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Whats yur favorite portable recorder?

#42
Maybe not a fav yet but its a new portable, so figured I'd post here. So I just purchased a Dynasonic PDR-1 portable recorder, bout 130 bucks, was gonna get the Zoom2 but thought I'd try this first, got 60 days to return it so we'll see. Some features: 2 built-in condenser mics, R/L aux mic inputs, R/L volume controls, MP3/Wav, USB cable, 2 lapel mics, earbuds and a built in playback speaker. I just want to place it in rehearsal rooms to be able to play back to myself later, maybe store a few SD's with those rehearsals.

So one thing I keep reading in the manual it says "SD card format type FAT 3 2"?? What does that mean? I just bought 2 - 2 GB SD's for my digicam and thought I could just use one of those in this recorder. Will it not work? Also, recorder comes with 128 MB internal memory. If its like the SD that came with my digicam I know it aint much but about how much would that be timewise to record?

This is my first attempt to use anything to record live band(s) practice besides my old Sony Walkman cassette player/recorder. :rolleyes: So thanks for any replies.
 
#43
FAT32 is file system for disc drives and memory devices. It was created by Microsoft to manage hard drives in Windows based computers. Basically, it's a 32 bit File Allocation Table. The flip side is NTFS used on NT and Professional.

As far as your recording device goes, it should mean jack. It merely states which system is handling the filing system on the memory card. I guess it might create a problem if you format your card on an NT system with NTFS but nothing reformatting wouldn't solve. Just be sure to format the card with your recording device before use. It really shouldn't be a problem.
 
#44
but again, I may be dense or something but what do I need to do to as you say "format the SD card with my recording device"? Is this after recording or do I need to do anything before I even slip the SD card into my new recorder? I bought these generic SD cards on buy.com for my digicam and planned to use one for this new portable recorder. Again sorry just not clear to me yet. :rollno:
 
#45
Check your manual. There should be an option to format the memory card.

Formatting should be done before the first use. The generic SD card may already be formatted but it never hurts to have the device format the card itself. To format the card, simply put the SD card in the recorder and find the format option in the setup menu and let it do it's thing.

Be warned, when you format the card anything on it will be lost. So never format a card that has anything saved to it unless of course you simple want to delete everything from the card.

Did you ever use one of those magnet things to erase everything on a cassette tape? Well, that's sort of like formatting your SD card. :)

EDIT: Check page 61 of your manual.
 
#46
crazywolf, ;) but no never used that magnet device on cassettes, just always recorded right over old info. Anyway, manual only has 16 pages, including back cover but there is a 800 # I can call to get help just have not done that yet. I put the new/blank SD card and the menu went from F for internal memory to C for SD memory as manual said it would. There is no detail on SD cards in this manual so maybe I'll just try to record a little something in a second and see what gives. That should not screw anything up, I hope. I'll just record a little bass from my practice rig over the condenser mics, then pull the SD card to see if it does not playback, guess that'll tell me whether the internal mem or SD card took the info. Now again if I decide to just use the internal mem of 128MB, about how much record time would that allow me? thanks so far, you've been helpful. Peace.
 
#47
opps.....I gave you the H2 manual page number. They always said my reading comprehension was for crap. :)

Either way, if it's modeled after all the digital cameras and recorders and what not, it should have a menu item for SD Card, Setup, or something of the sort with an option to format the card.
 
#49
this thing might be a POS afterall. I slipped the SD card in, set condensor mics at about 1:00, placed recorder a few feet away and bass line I played was pretty distorted. So I placed recorder further away, cond mics on 9:00, higher notes were OK, lower notes still pretty distorted. I imagine setting this up our small practice room with full band might be hard to get even a decent recording done.

Now the SD card just went in to the slot, device menu went from F (internal mem) to C ( SD mem) so that worked ez enough. After I recorded, I pulled the SD card and there is no recording on device so I did that right so far, it did go to the SD. I dont know if the distorted recording I got would be anything more than just the device getting too much signal. Now there is a Mic Level sens setting for H L Off, so maybe it has to be on low sense, I'll try that later or with band practice. Dont know, I got 60 days to use it or send it back, so I may try it at a practice this week. Then if it still sucks I'll send it back and get a Zoom II which is prolly what I shoulda and still should do, but again I'm gonna try it a couple days more and see.

Thanks again locolobo, you were very helpful even if you had to practically draw me pictures :rollno: So Peace to you my brotha. Man that old Sony Walkman cassette was so ez to use back in the day. I went to BestBuy last week to try to buy something like a Walkman to use again, salespuke was like. "Uh, heh heh, no dude, might try Walmart or something, they might still carry some of that stuff" HA HA! f*kin kid, :spit: made me laff too tho. I felt so damn old-(school) ;)
 
#50
Well I got my Zoom H2 a couple of weeks ago, but one of the members of my band got really ill and needed to go in for surgery, so we haven't been able to practice since then. He'll be recovering for the next few weeks, and I hope to get some decent recordings once we start practicing again.

