Portable Recorders ?

Timur · Post by **Timur** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 8:59 pm

I bought the Zoom H2 and used it for recording my vocal lessons. The ability to record front and rear mics on separate tracks is very useful, because so I can playback each with either emphasize on my teacher and the piano (rear) or myself (front). It's small and lightweight and fits on a telescopic camera-tripod which I happen to have around. Recording quality is good enough for my application and it's even useful as an USB mic directly plugging into a notebook without need to carry an additional audio-interface.

I chose to buy an extended warranty (for a total of 4 years) at additional 13 Euro, because I don't trust its buttons to hold forever. Especially the Record, FF and REW buttons are used alot both for recording, playback and using the menus. The later is not the most convinient, especially with only 3 buttons being used for all navigation and the tiny screen, but quick recording and playback doesn't need the menus anyway. <thumbs_up>

glu · Post by **glu** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 10:16 pm

check out the all-natural organic bird beats recorded with the Sony D-50 here...

The first two tunes on the playlist:

1st is all bird sounds
2nd includes squirrel chucks and a bat colony.

http://alonetone.com/glu/playlists/no-themes-2008

I will post more field recordings soon, sans manipulation/sequencing experiments...

forge · Post by **forge** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 7:15 am

glu wrote:check out the all-natural organic bird beats recorded with the Sony D-50 here...

The first two tunes on the playlist:

1st is all bird sounds
2nd includes squirrel chucks and a bat colony.

http://alonetone.com/glu/playlists/no-themes-2008

I will post more field recordings soon, sans manipulation/sequencing experiments...

good stuff man! got a bit of Prince influence in the 3rd one there!

I've been doing some recordings of birds but what I've been doing with it is a lot more experimental, I'll post something soon

boraxx · Post by **boraxx** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:10 pm

i just got meself and H4 and here's what i think

- the sounds quality is pretty awesome. really sounds awesome

- he build is pretty shit. the rec button doesnt really "click" so you just feel like pressing a piece of nothing. i even went back to the store thinking my h4 was faulty, but it turns out most of them were the same

- the plastic-ity of the build makes handing noise a bit pronounces. either get a tripod, leave the thing on the ground, or if u must man-handle it, wear gloves or cover your filthy skin with a sock or something

- the interface is pretty retarded, with two different dials for navigating. but in the end all you want to do is record and play, so you get around it easily

all in all im happy. not perfect but pretty good

aqua_tek · Post by **aqua_tek** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 4:16 pm

glu wrote:check out the all-natural organic bird beats recorded with the Sony D-50 here...

The first two tunes on the playlist:

1st is all bird sounds
2nd includes squirrel chucks and a bat colony.

http://alonetone.com/glu/playlists/no-themes-2008

I will post more field recordings soon, sans manipulation/sequencing experiments...

are you using that big fuzzy windscreen with it? is it really...REALLY... necessary or can i get by without it for a while?

glu · Post by **glu** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 5:44 pm

aqua_tek wrote:
glu wrote:check out the all-natural organic bird beats recorded with the Sony D-50 here...

The first two tunes on the playlist:

1st is all bird sounds
2nd includes squirrel chucks and a bat colony.

http://alonetone.com/glu/playlists/no-themes-2008

I will post more field recordings soon, sans manipulation/sequencing experiments...
are you using that big fuzzy windscreen with it? is it really...REALLY... necessary or can i get by without it for a while?

I would highly recommend it. I am getting my shotgun mic in the mail this week, and I ended up getting a simple foam windscreen for it, this machine is soooooooo supersensitive to wind, pushing buttons,etc.... I would highly recommend something to dampen the wind, and I may end up getting the remote control.

glu · Post by **glu** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 6:20 pm

forge wrote:
glu wrote:check out the all-natural organic bird beats recorded with the Sony D-50 here...

