Field recorders

[Rig]

I've been wanting to get a field recorder for a while, because there's too many cool sounds out there that happen spontaneously or are too big to drag home and record. I'm looking for a self-contained unit, with good built-in mics (I don't care for extra effects and bling...just quality of the sound) and ability to record a 24/96 wav. The Zoom H4n caught my eye at first (because it's the cheapest out there and has good reviews), but I've been hearing a lot of good things about the Tascam DR-100.

Do you guy have any experience with field recorders? What would you recommend?

[loansindi]

I don't have any personal experience, but I've heard remarkably good things about a yamaha unit. Let me find it.

Yamaha Pocketrak 2g

This sucker is real small so you can always have it with you, and I've heard really good things about the quality (like, stick it in the middle of band practice and get a decent track kinda quality.)

[Nosferatu-of-Worms]

I almost won a field recorder from sweetwater.com

I called back, but the guy never responded.

[loansindi]

At 5/14/09 10:23 PM, Nosferatu-of-Worms wrote: I almost won a field recorder from sweetwater.com

I called back, but the guy never responded.

Which guy was it? I can head over there and kick some ass.

[Rig]

At 5/14/09 09:33 PM, loansindi wrote: Yamaha Pocketrak 2g
This sucker is real small so you can always have it with you, and I've heard really good things about the quality (like, stick it in the middle of band practice and get a decent track kinda quality.)

Frankly, that's not good enough for what I want to do.

[loansindi]

At 5/15/09 07:05 PM, Rig wrote:

At 5/14/09 09:33 PM, loansindi wrote: Yamaha Pocketrak 2g
This sucker is real small so you can always have it with you, and I've heard really good things about the quality (like, stick it in the middle of band practice and get a decent track kinda quality.)

Frankly, that's not good enough for what I want to do.

Well, zoom is kind of the go-to name in field recorders. never really heard a bad thing about them.

[Rig]

Just found a site that did noise floor tests with a whole bunch of popular field recorders.

The Sony PCM-D1 sounds AMAZING, but it's $2K. The Sony PCM-D50 sounds second best, but the hardware itself is dumb (Memory Sticks only, stupid Sony proprietary media) and it's missing important accessories like a wind sock and a tripod. Sony being Sony, of course, they sell them separately for an arm and a leg, respectively. If it weren't for that, I'd buy it.

The Zoom H4n and the Tascam D-100, the two I'm most interested in, both have annoying noise floors. The Tascam is quieter and is less hissy, but it has a high-pitched beep every second - it's probably the memory being written. The Zoom has a smoother floor, but it's a bit louder and covers a larger frequency range, like white noise.

Hm, that Sony PCM-D50 is looking pretty good right now. It has an amazing battery life and great sound, but accessories are through the roof.

WHAT SHOULD I DO D:

[nathanallenpinard]

Er...well. Marantz makes high quality stuff too, as well as Sound Devices, but both of those are high price range. The Zoom is probably the way to go for a low price.

Still...better than Sony. They overprice their stuff too much.

[Syntrus]

merrantz recorder. or gtfo

[Rig]

At 5/15/09 09:12 PM, nathanallenpinard wrote: Er...well. Marantz makes high quality stuff too, as well as Sound Devices, but both of those are high price range. The Zoom is probably the way to go for a low price.

I've been debating with myself whether to pay a higher price for better quality. That raises the question of how much will I pay for near-pristine sound, meaning the lowest noise floor I can get. The Marantz has a noise floor like a jet engine, so I don't think I'll get that.

At 5/15/09 09:41 PM, Syntrus wrote: merrantz recorder. or gtfo

Read the above statement plz lol.

Much as I hate to say it, the Sony is looking good right now, thanks to eBay.

[Kingbastard]

The Sony is an excellent choice and if you can get it cheaper than it's retail on ebay then I'd say go for it as the extras you'll need will probably only amount to just over the full retail price when added to the ebay price anyway. I don't think you can scrimp with a product of this nature, you absolutely get what you pay for and if it's crisp field recordings you want then the Sony will definitely do the job, it'll just leave a scorch mark in your wallet:)

[Rucklo]

i've used the H4-zoom on numerous occations, and i own a Microtrack II - the microtrack is slightly better, i think it has a wee bit less background hiss. the menu-system is alot smoother too, and it's a little bit smaller. it has phantom feed, and you can record stereo. a decent x-y mic comes wit hthe package. the connections are normal jacks, so you might wanna get wires that are xlr in one end for the mic, and jacks in the other.

the battery time is decent too. you charge it with your USB or you can connect a plug on the USB and then straight into the power net, meaning you wont have to jerk around with one cable for the comp, and one for the

i like it alot, tho i havent gotten around to use it as much as i would like to. this summer tho... this summer... :)

[SineRider]

Damn thanks Rig. Now I'm going to save up and pick up one of those Zoom H4n. Looks sweet :D

[Rig]

At 5/16/09 05:10 AM, Kingbastard wrote: I don't think you can scrimp with a product of this nature, you absolutely get what you pay for and if it's crisp field recordings you want then the Sony will definitely do the job, it'll just leave a scorch mark in your wallet:)

That conundrum is what it's boiled down to for me...I'm re-evaluating how much I want to pay for great quality. I found one for $399 US online, so the scorch mark isn't quite as deep as before...

I'M GETTING THE SONY GUISE

[Bjra]

yeah, make sure whatever you get makes it really quick to turn on and tart recording, if you want to catch something, and it takes 3 hours to start up, well you get the idea

[Rig]

At 5/16/09 12:32 PM, Bjra wrote: yeah, make sure whatever you get makes it really quick to turn on and tart recording, if you want to catch something, and it takes 3 hours to start up, well you get the idea

The D50 has a 5-second buffer, so when you hit the record button, it'll include the 5 seconds in the past. Handy if you miss something, lol.
It takes about 6 seconds to start up.

[Mich]

Funny, how I never heard of field recorders before, then someone mentioned it on IRC, and the same day I see this thread :p

I'm interested in getting one (sometime) too, because I'd love to play around with self-recorded samples, recorded with a decent microphone.

But that won't be for all too soon as it's beyond my budget, lol.

I'll be sure to look up this thread again when I have enough money though.

[Rig]

Just got me a slightly used D50 off of eBay for about 200 bucks less than if I got it from a store here in Winnipeg.

I <3 internets.

[Rig]

Aaaaaand here it is!

CRAPPY PHOTO ALERT

[Quarl]

Interesting. I just read this thread and I've been thinking of getting one lately. Let us know what you think :P

[SineRider]

I bought a Zoom H2 a couple months ago. It's so convenient to have.

[Rig]

First impressions:

- Disappointed with the fact that it needs 4 AA batteries instead of being rechargeable.
- Comes with an A/C adapter though, that'll be handy when I'm near a plug.
- Glad that it has 14 hours of recording time.
- Noise floor seems loud when listening to the feed while recording, thankfully it's a lot quieter when you listen to the actual recorded piece.
- Wind sock is CRUCIAL. Lots of disturbance simply by moving the unit back and forth. I have a spare mic sock lying around and stretched it over, works fine, will most likely make my own out of fake fur later (I'm NOT paying $50+ for Sony's version).
- Unit feels solid in my hand. Well constructed. Buttons are very distinguishable from one another by feel alone, should be useful in dark venues. Backlight doesn't affect the sound.
- Mics are very, very sensitive. Awesome.
- Limiter is amazing, you don't even notice it.

The unit also came with over a gig of stuff the previous owner had recorded...some weeeeeird things in here.