belfast_harper
109 posts
Feb 05, 2010
2:29 PM
|
I am on the look out for a new recorder, I have been making do with my phone to record bits but I don't think I can get away with that any more.
I am planning on attending bluesweek this year and there will be 25 hours of harmonica lessons plus nightly jam sessions through out the week and I want to record everything.
Things I am looking for in a recorder are -
Long battery life
Large memory
A/B function.
Speaker
Should be easy to use
Good sound quality
I have found a few recorders, but I don't know if they suit my needs or not.
Olympus LS-11 PCM
The Sony PCM-M10
zoom h2 & h4n
I am interested to know if anyone here has used these recorders before and what they think about them.
Does anyone have any other suggestions?
|
eharp
503 posts
Feb 05, 2010
3:23 PM
|
you may want to consider a video camera, especially if there will be live performances at the fest! really captures the memories better and the sound quality is usually better than expected.
|
jonsparrow
2087 posts
Feb 05, 2010
3:26 PM
|
ditto. video is the way to go.
----------
|
isaacullah
685 posts
Feb 05, 2010
3:48 PM
|
There is a Zoom video camera that people like. It only shoots "YouTube" quality video, but the BIG feature is it's superb STEREO sound recording... It was made for musicians like us in mind.... DOn't remember the model number but I think it wasn't TOO expensive...
----------
------------------
The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
|
RyanMortos
611 posts
Feb 05, 2010
3:50 PM
|
I have a zoom h2 and I think it kicks butt. Very high quality I know a number of musicians that use one that's why I chose that one. It can be as simple as pressing record or you can get down to modifying everything about how it records and stores data.
That being said I have to agree with the guys that said take video. I use my h2 was there isn't a point in seeing what's happening but blues week sounds like there's some cool action.
----------
~Ryan
"I play the harmonica. The only way I can play is if I get my car going really fast, and stick it out the window." - Stephen Wright
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
Contact:
My youtube account
|
belfast_harper
110 posts
Feb 05, 2010
4:40 PM
|
Thanks for the replies, I agree that video cameras are best for memories, but I just want to record the sound for studying purposes.
Isaac, I tried to check out the zoom video camera out, but I couldn't find it.
Ryan, do you know if the zoom h2 has an A/B function and if there is a play back slow down function?
|
RyanMortos
613 posts
Feb 05, 2010
5:18 PM
|
Honestly I'm new to the devise but I'll try to answer.
Do you mean an A/B function that lets you specify two points (A and B) in a file (or file pair for 4-channel mode) and automatically repeat the section between those points? Then yes.
On the play back slow down function I don't see anything about that in the manual. Which isn't to say it doesn't have it but that I don't see that it does have it. I should note that unless I'm mistaking you need an audio out to play back things recorded. It's got 4 microphones but possibly no speakers.
http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/h2/index.php
http://www.zoomh2.net/h2
I bought this just so I could record lessons or clinics/workshops & then put the audio onto my computer for playback later.
----------
~Ryan
"I play the harmonica. The only way I can play is if I get my car going really fast, and stick it out the window." - Stephen Wright
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
Contact:
My youtube account
|
RyanMortos
615 posts
Feb 05, 2010
5:30 PM
|
List of Bestsellers in Portable Recorders at Amazon.com
The Tascam DR07 Portable Digital Recorder sounds pretty cool to me and I think that might have a slow down play back function.
----------
~Ryan
"I play the harmonica. The only way I can play is if I get my car going really fast, and stick it out the window." - Stephen Wright
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
Contact:
My youtube account
Last Edited by on Feb 05, 2010 5:31 PM
|
KC69
126 posts
Feb 05, 2010
7:04 PM
|
I have the Audio 7 digital mp3 reorder. Long lasting battery, tons of memory. Has built in mic and also has line in for hook up to pa system or to use as band in the box. It does not have external speaker, but does have head phones and downloads easily to computer and can e-mail to others. I have 1/8 to 1/4 plug to hook up to any amp. It also has radio, and you can download cds or dvds. I bought it thru Amazon for a little over $200.00. My local instructor records our lessons and then e-mails them to me. Good Luck!!
|
happy harper
19 posts
Feb 05, 2010
7:24 PM
|
I have the H4 Zoom on loan from a fellow musician and from the booklet it is a pretty complete set up. after effects, you can set the pan and balance on everything after you record and quite a few pros around town think the mics it comes with sound great.
hope that helps and let me know if you have any more specific questions as I will be recording with it tomorrow (God willing).
J
|
Nastyolddog
185 posts
Feb 05, 2010
7:47 PM
|
Hi BH i have the Zoom H4 i use it for recording my Bro and i at home to easy record a few takes plug strait into computer hear ya self strait away,,i haven't worryed about all the effects onboard i just use it for recording i will be getting the new Zoom Q3 Vidio recorder,, because it records clips into Youtube quality no need to Bark around Formating the vids for YT..
|
eharp
504 posts
Feb 05, 2010
7:49 PM
|
i am not sure of your computer software or capabilities, but i download the video, seperate the video from the audio and then put the audio on cd's.
|
JTThirty
55 posts
Feb 06, 2010
6:31 AM
|
I heard nothing but great things about the Zoom H2 and ordered one from BH Photos website for $141, which was a pretty cheap deal. I've only used it to record myself A/B'ing amps and effects and stuff and am extremely pleased with the sound reproduction.
|
blogward
79 posts
Feb 06, 2010
9:54 AM
|
Had a Zoom H4n for about three months and it's no exaggeration to say it's changed my life. You may read that the Sony, etc. have slightly better S/N ratios etc. but that's silly purist talk. Remember the first time you went in a recording studio and couldn't get over the sound quality? That's what the Zoom is like. You listen on cans and keep turning round thinking somebody's come into the room. The H2 is about 2/3 the price with fewer freatures. At rehearsals I have its headphone output hooked up to Reaper and get studio quality demos at the bash of the space bar. Portability wise, the 'Stamina mode' allows me to clip it to a light fitting at a club and get three hours' HQ recording (about 1.5Gb) two nights running with no battery change.
