What is a good digital recorder for recording live shows?

[Mantis Tobaggan]

Preferably one that can handle high volume and won't break the bank... Thanks!

 

[EastCoastThump]

That depends. What do you need to do with the recordings?

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

That depends. What do you need to do with the recordings?

Just for us to listen to and revel in how hard we rocked

 

[EastCoastThump]

In that case, you can get decent results w/ the built-in mics of a stereo handheld digital recorder. Zoom, Tascam, and Yamaha all have decent small recorders ~ $100-150. But be prepared to experiment with placement and mic sensitivity. If your band is loud, putting the recorder far enough back in the room to avoid a huge blur can also give you random loud crowd conversation, glass clinks, etc—tending to somewhat obscure the impeccable majesty of your rocking-out.

 

[EastCoastThump]

It's just a personal thing, but I like these well enough for non-critical recordings of jazz, folk, classical, and choral music. But casual digital recordings of loud guitar bands always leave me badly wanting to remix or edit at least a couple things. Whether rough-document recordings scratch your itch will depend on how OCD you are about sound.

 

[Roland GR 88]

The Tascam DR44 is pretty good. $250.00 and you get 4 tracks of recording with the 2 built in mics and 2 XLR inputs. It has a neat feature that records a ghost track at a lower input level in case your regular tracks are too hot. Built in WI-FI so it can be controlled from the stage and easy transfer to your phone.

 

[hrodbert696]

Zoom Q2 is affordable, has video with good sound quality, you can attenuate the gain for high volume so it doesn't clip. Just for generally documenting gigs for your own review or putting on a website it works great.

 

[4Mal]

The old Zoom H4 does a nice job.

 

[MakoMan]

Zoom H1.... inexpensive, simple and it works.

 

[ack]

I use the Zoom Q2HD to record audio/video of live shows and rehearsals.
Usually, I pop out the card and upload the videos to my laptop and the cloud for sharing.

It's tiny and simple to use. It has adjustable mic angles and can handle 64GB SD card.
But...can also eat batteries at 1080 video, so AC power for longer shows is essential.

 

[omie]

Tascam DR-40. $149. Its worth it.

 

[hsech]

I use a Zoom H4n in battery saver mode and with a remote control. It works for us and I can pause it between songs via the remote.

 

[47VevetS]

GoPro