Can anyone suggest a good digital recorder/player for recording tunes at sessions? I am new (but very serious) to Irish trad music and know nothing about digital recording.
Thanks
I have an Olympus DM-20. I set it up on an old music stand in the middle of the group and with the stereo mic I get good separation and sound. It has a built in 128 mb flash memory which allows for up to 48 hours of recording in standard mode. In stereo mode you get about 8 hours.
You can download via USB to your computer and edit, add comments, add noise reduction. etc. You can slow the tunes down by as much as 50% or speed them up to 200% as well. I have learned many tunes this way.
The files are saved in WMA format, which is windows media.
I listen to the previous week's sesh while I work on the computer.
Uses two AAA rechargeable batteries which easily last 4 hours.
Any recording device will do. If your anything like me you'll end with tons of music and little time to do anything with it. What im saying is dont get bogged down with technical bumph - its more trouble than its worth.
i LOVE my Sony minidisc MR-10 (gee I hope that's the right number!!) In any case is was $280 on ebay, brand new, and has the famous great little sony stereo mike. It takes 1G minidiscs, $6.00 or so each. It also is recognized as a hard drive, though only with a PC, not MAC as far as I know. They have the same thing for $100 more that has a light up display, if you feel you need it in the dark....it would be handy, I just didn't see spending $100 for a backlight. That one is MR-100.
I am getting near CD quality recordings. I can bring them into Audacity after the easy conversion on PC to a WAV file, and edit them further if need be. I find it records slightly too treble for my tastes. There is an EQ on the machine to listen more bassey, or raise midtones or whatever, but I haven't been able to make it record differently. Still it is only very slight and maybe it's just sounding that way due to my crappy car stereo where I mostly listen. You can also just adjust the settings on the CD player you ultimately use if desired.
The recordings are clean and just amazing. You can hold up to 45 hours of music on one disc. It will also take regular minidiscs, 287MG or so.
What's also great is each disc can be used to store data, as an extra hard drive and you can move files from one computer to another. I also use it to back up important files.
Yeah, as much as I hate Sony these days, I still think HiMD wins for our purposes. Especially (a) if you are attending a week-long music festival and (b) you don't want to lug a computer around with you for the whole trip. Flash recorders are nice, but practically none of them use external slots with interchangeable media, and there's no way I'd buy the 8-10 flash cards needed to record a week's worth of sessions and workshops. 8-10 MDs is dirt cheap though.
For average "consumers" HDD and flash-based players may be great. For musicians, they are just impractical.
Hi all,
I ordered a Sony MZRH910 Hi-MD recorder last fall from SonyStyle online. It was a musician's kit that included a stereo mic 6 MDs and Acid Express music editting software. I loved it! BUT I only received 1 disc instead of 6 and I never got the software. I spent 8 hours total on the phone trying to get them to send me the software (I did eventually get the discs). The ineptitude of their customer service and tech support departments was astounding.
I took it to a music festival and recorded the classes that I took and it sounded great. It was easy to operate, unlimited storage capacity.
I highly recommend the device (if they still make it) but I recommend that you go to a store and get it, don't order it online. I finally sent mine back for a full refund because they couldn't get their act together long enough to put the software in the box and send it to me.
Thanks for all your input. It was very helpful. I finally went with iRiver and just love it. I've even used it to burn some old LPs that have long been out of print onto CDs, without noticible loss of quality.
Digital recorder info request
Digital recorder info request
Can anyone suggest a good digital recorder/player for recording tunes at sessions? I am new (but very serious) to Irish trad music and know nothing about digital recording.
Thanks
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by dread
Re: Digital recorder info request
I have an Olympus DM-20. I set it up on an old music stand in the middle of the group and with the stereo mic I get good separation and sound. It has a built in 128 mb flash memory which allows for up to 48 hours of recording in standard mode. In stereo mode you get about 8 hours.
You can download via USB to your computer and edit, add comments, add noise reduction. etc. You can slow the tunes down by as much as 50% or speed them up to 200% as well. I have learned many tunes this way.
The files are saved in WMA format, which is windows media.
I listen to the previous week's sesh while I work on the computer.
Uses two AAA rechargeable batteries which easily last 4 hours.
