Help choosing a MD right for me-PLEASE?

[smalltowner]

I am still a newbie. i have been researching for a low cost solution (around or under $300) to record my live performances (guitar and vocals) and also to use as a scratch pad to get decent sounding recording of my musical ideas.

From reading all over these boards it appears a MD would be easier and less expensive (the smart media cards in the cheaper digital 4 track portables are costly and don't hold much memory right?)

Here is what I hope to get in a MD:

-Portability: I travel a lot
-ease-of-use:as close to plug n' play as possible
-an internal mic : so when i just want to play around I don't have to set a mic up
-the portable MD that works the best to hook to a PC for downloading and buring to CD
-Battery life? Battery type? Do these things run on propietery batteries? (I bought a camcorder once and was stuck buying their COSTLY recharchable batteries -which did not have a long life). I would hope to use regular batteries.
-decent sound quality, but It don't have to sound like Dark Side of the Moon! I am a spur of the moment person, and if an idea hits me I just want to get it down ASAP....

If I am totally off base and you think I would be better off with a portable digital 4 track or somthing else -let me have it!

Thanks!

[MrMusicAu]

smalltowner,

I can understand your situation. For you to record a spur of the moment thingy you would do as I do and setup a mixer that you can record directly onto the MD.

If your looking to buy one here's a start page:

http://www.minidisc.org/

hope this helps a little


Regards,

Andrew.

[smalltowner]

Well I did research and ended up getting a very slightly used MZ-N1 on EBAY (at least that is what the seller puports it to be). It should arrive next week and I'll probably be back on these boards looking for Microphone and Software advice. Cheers.

Oh and I know this is somewhere else but here are some links I used in my research:

http://www.minidisc.org
http://www.minidisco.com
http://www.t-station.net
http://cnet.com

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Less Than a "Town."

The Yamaha MD8 is a nice box. But, your sound will be less than CD.

I still have mine hooked up in my studio only because I did some nice stuff with it. So, it is nostalgic.

I might suggest you think of a Yam 2816 or the any of the other models -- good digital sound but, you do need to read the manual and read the manual.

Some good sites out there to help you, especially if you go the AW16 Yam.

But, keep recording.

Green Hornet