The first two tunes on the playlist:

1st is all bird sounds
2nd includes squirrel chucks and a bat colony.

http://alonetone.com/glu/playlists/no-themes-2008

I will post more field recordings soon, sans manipulation/sequencing experiments...
good stuff man! got a bit of Prince influence in the 3rd one there!

I've been doing some recordings of birds but what I've been doing with it is a lot more experimental, I'll post something soon

Yeah! "Abduct me" is a track about a human trying to serenade an alien.
someone commented that the track is a NIN/Prince baby in the making!
I guess I have some odd influences at times.

Dude, I totally owe you from like two years ago, I said I was working on a somewhat jazzy tune with howler monkeys in the background... you wanted to
hear it, but I didn't finish it for a year or so....

so here it is, the howler monkeys were recorded in Yaxchilan, Chiapas.. they
were actually warring in the trees around the ruins!

second to the last tune- war of the primates..

http://alonetone.com/glu/playlists/protest-music-2006

Post your bird tune! I would love to hear some Aussie love birds!
all the birds in North America are shagging right now, it's fun to watch
the males fight over the females, impressing them with their strength,
full feathers, and loud mack-daddy calls!

went to the gypsy · Post by **went to the gypsy** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 10:51 pm

I use the Edirol R-09. It's a amazing little machine.

The USB jack is a little tricky to get at. It's my only gripe.

-wttg-

babkubwa · Post by **babkubwa** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 11:08 am

I'm thinking of selling my edirol fa 1010 and replacing with a zoom h4, I only ever used the mic inputs on the edirol anyway.

The only thing I need to know is - does the Zoom have a control to balance the monitor mix and computer audio when recording as an audio interface? ie - can I let a vocalist hear less of the beat and more of there dry voice as its going in?

the other thing is the multi tracking. would it be possible to record three top quality mono vocal overdubs over one mono mp3 beat? I'm presuming by four track it means four mono rather than four stereo

Liked those bird /squirrel beats glu! the alonetone site looks like a nice place to host tracks too

Dj Sly20 · Post by **Dj Sly20** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 7:11 pm

I have Zoom H4.
Really please with it.

Angstrom · Post by **Angstrom** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:37 pm

I'm going to get the H2, because it records in quadraphonic

glu · Post by **glu** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:58 pm

babkubwa wrote:
Liked those bird /squirrel beats glu! the alonetone site looks like a nice place to host tracks too

Yeah, the site is great and is also about to get much better- I have been alpha/beta testing the new version.. so if you need a host, check out alonetone- I cannot recommend it enough, the creator is always looking for feedback and ideas.
You can use it to host stuff, set up podcasts, track who is listening to your tunes,
etc. etc. FOR FREE..One would normally have to pay a premium account for some of
the features. It's great, check it out.. oh and thanks for the compliment.

Martyn · Post by **Martyn** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 10:54 pm

Angstrom wrote:I'm going to get the H2, because it records in quadraphonic

It's a nice little machine for the money, I bought one a few months ago. I recorded some nightime ambience at one of my local beaches the other night, it was very calm with virtually no wind. Here's the file;

http://www.dedbird.net/audio/GorranBeac ... rch08.flac

BTW, if anyone wants to use it for something they're more than welcome.

Tarekith · Post by **Tarekith** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:12 pm

Martyn wrote:
Angstrom wrote:I'm going to get the H2, because it records in quadraphonic
It's a nice little machine for the money, I bought one a few months ago. I recorded some nightime ambience at one of my local beaches the other night, it was very calm with virtually no wind. Here's the file;

http://www.dedbird.net/audio/GorranBeac ... rch08.flac

BTW, if anyone wants to use it for something they're more than welcome.

Was that done with the internal mic's? Were you using a tripod?

Martyn · Post by **Martyn** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 8:31 am

Tarekith wrote: Was that done with the internal mic's? Were you using a tripod?

I just stood it on one of the wooden benches that sit on a small promenade in front of the beach, set the mics to the 120 degree setting (H2 facing backwards) and set it recording.