Cost about $ 175 US with rebates.
Roger
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by rogfox
Re: Digital recorder info request
That sounds brillliant Roger just what I'm looking for too. Would it work just sitting on the table?
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by flossie
Re: Digital recorder info request
Any recording device will do. If your anything like me you'll end with tons of music and little time to do anything with it. What im saying is dont get bogged down with technical bumph - its more trouble than its worth.
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by Newty
Re: Digital recorder info request
You can sit it on the table, floor, hang it from the ceiling... I found that trying to find the center of the group gives you the best separation.
I forgot to mention that you can download mp3's from your computer and listen to them through the included ear buds.
Roger
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by rogfox
Re: Digital recorder info request
Do either of these devices have an input for an external microphone?
# Posted on April 1st 2006 by stevebenn
Re: Digital recorder info request
The Olympus has a mic input and comes with an external mic that has remote control functions built into the mic.
The stereo mic plugs into this input as well. I have the Olympus ME-51S, but you can use any mic with a 1/8" plug.
http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=921
# Posted on April 2nd 2006 by rogfox
Re: Digital recorder info request
HeyRodfox-What brand of mic do you use? -Thanks D
# Posted on April 2nd 2006 by dorian
Re: Digital recorder info request
Oh ya, Guess I missed your last post -D
# Posted on April 2nd 2006 by dorian
Re: Digital recorder info request
i LOVE my Sony minidisc MR-10 (gee I hope that's the right number!!) In any case is was $280 on ebay, brand new, and has the famous great little sony stereo mike. It takes 1G minidiscs, $6.00 or so each. It also is recognized as a hard drive, though only with a PC, not MAC as far as I know. They have the same thing for $100 more that has a light up display, if you feel you need it in the dark....it would be handy, I just didn't see spending $100 for a backlight. That one is MR-100.
I am getting near CD quality recordings. I can bring them into Audacity after the easy conversion on PC to a WAV file, and edit them further if need be. I find it records slightly too treble for my tastes. There is an EQ on the machine to listen more bassey, or raise midtones or whatever, but I haven't been able to make it record differently. Still it is only very slight and maybe it's just sounding that way due to my crappy car stereo where I mostly listen. You can also just adjust the settings on the CD player you ultimately use if desired.
The recordings are clean and just amazing. You can hold up to 45 hours of music on one disc. It will also take regular minidiscs, 287MG or so.
What's also great is each disc can be used to store data, as an extra hard drive and you can move files from one computer to another. I also use it to back up important files.
# Posted on April 2nd 2006 by irisnevins
Re: Digital recorder info request
Yeah, as much as I hate Sony these days, I still think HiMD wins for our purposes. Especially (a) if you are attending a week-long music festival and (b) you don't want to lug a computer around with you for the whole trip. Flash recorders are nice, but practically none of them use external slots with interchangeable media, and there's no way I'd buy the 8-10 flash cards needed to record a week's worth of sessions and workshops. 8-10 MDs is dirt cheap though.
For average "consumers" HDD and flash-based players may be great. For musicians, they are just impractical.
# Posted on April 3rd 2006 by HighlandSun
Re: Digital recorder info request
Hi all,
I ordered a Sony MZRH910 Hi-MD recorder last fall from SonyStyle online. It was a musician's kit that included a stereo mic 6 MDs and Acid Express music editting software. I loved it! BUT I only received 1 disc instead of 6 and I never got the software. I spent 8 hours total on the phone trying to get them to send me the software (I did eventually get the discs). The ineptitude of their customer service and tech support departments was astounding.
I took it to a music festival and recorded the classes that I took and it sounded great. It was easy to operate, unlimited storage capacity.
I highly recommend the device (if they still make it) but I recommend that you go to a store and get it, don't order it online. I finally sent mine back for a full refund because they couldn't get their act together long enough to put the software in the box and send it to me.
Aubrey
# Posted on April 13th 2006 by Aubrey
Re: Digital recorder info request
Thanks for all your input. It was very helpful. I finally went with iRiver and just love it. I've even used it to burn some old LPs that have long been out of print onto CDs, without noticible loss of quality.
# Posted on October 12th 2006 by dread