Portable Recorder recommendations

A

AnthonyScott

Junior Member
I am looking into a portable recorder (such as the Zooms and Tascams) to record my practicing.
There are a ton of them out there and I am would like some feedback on what you all use and how you like it.
Thanks!
 
Here's my experience. I had an Olympus LS10 and also an LS11. They performed essentially the same. I lost both recorders in separate instances. I paid I think 299 for the LS11. The LS10 and 11 can really take a drop too. I've dropped them from 8 feet up dozens of times.

I had to replace the LS11, it got lifted recently at a gig, so I went to GC and got a Tascam handheld for 99 USD. It records better than the Olympus (I can get a louder, cleaner recording)

My only complaint about the Tascam is the rewind and FF features. Too slow. But the price is right. And the recording quality is perfect for my needs. It uses AA batteries. It does have a "mark" feature that can save your place....if you remember to mark it right before you turn it off. Otherwise it starts at zero.

I didn't want to spend 300 on a gig recorder like I did with the Olympus. I figured recording quality improved since I bought the LS11 about 5 years ago, and I could save some dough. I was right. Better recording for 1/3 the price.

I have no experience with any other brand of recorder.
 
After trying several, I settled on the Zoom H6. It's simple enough to use as a stand-alone stereo recorder, but complicated enough that I can use it as a six-track recorder as well should I want to multitrack something without using a bigger unit.

I also have a Tascam DR50 which is great as a stereo recorder and also the Zoom Q2n, which is stereo plus video, both are really small and cheap in price. But for video I use the Zoom Q8 instead, so having that Q2n was unnecessary.

I like having XLR connectors so I can jack in either the H6 or Q8 to a mixing board.
 
Matt Bo Eder said:
After trying several, I settled on the Zoom H6. It's simple enough to use as a stand-alone stereo recorder, but complicated enough that I can use it as a six-track recorder as well should I want to multitrack something without using a bigger unit.

I also have a Tascam DR50 which is great as a stereo recorder and also the Zoom Q2n, which is stereo plus video, both are really small and cheap in price. But for video I use the Zoom Q8 instead, so having that Q2n was unnecessary.

I like having XLR connectors so I can jack in either the H6 or Q8 to a mixing board.
Click to expand...

I was looking at the Q2n also. But for audio the features seemed limited and I can use my iPhone for video. It does a good job at that. The audio recording sucks though
 
Forgot to ask... how is the clipping when recording drums? That seems to be the main problem in other products I have tried.
 
AnthonyScott said:
Forgot to ask... how is the clipping when recording drums? That seems to be the main problem in other products I have tried.
Click to expand...

The cool thing with the dedicated audio recording devices is the dedicated input level knob. On the Zooms, I'll set it to record and play a bit to see where I'll spike, and then turn the input level down, and I'll adjust my playing to stay there. There's no real way around that. You can put them on auto-input level but it sounds unnatural when you overdrive the mics. It's best to find where you spike, then manual bring the level down, then record with you staying under that threshold.

It's a great way to teach yourself dynamic consistency too.
 
If you just want to record your practice then the Zoom video/audio recorder might suffice. I have the older Zoom Q2HD. It sound pretty good-the snare, kick, cymbals always record well-toms don't record as well though-mic placement with one mic has a lot to do with that too (the best position to see your technique (from the side) isn't always the best to record the sound though (in front of your kit). It's easy so no technical abilities, no syncing nor do you need Garage band or any programs to alter the recording (though you can with their Handyware). I just added the audio of a practice session recorded with my Zoom Q2HD learning a song-lots of warts and was using big ole 2B sticks so kind of cachunky souding on my hihats and loud ghost notes-but you get the idea.
 

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There are decent to very good apps that record well, at various sample rates, with volume settings and limiter on/off capabilities. Shure MOTIV is nice in that respect, and lets you save files to your photo album for easy offloading to a computer (as opposed to having to email the files in order to extract them from the recording app's library... some of them get pretty large.)

Obviously, a phone's mic is not going to be great - or necessarily stereo - so you'll need an add-on. And guess what - Shure makes a really nice stereo mic, the MV88, that plugs into the lightning jack (not sure if there's an Android version.) You can even set the stereo pickup pattern. But, it's not cheap at $159. I wasn't able to find a discount, except finding a used one on ebay. I tend to avoid used electronics, even something as basic as a mic.

So the trade-off is, buy a separate recorder for at least $100, or buy the Shure mic for $159 for the phone you're already carrying.

Regardless, get the Shure app anyway and give it a try, I think you'll like the way it operates. It's free. :)

Bermuda
 
I've used the Zoom h1 for years now (the same one) and it's perfect for this kind of thing. It takes really clear stereo sound.

a few tips:
-get a larger SD card via Amazon, etc. the one it comes with is small.
-make sure to turn off the auto sound cut offs/gates on the back or you will get a very uneven recording.
 
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