Minidisc (or other options?) for field recording?

[adam]

I have recently really gotten into field recording. Mostly walking around NYC and being able to record the noises of the city.

I have been using a stereo mic plugged into my sony digital video camera. The sound quality is excellent but I don't want to carry that around all the time.

Minidisc seems like the only alternative, other than DAT. I didn't want to spend more than $200.

Anyone reccomend a minidisc player? It is frustrating b/c most reviews don't mention the recording capabilities, just the mp3 playing features.

[TexRoadkill]

The preamps on most portable recorders are pretty bad. If you are just trying to get low-fi samples than it's not a big deal.

For film dialogue or sound effects recording it is common to also have a battery powered preamp. You would be hard pressed to find a portable DAT with decent pre's for less than a grand.

See if you can find a BBS for Foley and Sound Effects work. There are a few out there and they usually have "Whats the best field recorder for under $200" Threads.

[littledog]

About a year ago at an audio seminar, i heard an engineer who does tons of remote field recordings highly praise the Sony minidisk recorders as a great option. (I think it was Tom Jung). Even though there is lossy data compression, in his opinion the algorhythms and implementation have gotten much better since the original units.

His theory was, if you are in the middle of the Himalayas recording Tibetan Monks, the most important factor is reliability. DAT recorders, as well as the DAT tapes, tend to be somewhat fragile. His main point was you want something you know will work.

For high quality recording, though, outboard preamps are a must.

[Whoopysnorp]

Stuff recorded on a Minidisc recorder through a little Sony electret condensor can sound pretty good. A film student friend of mine does this for his field recording.

[adam]

thanks for the responses. What I have been able to gather is that the Sharp MDs seem to be better for recording b/c you can adjust the recording levels on the fly.

It seems like none of these have a digital out unfortunately. Oh well. FOr more serious/planned stuff I would probably use my laptop or digital video camera.

I really want the MD for spur of the moment and informal practicing.

What a weird product category though. I can barely find any in stock in ANY electronics store in NY (The Wiz, Circuit City, Radio Shack, COMP USA, JR Music). They seem to have tons of them in the times square area electronic stores, but they are kinda sketchy, and scream gray market goods.

Also, not alot of info about recording features, quality, i/o, sample rates etc.

I also looked into battery powered preamps -- WOW, they seem expensive. An ART tube MP on batteries would be fine for me.

[ambi]

they record in mono, mind you. As in, sound only comes through one headphone/ one speaker. I just record them into my computer, and copy the one mono channel into the other, so its a mono recordign coming through both speakers.

[TexRoadkill]

Ambi- Are you aware that that is what the pan knob is for Just leave it as one track and pan it center.

[ambi]

yea, well, thats basically what i did in soundforge, just, didn't use a knob.

[adam]

I have been on cnet this morning and most of the minidiscs are out of stock at every dealer listed.

This is the weirdest product I've ever shopped for

[Aren]

Adam -

www.soundprofessionals.com has everything you need in terms of Minidisks and Field Recording gear (including Pre-amps and mics). Check 'em out!

Oren

[adam]

oren, thanks.

They only have one minidisc recorder, but maybe it is in stock. I'll check it out.

[Whoopysnorp]

Originally posted by ambi
they record in mono, mind you. As in, sound only comes through one headphone/ one speaker. I just record them into my computer, and copy the one mono channel into the other, so its a mono recordign coming through both speakers.

Not necessarily true. As I said, my friend records through a Sony electret condenser which is also in stereo. He gets stereo recordings that way.

[ambi]

well maybe the newer ones are stereo
but my sony, and my friends sony are both mono, and they're different modles

[db51]

Any MD model for sale nowadays will record in stereo.

As for the choice of Sharp/Sony :

-Sony minidisc's are oriented more towards listening (lots of options)
-Sharp md's are oriented more towards recording (better mic-preamp, stronger line-out, and adjustable recording levels without having to go into any menus)

[Jukkis]

Originally posted by db51
-Sony minidisc's are oriented more towards listening (lots of options)

I agree... Sony's md's are really funny, example Net MD is really painful to use for field recordings... compared to some other recorders...

[Havoc]

Agreed. For field work, a sharp is prefered as you can adjust levels on the fly. Came to the same conclusion when doing the same research some time ago. If you can live with the limited record time, MD is fine. For me it was not the solution so I went DAT.