However, I have a little side project thing with a couple of friends, we don't even have a name or any complete songs yet. And I'm not playing bass for it (I'm playing standard guitar). Right now it's just a (female) singer, a bassist, and me. Last night we got a song sketch recorded, nothing amazing or anything, plenty of mistakes, it's just a rough idea of the structure and mood of the tune (which like us, doesn't have a name yet). But it gives a good indication of how decently the Zoom H2 records...

http://www.yousendit.com/download/Y2orb2VBTXZvQUx2Wmc9PQ

The above link should be valid for the next 7 days (does anyone know of any other decent file hosting sites? I usually use sendspace.com but for some reason it's blocked at my work)
 
#52
Ive been using Sony MD recorders for years at our gigs but i think the time has come to go fully digital.
The H2 seems very popular but i have a few questions first.
I normally put the recorder and mic (Sony ECM909 i think) on stage or close by. I set the AGC to low and i get good clean recordings. Will the H2 allow me to do this? the stages can be very small and we can be quite loud close up.
We are only a covers band with just guitar/bass/drums sort of thing but the sony never seems ot distort, unlike other devices i have tried in the past.

And second question. does the H2 have manual level control?

My other potion is to get some sort of recorder to go with my ipod but i would rather a dedicated unit.

thanks for any help.

EDIT: Just downloaded the manual and my questions have been answered. Seems ideal.
 
#53
I haven't delved too deep into my unit but I think you can control the levels manually. There is a 3 point switch (Hi, Mid, Lo). I always set mine to Mid. The above recording was done with the unit right next to my amp in my garage. Granted we were playing quietly. I have also done recordings with the unit on a mic stand raised high above in the middle of a full band rehearsal with the switch set to Mid and it recorded just as cleanly without any distortion. Another feature I like about this unit is that you can record in 4 channel stereo (actually 2 stereo simultaneous tracks using the front mics and rear mics). Pretty cool. Not sure how that can be transferred to a cd but it's cool to listen to.
 
#55
For those of us who like to slow down the tempo for transcription, does the H2 allow for that? I know the Edirol does and it seems that the H4 does. I actually have a Micro BR but want something a little more 'idiot proof'.
 
#57
DWBass said:
I haven't delved too deep into my unit but I think you can control the levels manually. There is a 3 point switch (Hi, Mid, Lo). I always set mine to Mid. The above recording was done with the unit right next to my amp in my garage. Granted we were playing quietly. I have also done recordings with the unit on a mic stand raised high above in the middle of a full band rehearsal with the switch set to Mid and it recorded just as cleanly without any distortion. Another feature I like about this unit is that you can record in 4 channel stereo (actually 2 stereo simultaneous tracks using the front mics and rear mics). Pretty cool. Not sure how that can be transferred to a cd but it's cool to listen to.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. Yes, after looking in the manual i think ill go and get one to replace my MD recorder.
One other thing. when you tunr off the H2 does it keep the settings like record mode/level etc?

Cheers.

This is what ive been using up till now. Record quality is fantastic but its a bit awkward to use on a dark stage. And navigation is a nightmare.
410XEV5TK7L._SL500_AA280_.jpg
 
#59
dave_bass5 said:
Thanks for the reply. Yes, after looking in the manual i think ill go and get one to replace my MD recorder.
One other thing. when you turn off the H2 does it keep the settings like record mode/level etc?

Cheers.

This is what I've been using up till now. Record quality is fantastic but its a bit awkward to use on a dark stage. And navigation is a nightmare.
410XEV5TK7L._SL500_AA280_.jpg
Click to expand...
The H2 is very easy to start and stop recording. Just hit the bright red button in the middle twice to record (twice because the first is sort of a ready mode so you can check sound levels). Once again to stop. I believe it keeps your settings. I basically record all my rehearsals, download onto my PC, edit and store/send to band mates.
 
#60
DWBass said:
The H2 is very easy to start and stop recording. Just hit the bright red button in the middle twice to record (twice because the first is sort of a ready mode so you can check sound levels). Once again to stop. I believe it keeps your settings. I basically record all my rehearsals, download onto my PC, edit and store/send to band mates.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Yes it does sound a lot easier and thats what i do with my band although its gigs, not rehearsals. It can be very depressing for them to hear back what rubbish was being played.

I've always found the controls very fiddly on the Sony, especially trying to navigate through the tracks or using FF and RW.
And it always reverts to AGC when switched on so you have to delve in to the menus.
Might try and track one down tomorrow for the gig on Sat.
 

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