Recording device

[otway]

Hey guys.

Well as the title says, I wana find out about recording devices.. You see.. i want to start to record my practicing in order to work on my technique and proficiency and blah blah.. any way.. My band records our ideas with an old cassette recorder :S.. which my guitarist then digitizes and adjusts the sound etc and it works out pretty decent...

basically.. i don't want to have to go through all this trouble.. I thought the solution would be to buy a usb condenser mic and attach it to my laptop and i will get pretty decent recordings but i realized this will be a little bit pricey for what i had in mind.. cause i do plan to purchase drum mics one day so i will just get proper condenser mics some time...

*Sigh* im going on too much.. ok so what i want.. is either a suitable handheld digital recorder or another good idea as to how i can get recordings that are good enough to review and not be disgusted by the quality... Maybe i'm asking for too much, maybe i'm not.. But i'm confident that one of you here have an answer for me and some suitable advice.. as always.

So... thanks for the ongoing great advice I always seem to receive here
Nick

[jayp]

Here you go, do not look any further, this is all you need.

Zoom H4 (http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-ZOO-H4-Handy-Recorder/dp/B000LGA2K6)

Zoom h2 (http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-H2-Handy-Track-Recorder/dp/B000VBH2IG)

[cavica]

Here you go, do not look any further, this is all you need.

Zoom H4 (http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-ZOO-H4-Handy-Recorder/dp/B000LGA2K6)

Zoom h2 (http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-H2-Handy-Track-Recorder/dp/B000VBH2IG)

wow those look really nice. Can anyone review them, give the pros and cons ect?
thanks,
cavica

[fourstringdrums]

wow those look really nice. Can anyone review them, give the pros and cons ect?
thanks,
cavica

I have the H4. It's a fantastic device. It functions as not just a straight recorder but a 4 track as well. You can record to a few different bit rates of wav and also direct to MP3. All files are saved on an SD Card (upgrade to the 2GB if you get one) and can hold hours and hours of material.

These are a few mp3's I've made with it:

http://www.handidrummed.com/grooving2.mp3
http://www.handidrummed.com/drummers/profiles/rob/media/rob_ryan1.mp3
http://www.handidrummed.com/zoomh4test.mp3
http://www.handidrummed.com/neworleans.mp3
http://www.handidrummed.com/myrtle.mp3
http://www.handidrummed.com/myrtlehigh.mp3

[cavica]

I have the H4. It's a fantastic device. It functions as not just a straight recorder but a 4 track as well. You can record to a few different bit rates of wav and also direct to MP3. All files are saved on an SD Card (upgrade to the 2GB if you get one) and can hold hours and hours of material.

These are a few mp3's I've made with it:

http://www.handidrummed.com/grooving2.mp3
http://www.handidrummed.com/drummers/profiles/rob/media/rob_ryan1.mp3
http://www.handidrummed.com/zoomh4test.mp3
http://www.handidrummed.com/neworleans.mp3
http://www.handidrummed.com/myrtle.mp3
http://www.handidrummed.com/myrtlehigh.mp3

those recordings are really good quality. Could it serve as a recorder for my band for us to save some money an buy a full recoding setup? We probably would use no more than three tracks (drums, guitar, vocals, base).
P.S. Nice grooves!

[fourstringdrums]

those recordings are really good quality. Could it serve as a recorder for my band for us to save some money an buy a full recoding setup? We probably would use no more than three tracks (drums, guitar, vocals, base).
P.S. Nice grooves!


Thanks.

Yes. I honestly haven't had the need for this so I don't know anything about how to do it, but it can serve as a 4 track as well. It also has to external mic inputs and you can record with a guitar directly if you wish too.

[Les Ismore]

Affordable excellence.

http://cgi.ebay.com/OLYMPUS-WS-320M-Digital-Voice-Recorder-WS320M-Warranty_W0QQitemZ250214269365QQihZ015QQcategoryZ4 8688QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This little unit works great for recording practices/gigs (place under bass drum hoop-front on bass rig side, use 10k mic setting). Runs on 1-AAA USB plug in. You can score these, or lesser memory models for well under $100 US.

You may not need the 1 gig of space (flash card) on the WS 320, any of the WS recorders sound great. The VS seires- less features, still great sound. Doubles as an MP3 player..Olympus sounds best, don't even consider Sony, Panasonic, others...sound quality is not there in their small voice recorder lines.

