Digital recorder questions

[PoppedEye]

Tascam DP-01fx or Zoom MRS802cd?

Both of these are in my price range but which is going to give me higher quality recordings?

I heard that tascam's mic preamps are crap, would I need to buy a seperate preamp or mixer?

Is it worth the extra money to get the zoom recorder?

I'm going to be recording with a fender bass, cheap elec guitar, a microkorg, alesis micron, and a shure sm-57 mic.

Also, is midi clocking available on both machines? (and just how important is it to sync everything to a midi controller?)

 

[Lambo]

First off, to compare apples to apples I think you should be looking at the Tascam DP01FX/CD. Having a CD to back-up data and produce audio CD's is a great feature. Both recorders are selling for $599 and offer 16-Bit /44.1Hz CD Quality as well as all kinds of bells and whistles. The Zoom offers a drum machine which may be the feature that tips the scales in their direction. Either recorder will produce recordings consistent with a $599 recorder. What is meant by that is it won't be as powerful as a recorder offering higher resolution (24-Bit/96Hz), more features, but for making Demos and wowing friends and family either will do the job. Keep in mind the recorder is only one piece of the puzzle; talent, recording technique, other equipment being used, recording environment (room acoustics) etc. make -up the remianing components of 'good quality' recordings. As for MIDI control, both recorders have it as does your keyboards. MIdI is great if you have multiple sources that you want to control (sync: start and stop at the same time).
You'll need a set of heaphones for tracking and monitors for mixing/playback.
Good luck!