works for transferring songs, and other copyrighted material (for which you have the license) but not for transferring your own recordings. Like I said, it's a very minor complaint, and I have been quite satisfied with it's performance everywhere from church last sunday for my quintet to the (LOUD) blues gig last Friday at a local dive bar. Adjustable input level is a must-have feature. The auto level set is OK if you play with no dynamics, but if you've got sudden level changes you may notice the compressor "breathing".
The mic I'm using is the Sony ECM-MS907 which is a condenser mic with a mini plug, so you don't need the adapter. (You do need to remember to switch it on though, it too is powered by a AA battery.) There are also mics that plug directly into the unit, with no cord at all. Very handy!
Good luck, and let us know what you decide on.
MF

[Phil Dawson]

Back to the origanal question. A cassette tape player with mic inputs can be purchased on ebay or even goodwill for around $50 or a bit more if you want better quallity. I saw a couple of Pioneer C?900 machines for about $120 that would be super. Microphone choice is also important and ususally you get what you pay for. E mail me for mic recomendations. Keep in mind that the mic needs to have good frequency responce down to 20Hz or your low end playing will not be recorded well or it may be distorted. Minin disc is a compressd format so your sound will not be as good as with other formats. Digital does not mean that the sound will be better than anolog. You have to get to high resolution digital to get almost as good as top analog performance. The other thing to remember is that how you play back what you have recorded has a great deal to do with the sound. If you play back what came out of your large tuba bell through 3 inch speaker the results will not be pretty. You want whatever you record to to be easy to plug into the best playback system you have.
Good Luck, Phil

[SplatterTone]

The new Edirol R1 looks to be very handy. I've Googled a couple of sites where people have posted recordings they have made with it. I've not used it, so I can't comment on its tuba ability.

I have a Fostex MR8. It's fairly handy. With the built-in mic, it only records in monaural, and it's only mediocre quality. But it's OK when you need something handy and portable to record your ensemble to see where you are doing OK and where you stink. It has two XLR inputs. They are NOT phantom power, so you can only use dynamic mics unless you want to buy an external phantom power unit; or use condenser mics that have their own battery power. The MR8 does OK for recording. It's biggest drawback is that it is VERY picky about which compact flash cards it supports. I use Simpletech cards with it. One thing that is both good and bad about it is that it records to the compact flash card using standard WAV files. Good thing: You can read the card onto a computer with any card reader. Bad thing: WAV files are big, no data compression, suck up the memory card big time; but memory cards are pretty cheap now. The MR8 can run on batteries or AC adapter. It sells for $250. A 1 GB memory card will add another $75 plus or minus a bit. Check the Fostex site for memory card compatibility, and buy your memory cards from someplace that will let you return them.

Today or tomorrow, the new hard drive version of the MR8, with phantom power should arrive at the house. When I get around to it, I'll take the tuba to an accoustically good church sanctuary and test things out. Maybe, if I don't sound too bad (big "if" there), I'll post an MP3 on my li'l ol' web site. This does not run on batteries. And the AC adaptor input is 9VAC (not DC). So you can't rig up an outboard deal with a gel type battery unless you want to do 12VDC battery feeding a 120 VAC inverter feeding the 9VAC adaptor.

If anyone knows where one can get a 12VDC (or 6VDC) to 9VAC inverter/adaptor, I'd like to know about it.