Insane to spend $250-300 for a compact recorder (Zoom, Edirol etc.) with features you'll never use doing commado style recordings. After hearing my WS, a guitar palyer friend dumped his Edirol R09 for one.

[fourstringdrums]

Insane to spend $250-300 for a compact recorder (Zoom, Edirol etc.) with features you'll never use doing commado style recordings. After hearing my WS, a guitar palyer friend dumped his Edirol R09 for one.

The Olympus is $230 new http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-WS-320M-Digital-Recorder-Player/dp/B000BJ3BRO so that just threw your argument out the window. You can find Zooms and Edirols cheap on Ebay as well. Zoom H4's often show up for around $150 on Ebay, and the H2 is even cheaper.

[Jon Jon]

The H4 is too good actually. I had somebody use it at a large club my band played at and he placed it about 20'-0" from the stage and it picked the band up absolutell awesome, but also got a little too much crowd noise but I was still able to market the recording as live.
H4 in my opinion is highlly recomended if you have the means.

[Les Ismore]

The Olympus is $230 new, that just threw your argument out the window.

14" Evolution Hi Hats are $720 new, Iron Cobra double Pedals are $520 new and Ludwig Supra 6.5" are $950 new, so that clearly that throws 'your' argument out the window.

This isn't a 'bass players' forum fourstringdrums. If you actually read my post, its stated you can get an Olympus delivered for well under $100, some can be had for under $50 new.

[fourstringdrums]

The Olympus is $230 new, that just threw your argument out the window.

14" Evolution Hi Hats are $720 new, Iron Cobra double Pedals are $520 new and Ludwig Supra 6.5" are $950 new, so that clearly that throws 'your' argument out the window.


..and if you had clicked on the link I supplied, you would have seen that Amazon.com is selling the Olympus for $230. I did not mean list price, I meant the actual selling price. I checked around a few other places as well, and its average price is $200.

This isn't a 'bass players' forum fourstringdrums.

This comment makes no sense. I am a drummer, and yes I did play bass at one time, but I do not any longer. Even still, this comment makes no sense on my initial comment.

[BigSexyPanda]

sorry to bring back a really old thread, but I had a few questions and I didn't want to start a new thread and get flamed for it. I was just wondering in terms of sound quality and durability and pretty much every other way, how much better is the H4 then the H2? I heard the recordings with the H4 and I really liked the way it sounded and I was wondering how the h2 compared. Thanks again.

[dmb_drummer]

Me and my friend wanted to start recording, so he went and bought a Snowball http://www.guitarcenter.com/Blue-Snowball-USB-Microphone-103647319-i1127343.gc(yes I know it's a weird name) at Guitar Center for only $99. It's a USB mic, so recording is simple. It has 3 switches: 1st switch is used for vocals and guitar, 2nd is used for bass and I use it for drums, and 3rd is used for vocals and drums. I really don't remember all the details. The recording software that we use is free, called Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/. It works wonders, and is easy.

[Les Ismore]

..and if you had clicked on the link I supplied, you would have seen that Amazon.com is selling the Olympus for $230

Who cares about Amazon and what's your point? The Olympus were (I'm) discussing here can be had on ebay for under $100 so why would you want to go to Amazon and pay $230? That'd be thinking like a bass player.

I play bass too, was a bass player before I was a drummer.

[bojangleman]

i have Audacity, and it does work wonders...its amazing!

and what do you think of the snowball? do you have any recording on the pc with it?

Me and my friend wanted to start recording, so he went and bought a Snowball http://www.guitarcenter.com/Blue-Snowball-USB-Microphone-103647319-i1127343.gc(yes I know it's a weird name) at Guitar Center for only $99. It's a USB mic, so recording is simple. It has 3 switches: 1st switch is used for vocals and guitar, 2nd is used for bass and I use it for drums, and 3rd is used for vocals and drums. I really don't remember all the details. The recording software that we use is free, called Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/. It works wonders, and is easy.

Alex

[BigSexyPanda]

haha talk about the thread going in a totally different way then I expected. I didn't mean to bring back an old argument, let that be done with please. I was also just wondering if anyone used the H2 and how it compared to the H4, or if it was just a totally different device? Thanks for any help given.

[gocatgo]

I have a H2 and it works great for recording band practice. I even recorded my drum track and sent in to my gutairist and he put bass, gutair, and vocals to it and sent it back and it sounds pretty good consitering I recorded the drums in my livingroom. This have made my practice aat home and band practice much more productive. Well worth the $200.