Portable Digital Recorders

donv

Silver Member
Is anyone using one? Any opinions on which ones are good for recording praticing drums and rehearseals? I'd like to pick one up this weekend and keep it under $300 which I know is going to limit the choices. Thanks.
 
i swear by my zoom h2 field recorder. it records directly to mp3 or hi-res wav formats, has built-in condensers and limiters, and looks like a usb hard drive to your computer. it has very decent built in microphones. i've recorded a ton of stuff with it. it's capacity is only limited by what size sd memory card you put in it.

a friend of mine has an edirol recorder that's similar to the zoom but has some nice features i wouldn't mind having in the zoom, like a built-in speaker and a wireless remote.
 
+1 Dairyairman - I've got one of those H2's as well. Hard to beat for value imo. It's the most honest critic I own... ;-)
 
indeed! my self opinion as a drummer got knocked down a few levels after i got mine. it's a heartless critic!
 
I have a Tascam DR-07. It's small and light weight. The recordings using the built-in Mics are OK, but the recordings made using line inputs were GREAT. Very low noise. The DR-07 has a built-in limiter which is also very useful. It came with a 2Gb SD card, but that won't capture more than a couple of hours. I bought an 8Gb SD card for it and I haven't run out yet.
 
Zoom H2, Great little recorder. I saw one today I think on Amazon.com for $149.00
 
I have the H4 Zoom and it will do more than I need it to do.
 
I bought and H2 Zoom a few weeks ago and the record / enter button stopped working. Until then the recording quality was not bad for a small unit, similar to our keyboardist's iRiver.

I've just emailed the shop and see what can be done. I had great expectations because so many people have talked it up so it's disappointing.
 
that certainly sounds like something that would be covered under warranty. mine is still going strong after a year and a half, and i use it all the time.
 
My first one stopped reading the memory cards. I purchased it off eBay so I was nervous. The seller took it back and shipped me a new one.
 
I bought and H2 Zoom a few weeks ago and the record / enter button stopped working. Until then the recording quality was not bad for a small unit, similar to our keyboardist's iRiver.

I've just emailed the shop and see what can be done. I had great expectations because so many people have talked it up so it's disappointing.
I had a problem with my scroll wheel and they took it back, expedited the return since I had only had it for a while, and I had it back just over a week.
 
I've been using the Edirol R-09 for over two years now recording practices and live gigs, not one issue with the unit and very nice recording quality. There is a HD unit out now with even better quality.
 
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I use a Fostex MR-8D http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.co...ital-Recorder-with-40GB-Hard-Drive?sku=240341

At first it was a pain in the neck to learn, but once you get the hang of it, you'll love it. And if you play guitar, you can plug a guitar into it and it has distortion effects.

I usually put one mike at the front of my bass drum head and the other one I put as far up over the drum-kit. Using the H2 probably is easier and if I played with other people, it would most likely be the way to go.
 
I've used a Yamaha PockeTrak for more than a year. Built-in USB that charges it also, excellent mics, adjustable gain, incredibly compact, very simple and easy, 2 gigs of memory will last more than a day on high resolution recording. Also makes a good little mp3 player. Just turn it on and set it down and you get a good recording with no fussing. At least five PockeTracks could fit in a Zoom.

The tradeoff is that it only has one small 1/8 in mic input. But my thinking is that if you want an excellent recording, go to a studio. If you want a good recording of a gig or practice for later critiquing, you don't want to fuss with anything, you don't want to master a huge manual and you want something that fits in your shirt pocket, the PockeTrak can't be beat. It listed for $400 and I got it for $300 but that was when they first came out so you should get one for well under that now.
 
I've also been thinking about the Zoom H2.

Would anyone be able to post up links to either of these?

1) Audio of their kit recorded with the H2
2) Audio of a band rehearsal with the H2

I wanted to hear the clarity over the less expensive mini disc / walkman type recordings.

Thanks in advance.
 
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