The multitrack function is very useable, but if you have a decent computer setup it's not essential. JUST GET ONE!
NB only a mono speaker, so some portable stereo active speakers would be good, and don't use a cheap SD card. A tip: you can load the 1.5Gb WAV files into (free) Audacity and export whatever you select as a separate track. Problem with video is that you end up with massive files that are a drag to edit. The Zoom Q3 is the video machine with the same audio hardware as the H2/4, again less configurable - dunno what the battery life is like.
Last Edited by on Feb 06, 2010 10:06 AM
|
Joe_L
21 posts
Feb 06, 2010
11:09 AM
|
I've got a Zoom H2. It's a killer little unit. It'll capture the sound in a room and it's pretty representative of what's happening there. I get about three or four hours of recording time on mine. It'll take an SD memory card, so the media is pretty cheap. It's been worth it's weight in gold. It has helped me learn quite a bit about my playing and singing. I wish I had bought one earlier.
|
Rick Davis
184 posts
Feb 06, 2010
11:55 AM
|
Agree with blogward. I've owned and used the Zoom H4 for 3 years. Excellent device. True multi-tracker. Outstanding sound.
My son is a jazz musician and he has the H2 Zoom. It also gets excellent recordings, just doesn't have some of the bells and whistles. Both of these recorders make CD-quality recordings, much better than any digital camera I've ever heard.
But I am interested in the Zoom digitial camcorder that Isaacullah mentioned. I gotta look into that...
----------
-Rick Davis
Blues Harp Amps Blog
Roadhouse Joe Blues Band
Last Edited by on Feb 06, 2010 2:22 PM
|
belfast_harper
113 posts
Feb 06, 2010
11:56 AM
|
Thanks for the information everyone. The zooms sound good, but from what I have read they don't have the battery life that I am looking for.
I have read quite a few reviews over the last few days and looked through other forums and I think I am going to go with the olympus ls-11.
It has a battery life of 20 hours, 8gb internal memory, an A/B function, a speaker, looks good and is compact.
http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1471
|
belfast_harper
114 posts
Feb 06, 2010
12:07 PM
|
The Zoom Q3 looks great, but it has a poor battery life - 2 hours (Movie mode), 4 hours (Audio mode).
|
blogward
80 posts
Feb 06, 2010
1:17 PM
|
Yep, that's the one to go for if you can live without 4 channels - and it has stereo speakers.
|
Greg Heumann
278 posts
Feb 06, 2010
1:21 PM
|
I have an Edirol R-09 - doesn't have speaker but it is an outstanding recorder in a very compact package. (Not knocking these others - they are good too.) The main thing in recording live performance is that you MUST have a way to turn AGC (automatic gain control) OFF and set levels manually. Otherwise when the band comes down the recorder will just increase its record level and pick up every little conversation near you.
----------
/Greg
BlowsMeAway Productions
BlueState - my band
Bluestate on iTunes
|
Rick Davis
186 posts
Feb 06, 2010
2:21 PM
|
Agree with Greg about auto gain control. I never use it. I will use a the limiter in the Zoom H4, however.
I checked out the Zoom Q3. Great, now I got a bad case of GAS. I'm impressed with Zoom products because of my 3 years with the H4.
----------
-Rick Davis
Blues Harp Amps Blog
Roadhouse Joe Blues Band
|
Joe_L
22 posts
Feb 06, 2010
4:47 PM
|
Here is a couple more things to consider.
First, I regularly get about four hours of battery life with my Zoom H2. Four hours is a lot of audio.
Second, four hours of audio generates some seriously large files at very high bit rates. They can be a pain in the rear to work with on most computers.
Third, if you record every second of audio during a week long event, you'll find that you will have a storage issue, too.
Fourth, if you get a recorder with removable media, get a memory card reader. Some recorders can be painfully slow extracting data via USB.
One last thing, the Zoom H2 has three preset gain levels, plus an auto gain control. The low gain setting works great for most live performances.
Regardless of what you decide to get make sure that you familiarize yourself with the until prior to the event. You really don't want to be learning during a performance that is "irreplaceable".
Another good piece of advice is to get a couple of sets of rechargeable batteries and a couple of memory cards.
One word of caution about video recorders. The audio quality can be questionable and the low light performance is quite often lacking. Take a look at videos shot in bars on youtube.
|
Cisco
71 posts
Feb 06, 2010
4:56 PM
|
I have used a Sony PCM-D50 Portable Linear PCM Digital Recorder for the last two years and love everything about it. I recorded our gigs and rehearsals with it.
|
Rick Davis
194 posts
Feb 13, 2010
9:29 AM
|
My lovely and thoughtful GF got me a Zoom Q3 for my birthday! I am so stoked!
----------
-Rick Davis
Blues Harp Amps Blog
Roadhouse Joe Blues Band
|
cm16600
101 posts
Feb 13, 2010
2:44 PM
|
Well don't forget minidiscs, they are realiable cheap and you'll get outstanding quality sound with the right mic.Runs on battery and you can split, edit, merge on the go.I got two and love them ,Hi md 's can record in pcm as well they are also rewritable.
|
