well,...simply put the best one is the one you can operate well. I use the MR-8.
will you need a mixer.....HE!! yes.
just a foresight on what you are getting into.
if you are not redording live, you will have to record each musician individually.
so, you will have to start with the drummer. you can mike the kit with 2, but you will probably want more than two on it. Hence...a mixer is needed.
Now, he will need to play the song so you can record him.. the rest of the band will probably need to play along so he knows what to play, where the breaks are, etc, but ONLY RECORD the drums. if you are careful, there wont be too much bleed thru into the drum mikes.
now, you can PLAY back the drum track and record the bass guitar part.
once the basisit has his act together and it is caputred you can move on to the rythm guitar.
you get the picture...moving on from ONE insturment to the next, recording it while listening to the last recordings.
In a studio they have 72, 96 or even more channels they can record simulteanously...every single insturment and vocal has a mike, and it is recorded all at once. then you can go back with each individual and fix the boo-boos one at a time, one on one.
You on the other hand, can record 2, count them 2 tracks at a time.
You will definitely need a mixer for the eq and the mike pre-amps. and for the insert points for the compressors and outboard effects.
the mixer hooks up by taking the (main) OUTPUT of the mixer and plugging it into the INPUT of the MR-8. Very simple.
because it is a high level output, you should be able to leave the GAIN control all the way down on the recorder.
i see you looked at a behringer...the IMP
that is their trade name for an Invisible Mike Pre-amp. The mikes put out a very weak signal (electrically speaking) and the use of a PRE-AMP brings this signal up. Amplifying means that ... every thing...and i mean everything ...voice, hiss, rumble gets louder. If the PRE's aren't very good, the induce ALOT of their own noise raising the noise floor.
You know what an EQ does. the rotary controls do the same thing as the sliders. they allow you to adjust the volume (per say) of a frequency. It a tone control really. The controls are set on a specific frequency, just like the regular EQ's, with the numbers written at the bottom/top. They may be a little "WIDER" and effect a bigger frequency range, but still the same thing.
And the numbers on a regular EQ, those are the frequencies. If you want bass thump, you mess with the low EQ, 60 Hz or so.
each contols a range of frequencies.
but because we are dealing with a 3 band eq as opposed to 15 or 31 on a reagualr eq, they allow us to chance the center frequency on the mid ranges, so there are two controls on the mids.
A boost and gain, and a center freq.
you can then choose to boost +5, and choose to boost 1K, 1.5k, 10K, any freq. in the sweep range.
it is a big chore, but it is very rewarding in the end when you listen to YOUR mix!!!
good luck
