Soliciting for Stand Alone recorder opinions

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gimme789

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Hi all, new to the forum here.

I have used my PC for simple recordings of acoustic guitars & vocals, but am now looking for stand alone unit.

I do not need a huge system, but at a minimum need:
- Phantom power
- capable to record 2 tracks at once.
- built in reverb
- hard drive
- USB direct to hard drive
- EASY TO USE

would like (but not absolutely necessary) :
- built in drums
- built in bass

Just looking for opinions on the easiest to use, best sounding recorders which fit my requirements. Any opinions greatly apprectiated. Thanks in advance, Tom.
 
gimme789 said:
Hi all, new to the forum here.

I have used my PC for simple recordings of acoustic guitars & vocals, but am now looking for stand alone unit.

I do not need a huge system, but at a minimum need:
- Phantom power
- capable to record 2 tracks at once.
- built in reverb
- hard drive
- USB direct to hard drive
- EASY TO USE

would like (but not absolutely necessary) :
- built in drums
- built in bass

Just looking for opinions on the easiest to use, best sounding recorders which fit my requirements. Any opinions greatly apprectiated. Thanks in advance, Tom.
Click to expand...

Hey gimme welcome to the forum.
Google up the Zoom H4n and check it out I'm sure you'll like it.



:cool:
 
gimme789 said:
Hi all, new to the forum here.

I have used my PC for simple recordings of acoustic guitars & vocals, but am now looking for stand alone unit.

I do not need a huge system, but at a minimum need:
- Phantom power
- capable to record 2 tracks at once.
- built in reverb
- hard drive
- USB direct to hard drive
- EASY TO USE

would like (but not absolutely necessary) :
- built in drums
- built in bass

Just looking for opinions on the easiest to use, best sounding recorders which fit my requirements. Any opinions greatly apprectiated. Thanks in advance, Tom.
Click to expand...

I use the Fostex MR16HD ($400) which meets your requirements. It is very easy to use. Creates .wav files you can USB (easily) to your computer. It has reverb and guitar/amp simulators, but no drums or bass onboard.

But for the same money, I think today I would get the Zoom R16 for 24-bit (instead of 16-bit) recording quality.
 
Jim Lad said:
Welcome aboard.
Have a look at the Zoom R16.
Click to expand...

thats the one I was going to suggest..Ive never used it but if i had the need this is the one Id be looking at...turns into a DAW controller when you plug it into your PC so 2 for the price of 1...genius
 
I've been looking at Zoom. Can the R16 function as a standalone unit?

thanks
 
moresound said:
Can't you as well burn a CD with this unit?



:cool:
Click to expand...

i dont think so...it takes SD cards and comes with 1 gig from new....but these cards run up to 32gigs now...thats a hell of a lot of tracks
 
32gig cards are hard to find, and I have heard some reports of compatibility issues. 16mb are easy to find for cheap, and are entirely adequate. The lack of a CD-ROM drive is one small weakness of the R16. I also wanted to point out that it does not have the requested hard drive. Personally, I prefer removable media. I'm strongly considering buying one to replace an obsolete Roland V-studio. 8 simultaneous XLR/1/4" combijack ins, 2 w/ phantom power, 16 tracks out, runs on batteries or wall wart, built in stereo mics, a reasonable bank of FX, can record to SD as a standalone and dump to PC by USB, or can be used as a surface controller to most recording software.

Zoom is currently owned by Samson, and does have a history of design flaws and shoddy workmanship. The good news is- several of us use the R16's smaller brother, the H4n, and it has performed pretty well, so far (in my case, going on a year). The H4n will do all of the above, except you get a max of 4 tracks in, 2 of which have to be the onboard stereo mics or an external stereo mic in. You do get the 2 combijacks with phantom power, one of which can be configured for high-z instrument in, and 4 tracks out. There are some weird ways around the configuration to go up to 4 all-purpose tracks in. Yeah, you can feed the stereo mic input with a 2 channel preamp (say Audiobuddy or DMP3). That gives you 4 simultaneous ins with phantom power.

Not too long ago, for jollies, I mounted the H4n on a boom stand (there's a nifty accessory that fits a mic clip) and used the onboard mics for the overheads on a trap set, and mic'd up the snare and kick via the mic inputs. This requires another accessory- the remote control card. It might take me a while to get the mix, EQ, and compression right, but I think you can make pretty good drum tracks that way. Of course, you can add more tracks by overdubbing in the computer in Cubase or whatever.
Given that the R16 has 8 ins and real faders, and only costs about $100 more, it looks like a good deal if it's reliable. The jury is still out on that one-it is bleeding edge and dirt cheap.-Richie
 
A guy told me to wait for the Boss BR800 on another forum ... said it should be out soon ... I will have to have a look at that too
 
The BR800 *is* out, and as far as I can tell- no phantom power. That's a deal killer. It does seem to have a more advanced drum machint than most. Probably great for a rapper.-Richie
 
Richard Monroe said:
The BR800 *is* out, and as far as I can tell- no phantom power. That's a deal killer. It does seem to have a more advanced drum machint than most. Probably great for a rapper.-Richie
Click to expand...

YO YO YO Richards in the house!!!! sup Richard? Love my H4n and has been great for over a year and a half. Maybe I'll try the R16, not quite sure yet though.



:cool:
 
moresound said:
YO YO YO Richards in the house!!!! sup Richard? Love my H4n and has been great for over a year and a half. Maybe I'll try the R16, not quite sure yet though.



:cool:
Click to expand...

well if you ever need a drum machine for the H4n i have the mrt-3 that slots in seamlessly ;)
 
I think it's a shame Yamaha never really went the logical next step with their SIABs.. I have the AW4416 and at the time I considered it the best around... it can be annoying now as its interfacing (no USB), file (no MP3 conversion) and editing limitations are quite noticeable, but what it does have is 16 motorised faders..

The later model AW2400 probably addresses most of my gripes, but doesn't have the one thing I'd pay lots for... 24 faders... sigh...

I want control of everything all at once, not to have to switch between fader banks..
 
Richard Monroe said:
The BR800 *is* out, and as far as I can tell- no phantom power. That's a deal killer. It does seem to have a more advanced drum machint than most. Probably great for a rapper.-Richie
Click to expand...

I was trying to figure that out too. It is not obvious whether there is phantom power or not. If not, it is a deal killer. I'll have to try to figure it out. If anyone can figure it out, please let me know. Thank you.
 
The Zoom R16 is a stand alone, a surface controller and an audio interface.
 
What, no love for the Tascam DP-01FX/CD, or DP-02? I have a DP-01, and access to a 01FX/CD, and it does just fine for non-critical recording. I haven't used it for critical recording, but I imagine it would do fine there, too. The FX/CD has everything the OP says he is looking for.
 
The Yamaha AW4416 is the daddy for 200 or 300 bucks used on Ebay-I have two-one set up permanently with 16 inputs which I record Live tracks on right out of a Soundcraft mixer into the Yammie-I then pull the hard drive out and take it home where the other unit is set up in my home studio for mixing. So easy-so nice!
 
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