Field Recorder as Interface?

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midnightforever

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Hi all,

Long time browser making my first post and need a hand.

I'm looking to record jam sessions and individual instruments (for the purpose of creating a song with multiple tracks), and I'm wondering if any of the field recorders will do a fairly decent job? I'm currently using the Zoom H4 just for recording and although it sounds better than some reviews indicate, I don't want to be stuck with it if it's only going to do good field recording and be a poor interface. I'm most likely going to use Reaper for now.

Will the Edirol R-09HR or any of the other ones around $350 due a good job or am I better off getting an interface, good mic and a cheap field recorder for much more money? I'm not looking for the highest quality obviously, but something without too much hiss and loss of clarity.

Thanks and great forum btw.

Curt
 
We have a sizeable mondolin and banjo/folk instrument population up here in Wickenburg. A lot of the guys use those zoom recorders to record their together hangouts then dump them into reaper in case they want to add more stuff

Its not the most convenient thing when needing to do close micing, but its great for their jams
 
I think of an interface as being a real time recording device. In other words, you record audio through an interface and it goes directly to hard disk in your DAW.

I don't believe the Edirol does that. It records to a memory card, and then you transfer that to your hard drive later. At least that's the way it works with my Edirol R-09, first generation.

For informal recording of jam sessions I think a little digital hand recorder is just great. If you really want to step up to higher quality I do think you need to use mics and an audio interface. That's my opinion anyway.
 
Thanks gents.

The samples of the zoom h4 I've heard on the web all seem to be of decent quality, but I'm not sure if the positives outweight the negatives.

SonicAlberta: I agree that an interface is a real-time device, I'm just trying to determine if there is a field recorder that will hold me off from buying a true interface for a while at least. Maybe recording to the zoom/edirol and transfering to the DAW for mixing and editing will hold me off for long enough.

Anyone else?
 
I like your idea of using something portable to record your jams and then transfer to the PC when you have the time & space to sit and work on the editing/mixes/etc. My only suggestion would be that you might consider something that gives you flexibility without sacrificing portability & convenience.

I seem to remember Fostex having some little units (can't remember what they're called... MD-8 maybe?) that were basically digital 8-tracks, ran two recording channels at a time, and had a pair of XLR inputs with phantom, plus a USB port to transfer your music over to whatever software you like. I would think you could find something like this on eBay fairly reasonably.

I don't know much about the Zoom, but it sounds like it records strictly to a built-in mic? That could be handy (and heck, save the cost of buying a mic!), but on the other hand, you're limited in options if you want to use a different microphone.

Not saying one option in necessarily better than the other for your purposes, but trying to illuminate options...
 
KineticSound said:
I like your idea of using something portable to record your jams and then transfer to the PC when you have the time & space to sit and work on the editing/mixes/etc. My only suggestion would be that you might consider something that gives you flexibility without sacrificing portability & convenience.

I seem to remember Fostex having some little units (can't remember what they're called... MD-8 maybe?) that were basically digital 8-tracks, ran two recording channels at a time, and had a pair of XLR inputs with phantom, plus a USB port to transfer your music over to whatever software you like. I would think you could find something like this on eBay fairly reasonably.

I don't know much about the Zoom, but it sounds like it records strictly to a built-in mic? That could be handy (and heck, save the cost of buying a mic!), but on the other hand, you're limited in options if you want to use a different microphone.

Not saying one option in necessarily better than the other for your purposes, but trying to illuminate options...
Click to expand...

Good points.

Regarding the Zoom H4, I've done some recording with it for about a month now and compared it to the Sony PCM-D50 and both are great devices. They put out quality stereo recordings, but I'm not sure if the $200 premium is worth it for the Sony. It doesn't capture the bass drum as well as the Zoom, but does clip slightly. It's also made of plastic and not even close to as durable as the Sony.

Also, with either of these devices, you can plug a mic in and record with that. The Sony is definitely more user friendly, but is it worth almost $550 compared to the Zoom at $340? I'm probably not going to be using the 4-track feature of the Zoom as I'll mix it with a DAW. Who knows...maybe I'll go with the Zoom H2 or the newer Olympus recorder. The Sony's just too expensive, although if the Zoom breaks after one year I'll be kicking myself.
 
Alright so I tested the Edirol R-09HR, Zoom H4 and the Sony PCM-D50 and ended up going with the Sony. The Edirol wasn't quite as crisp and sounded a bit thinner, although it did offer more bass than any other model. The only problem was it seemed to add bass to the whole spectrum, rather than just picking up more bass. It did make the bass drum much more apparent even compared to the Sony.

All in all, the Sony offered the best sound quality, with a decent number of features and a solid enclosure. It is a bit too big to carry around to gigs, but could work. The built in 4GB's of memory is a much needed feature as I won't have to go out and buy an additional card. It may not act as an interface, but for recording spontaneous ideas and jams, it's hard to beat.
 
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