Field recorder

M

MimikOctopus

New member
I'm looking for a small field recorder to grab sounds whenever I'm out and about. Too many times I've heard something and thought to myself I wish I could sample that. Anywho, my only experience with this was back in art school, we had Sony mini DAT recorders. They were about the size of a laptop, but they had plenty of inputs for mics etc (this was in the late 90s).....

I'm looking for something that could fit into a record/laptop bag, along with my laptop. I notice there are lots of inexpensive ones, like the Tascam,Yamaha, and Alesis that can be had at $170ish. Anyway, what are the mics on these like? They only have 1/8" inputs, so I don't know what kind of quality mic I could hook up. Also is DAT still a good medium? I wouldn't mind buying an older used unit like I used in college...

My budget is basically whatever will get me what I want, which is usable recordings of sounds around the world. Car engines etc. I'm going to tear them apart and re sample and distort/bitcrush anyway, but I would like a decent place to start. But I don't want to spend more than I have to. $300ish I guess.
 
krushing said:
I've said it before and I'll say it again...Zoom H4n. Best bang for buck.
Click to expand...

I am actually in the market for a digital field recorder and I randomly stumbled upon this thread...

I had been thinking about a Sony PCM-D50... or perhaps an M10...

I pretty much didn't even consider a Zoom solely due to opinions based on using their products many many years ago... (If you had not recommended it here, I would never have even looked at it, but I am glad I did)

...but based on it's features and functions, this looks like a fantastic piece!

some standouts include

• 90º/180º selectable patterns
• XLR/TRS inputs
• 4 mic simultaneous recording
• phantom power
• ability to use it as a computer recording interface / bundled with Cubase LE4
• onboard 4 track recording
• built-in fx and amp models
• uses SD cards (rather than memory stick)
• built-in guitar tuner


It also has similar features to most of the other recorders out there... the 2 seconds of pre-record are a nice feature, though not as good as the 5 seconds i have seen elsewhere... but the pre-record is a feature I would insist upon from any field recorder.


The only thing that would keep me from getting this one is the short battery life (6 hrs in normal mode/ 11 hours in stamina mode)...

With other products, I am seeing battery life of 40-50 hours on the same AA batteries... and that's a big difference... especially if you are going to be using this "in the field" (which is how I would be using it-- typically to record sounds of the world and whatnot)...


How do you find the recording quality to be with their onboard mics?

How about the internal pres/converters when used as an interface (if you have used it that way)?

Do you notice the short battery life?

Oh, and here is a big one-- how long does it take from "power on" to "ready to record"?


Seems like a great recorder, though.

---------- Post added at 01:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:33 PM ----------
LostProfit said:
On my list, in stiff competition is the Nagra VI, by the looks of it they have a smaller model.
Click to expand...

(pretty big at a size of approx 12" x 3" x 11" and no onboard mic)

I would hope it is amazing, let alone stiff competition, at a price of $7,500.00 USD (the only price I can find online)
 
Yeah, Zoom is one of those manufacturers you don't really expect anything stellar from. :)

dvyce said:
How do you find the recording quality to be with their onboard mics?
Click to expand...

It's surprisingly good - more than enough for random field recording stuff, but also up to a point where I rarely bother hooking up external mics (then again, the point is the portability...). I'm really just an amateur recordist, though - can't really compare it to expensive stereo mic setups.

How about the internal pres/converters when used as an interface (if you have used it that way)?
Click to expand...

I haven't, so no idea. Then again, it's using those same converters to record anyway, so they seem to be fine.

Do you notice the short battery life?
Click to expand...

Not really, though I haven't taken it on any longer trips yet. 40-50 hours sounds like a really long time - I'm guessing these estimates are standby times ie. not actually recording. The Zoom has a "stamina mode", which should extend the battery life (to about 11h of recording time) but I think it limits to 16bit/44Khz.

Oh, and here is a big one-- how long does it take from "power on" to "ready to record"?
Click to expand...

There's a shortish "boot sequence" - I think it's about 6-7 seconds or so. Then again, just having the thing on doesn't really suck up batteries too much, so you can theoretically have it on rec & pause if it looks like something's about to happen.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top