Huh?A portable recorder?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Diogenes A
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Diogenes A

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Hi everyone,

i am Alexandros, an amateur saxophonist from Greece. I' ve been playing for 3 years now.
I wanna ask then.. what about a portable recorder? As a saxophone player i find it useful for two main reasons:

a) It is very easy to take it with you (record the live performance of your band/grab some ideas everywhere you want/play in remote places)
b) offers you a good quality of sound when it comes to recording
c) they are not too expensive

What's your opinion? Is it useful or not? What changes as the price gets more and more expensive? Is it good to use this recorder along with the saxophone?
To be more specific, i have in mind the products of Zoom, especially this one:

Zoom H-1 V2 white APH Bundle (i cannot post the exact URL)

Any advice is more than welcome!

Thanks in advance,
Alexandros!
 
I use a Tascam DR-05 for quick idea recording on-the-go with my bands. Works great. 99 American bucks. Would I record an actual album with it? Hell no, but it's superb for quickly and easily capturing things you don't want to forget.

I have also used my phone too. It sounds like ass for recording loud stuff. But in a pinch it'll save the moment.
 
Well it's useful when you have a use for it. :D
Portable recorders are okay, you just need to know which model to get. The one you mentioned has only built in microphones and no inputs for external mics. H-2 doesn't have that options either but has 4 built in mics for capturing sound from all directions. H-4 has 2 built in mics and 2 inputs for external microphones.
They are all different concept and also different in price. Compare the models and see what works for you.

I think it's great to have portable recorders so you dont have to drag laptop+audio interface with you.
I have to have possibilty to plug other mics in so I have a H-4n at the moment, but 2 channels isn't enough so I'm considering H-6.
 
First of all both the Zoom H-1 V2 and the Zoom H-2 have 1 line in microphone. So they can accept external mics (did you make a mistake?).
The quantity of the microphones taken in the gadget is one thing..But shouldn't i focus on the quality of the audio? Is there a notable difference among all these portable recorders above? (even the Tascam DR-05).

Thank you for your answers,
you really help me!
 
Diogenes A said:
...The quantity of the microphones taken in the gadget is one thing..But shouldn't i focus on the quality of the audio? Is there a notable difference among all these portable recorders above? (even the Tascam DR-05).

Thank you for your answers,
you really help me!
Click to expand...
Re; the quest for 'quality, the biggest differences are where the mic is placed, the mic itself to a lesser degree, and the environment you are recording in. You didn't say but could that be 'a given for the question therefor the skip ahead to the smaller stuff? That works too :) Just to get that out of the way.
 
I cannot tell you sth on the other Recorders, but I often use a H4n and ist qualtity is really good. Even if the Sound is quite loud (rehearsal room), you still can OK recordings. You can Setup the Thing for different mic angles (though that didn't Change much in the rehearsal). It has got some EASY compressors/limiters on the recording, so you can Level the recorded sounds out quite a bit. I even use it as a fast Recorder to get rough mixes from my Roland VS without having to burn CDs. And, you CAN choose to record to WAV, thus avoid the MP3-compression...
 
Diogenes A said:
First of all both the Zoom H-1 V2 and the Zoom H-2 have 1 line in microphone. So they can accept external mics (did you make a mistake?).
Click to expand...
Yes there is such thing but I don't see anything written about that in manual. How does the thing know when I plug in mic instead of line signal? How much voltage does it put out? How much gain it has? I don't think conventional mics would work (well) using that.
 
I see your point Seidy!

I find that H4n is very expensive...
I am between Tascam DR-05, Zoom H1 V2 and Zoom H2N...

And how about their qualities? I mean, do i have to see the manuals to understand the very differences of them?

Thank you very much for your answers!
 
mixsit said:
Re; the quest for 'quality, the biggest differences are where the mic is placed, the mic itself to a lesser degree, and the environment you are recording in. You didn't say but could that be 'a given for the question therefor the skip ahead to the smaller stuff? That works too :) Just to get that out of the way.
Click to expand...

Nice comment right there, friend!
 
I think I spent ~ $40 for this very portable stereo pcm recorder :

Tascam im2

peace
 
Just get an H4n. The extra features are more than worth the money. 4 tracks, XLR inputs, phantom power, 1/8" jack for camera mics. Mine hasn't let me down much,but I admit the onboard mics need dead cat screens in any kind of wind. I've used it extensively for outdoor choral performances, and they actually became commercial CD's.
 
Richard Monroe said:
I admit the onboard mics need dead cat screens in any kind of wind. I've used it extensively for outdoor choral performances, and they actually became commercial CD's.
Click to expand...

Sorry friend, but what do you mean by "dead cat screens?" Can you explain it please?
So you mean, that the recordings of yours have been put in an actual CD, right?

Thanks in advance.
 
Diogenes A said:
Sorry friend, but what do you mean by "dead cat screens?" Can you explain it please?
So you mean, that the recordings of yours have been put in an actual CD, right?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
As it applies to most condensers out doors- wind screens. With out.. just expect to see your woofs' flapping like you tried to track a earth quake

Although actually.. I'm not up on the 'dead cat part (...kind?) Suffice to say the little foam thingies may not quite cut it
:D
 
Diogenes A said:
Sorry friend, but what do you mean by "dead cat screens?" Can you explain it please?
So you mean, that the recordings of yours have been put in an actual CD, right?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Wind screens that are bigger than the foam type, sort of fuzzy, are called "dead cat screens", because that's sort of what they look like. Here's a link:

Rode DeadCat VMP | Sweetwater.com


And yes- a number of my recordings, including some done with an H4n and a pair of AKG C2000b's have ended up on commercial CD's.
 
I get it now! Who would have imagined that these "dead cat screens" protect the recording from wind etc...

Thanks for the explanations dudes!

Btw, where should i look for used recorders? Any other option except ebay?
 
'Dead cat threw me too. Wind ...yeah ..but it don't sound like that :eek:
 
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