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Double Bass Small Affordable Recorder

Ben Rolston

Ben Rolston

Supporting Member
Aug 30, 2006
752
548
Brooklyn, NY
#1
After recently doing two sessions at a local recording studio, I realized it would help me to greatly improve if I had some way of recording myself at home. A friend of mine has a small MP3 player/recorder (probably for voice) by iRiver. It seems easy to use and affordable but I am afraid that the quality of the microphone in it would make it useless for DB frequencies. Does anybody have any experience with this sort of thing?

Thanks much,
Ben

EDIT: maybe the new Boss BR digital recorder would work, anyone have any experience.
 
#2
I don't usually gush about recording gear, but the Edirol R-09 is probably the single most amazing piece of gear I've ever seen. I bought one a few weeks ago, and it's completely amazing. If I get a chance, I'll try to upload a cut I recorded on it from a gig last week. I don't know if you'd call it "affordable" or not, but it's mind bogglingly good.
 
#3
I bought an 8gb Creative Zen mp3 player. This is my second mp3 that has a tiny cell-phone type mic for recording. Not too bad. It's not going to be like DURRL's Edirol but it definitely does the job and doesn't distort while trying to record bass like my previous mp3 player (similar to iRiver).

It records directly to wav files and you obviously can transfer them to/from your computer. Pretty handy! And you have an mp3 player for working out, studying and what not. I've got nothing but jazz on mine.
 
#4
THE TREE said:
Is $399 a reasonable price (ie did you pay in that neighborhood)?
Click to expand...

I paid exactly that. I probably could have found it cheaper, but I wanted to buy from a local store, and there was one about 20 minutes from my house. I also had to spend another $60 or so for a 2gig SD card, since the one that comes with the unit is too small to be of much use for anything but mp3's. If you have a digital camera with an SD card, they could probably share.


Is there a power adaptor?
Click to expand...

There is, but I've never used it. The beauty of the damn thing is that you can just stick in in your pocket or gigbag and go.
 
#6
I don't know what kind of computer you have. You could use an iMic with an iBook and record into Audacity (free). It works with my passive basses, but not my Yamaha TRB1006 (active). I think the iMic was around $40.

If you have $250:
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There are similar recorders for a little less money. I like my Fostex MR-8. It's simple to use and it sounds good. The mp3's on my website were created using my MR-8.


Joe
 
#7
One system that I don't recommend is Sony Hi-MD ... that's the new minidisc format that records 1G / 90 minutes of uncompressed PCM. They look good on paper, are reasonably cheap, and mine produces a really good recording when it's working. Unfortunately mine's turning out to be a really fragile, unreliable unit. Also you have to use the proprietary Sony software to transfer to a computer, which is problematic to say the least as Sony digital rights management has been the subject of controversy for a while. I'd give it a miss.

[edit] +1 on Audacity btw. It sounds good enough for CD, and unlike some of the professional software, it always works.
 
#9
Joshua said:
Is $399 a reasonable price (ie did you pay in that neighborhood)? Is there a power adaptor?
Click to expand...

I think you'll find that a decent portable digital recorder (and there ain't that many of them) together with a decent stereo condensor mic is gonna set you back something not too different from 400 bucks. My Nomad Jukebox 3 with Sound Professionals stereo mic was about that much two years ago and -- though I think together they make a good rig -- it seems to me that the Edirol would be another coupla notches better (solid state memory; one unit instead of two.) I like my rig lots, and I'm not much of a G.A.S. man, but I'd go for the Edirol in an eyeblink.
 
#10
Bassist4Life said:
If you have $250:
Invalid Link Removed

There are similar recorders for a little less money. I like my Fostex MR-8. It's simple to use and it sounds good. The mp3's on my website were created using my MR-8.


Joe
Click to expand...
Thank you for posting this Joe. I have been looking at Boss equipment in the $800 range, however this looks like a MUCH better value. :)
 
#11
I was actually just about to post something about this.

I just bought a digital recorder made by Olympus.

http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-WS-310M-Digital-Recorder-Player/dp/B000BJ0R4E

For purely a reference recorder, I don't think you could do worse for the price. It retails for around $175. I managed to find mine new on ebay for $78. Personally, I think it sounds great. I've recorded a few big band rehearsals and can hear damn near everything. Cymbals tend to be a bit harsh sounding, but I'm still playing with some settings (just got it a few days ago). The Edirol that Chris spoke of is amazing for sure. I've got a friend that has one and it sounds wonderful. However, for the price, I think the Olympus is the way to go. It has stereo recording and a mic output as well. It records as WMA, but it's not too hard to switch WMA to MP3. And what's great is you just plug the recorder directly into the USB port and move the files onto your computer. Also, it's smaller than the Edirol, not that the Edirol recorder is cumbersome by any stretch of the imagination.

Now again, this is purely something I bought for reference. I really wouldn't want to use this for a professional recorder. Maybe a demo or audition recorder, but not much better than that. (Sounds better than some Monk/Trane records I've listened to, though).

I say if you've got the bread, go with the Edirol. Otherwise, I think this recorder is the way to go.
 
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#12
I have a Sony MZ-RH1 Hi-MD recorder. I picked it over some of the other recorders because it can provide plug-in power for mini-mics. The RH1 is very compact and feels well-built. It has decent bias voltage for mics requiring plug-in power and with my Sound Professionals TFB-2 in-ear binaurals, I can make high-quality recordings with very little gear. I often wear the mics when I record my rehearsals which is fun.

It seems that most of the semi-pro CompactFlash/HD recorders begin around $300. There are a couple of low-capacity MP3 recorders available from Sandisk but at only 2GB, they're limited to short recording lengths.

Some other options would be the M-Audio MicroTrack (no onboard mics). Zoom's H4 recorder has built-in small-diaphram condensers. I just read about the Gemini iKey. It's an interface that enables you to record to any iPod, hard disk, flash drive or MP3 player. You'd still need a recorder, though.

Here are some links to those units at the Sound Professional's website:
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Check out this comparison of recorders from Core Sound:
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#13
Chris Fitzgerald said:
Absolutely. It's the closest thing to a perfectly designed piece of gear I've ever owned.
Click to expand...
Damn.
You bastard.

I was hoping that thing would suck. I've been looking at that for months.

GAS is a huge sickness for me.

Put it on the list.
 
#14
Has anyone checked out the new Zoom H4? A friend showed up at a gig the other day with one, built in mics, records to memory card as wav or mp3 and works as a 4 track as well. Checking around it seems these are going for $299 or so. A little bigger than the Edirol but still not to out of hand. It also has xlr and 1/4 inch inputs with phantom power available. Recording my friend did turned out pretty good from the internal mics alone.
 
#19
Chris Fitzgerald said:
I don't usually gush about recording gear, but the Edirol R-09 is probably the single most amazing piece of gear I've ever seen. I bought one a few weeks ago, and it's completely amazing. If I get a chance, I'll try to upload a cut I recorded on it from a gig last week. I don't know if you'd call it "affordable" or not, but it's mind bogglingly good.
Click to expand...

Does it work with your Mac?
 
#20
Freddels said:
Does it work with your Mac?
Click to expand...


Absolutely - I wouldn't own one if it didn't. The best part about the Edirol is the way it interfaces with iTunes on the Mac: Create a new iTunes folder, hook the USB cable from the Edirol up to the Mac, then drag the sound files into the iTunes folder. About 2 minutes later, you're ready to burn a CD. Yowsah!
 

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