Ableton Forum

another "recommend me an XYZ" thread but i dont think ive seen one on here, and nothing on search..

so field recorders?
something compact but with a stereo pair of mics would be great.. any ideas?
thanks

m-audio microtrack.
or korg mr-1

i know there are more,but i can't seem to remember

Don't have one myself, but I've heard very good things about the Zoom H2 & H4... edit: there's a post on H2 vs H4 on this forum somewhere...

Yep on the strength of the H2 review, I purchased!

And was not sorry, it's a tidy lil machine!

I just picked up a Zoom H4 and I'm loving it. I've been working on editing a lot of the samples I've recorded so to add some nice organic goodness to my music.

My favorite I've recorded so far is a glass door... the tone is so much sweeter than I would have imagined.

I was doing a lot of searching before picking this up and from what I read it had the best responses for the price, and the price was a major concern for me, otherwise I would bought the new H4n.

This has stereo mics, which can be changed to mono. You can also add two external XLR mics or connect to something like a guitar, bass, etc...

If you hook it up to your computer, you can use the H4 as an asio sound card and record directly into Live (or any other host) even using the built in FX, which are pretty tasty. I should add that you can't use the FX recording directly to the memory card, unless you use the 4 track recording options, which I just haven't messed with at all.

The quality of the built in stereo mics are very nice. You can record up to 24 bit 96khz and record as MP3 if you so choose. While using the built in mics, you can use the compressor/limiter options which can be nice for some situations depending on your inteded use.

Anyways, my vote stays with the H4, but definitely do your homework since there's a lot of options out there.

Zoom H4N. F'getboutit.

St JOhn, I suggest you precis two things :
- what do you want to do with the sounds ?
- what is your budget ?


cause, H2 and H4 are "ok" for the price.
But I think they sound bad.
(my roomate had one, I used it several times, both with built-in mics and some akg mics. he sold it, cause we thought it was not good).
but still, it is useful and quite cheap.

if you are rich, get a Nagra for sure (*dreaming about being rich and getting a nagra for myself*)

this page lists most of the currently available units:

http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/audio/p ... omparison/

and there are some more good reviews here:

http://www.proaudioreview.com/section/RecordersPlayers

I have Yamahas Pocketrak 2G. Sound is decent (not excellent by any means, haven't compared it with other similar things though). It's easy to use and only thing that still attracts me is that it looks good and is tinier than my cell phone.

Can't wait to get a Sony PCM-D50 myself.

Another Zoom H2 user here. In my opinion, it's definitely OK in its price range. I purchased mine after trying one out, and now there are already three of these in use at nearby friends .

My main use for it is catching all kinds of incidental sounds when walking around in various places. It's so small it fits effortlessly in a jacket pocket, so it's like having a snapshot "audio camera" with you, just in case you hear something intriguing.

Loves my Edirol R-09HR!

Nick the Zombie wrote:Loves my Edirol R-09HR!

How do you love a portable fileld-recorder? (asks a man who has recently divorced and is trying to increase his post count)

LeifonMars wrote:

Nick the Zombie wrote:Loves my Edirol R-09HR!

How do you love a portable fileld-recorder? (asks a man who has recently divorced and is trying to increase his post count)

It's complicated, and a little gross, but it results in some neat sampler fodder

lots infos here
http://www.taperssection.com/