Looking for a good field recorder

[silver bass]

I need a good portable recorder for recording my song ideas. I'm the only one who is writing music in my band and i need a easy and affordable way to show them my songs. If you have one or know of any good ones let me know.
Thanks

[ReBass]

Depends on what your budget is. I have and use a Sony PCM-D50 and love it, but it's pricey. There are lower cost alternatives that I'm sure others here have used.

[scowboy]

I picked up a Yamaha Pocketrak 2G at GC for $200. It sounds great and its super tiny. I use it to record the little acoustic thing I play with every other Wednesday its all very hearable. The bass is right there so I can critique myself!

Scott

[Noelb]

+1

You definitely want a Yamaha Pocketrack 2G. I write songs Myself and this Baby has changed my life. The fact that it is so small is, well, the BIGGEST benefit. I don't know if you're like me, but I can get a "hunch" for a new song anywhere, anytime. The 2G is always with me, so I can hum a rough Idea into the recorder and later on finish the idea at home.

Also the battery life is super long, son I never worry about runing out of juice.

Of course there are some recorders out there with better sound quality (the Zoom H2 is actually a steal in this respect). But you'll find yourself leaving it at home mostly after a while.

Best of luck

[rakirksey]

I use a Zoom H2 that I bought for a little under $200. If you do a search there are some other similar discussions. To show song ideas though, you don't need hi fidelity. I have a friend that has the Olympus LS-10 and it gets great results.

[groooooove]

im another one loving the yamaha pocketrak. sometimes i do feel like i shouldve gotten the zoom h2, but i agree that if i had that i wouldent have it at every gig. the pocketrak is always hanging from the lead vocal mic stand, and captures a half-decent representation of what our gig sounded like.

if your in a small room, and put it in the middle, you can get really good demos done. it wont sound like something off of your favorite radio station, but it will definately be enough to make a demo of your live sound for club owners to hear.

[OlSkewl56]

Originally Posted by groooooove

im another one loving the yamaha pocketrak. sometimes i do feel like i shouldve gotten the zoom h2, but i agree that if i had that i wouldent have it at every gig. the pocketrak is always hanging from the lead vocal mic stand, and captures a half-decent representation of what our gig sounded like.

if your in a small room, and put it in the middle, you can get really good demos done. it wont sound like something off of your favorite radio station, but it will definately be enough to make a demo of your live sound for club owners to hear.

How many in your band?

[groooooove]

Originally Posted by OlSkewl56

How many in your band?

my main band is a 3 piece, wich does make it easy to get field recordings to work. however i've also recorded a big band of ~20 people, and got great results doing that too.

[tmw]

Zoom H2. Eight piece band with 2 horns, 2 guitars, 2 percussionists, loud drummer and me. We record every rehearsal and the sound is quite good. The recorded not always the band... I've had it for over a year and it works quite well. I would recommed reading thr directions, so as not to waste a great deal of time and create unnecessary frustration.

[Stinsok]

A friend of the band brought one of these to a gig and recorded a couple sets. I was knocked out by the sound he got from the two built in condenser mics. They can be found cheaper used.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Boss-BR-600-8-Tr...lenotsupported

[James Hart]

Another Zoom H2 vote... best piece of gear I've bought in a long time.

[CamMcIntyre]

I use an Edirol R09. I like it. I use it to record my jazz/free trio and make sub recordings of theatre gigs.