Digital home recording gear

[kenlarsson]

Claire has given me the go ahead to get a digital multi track recorder for Christmas. I'd like to use it to make a CD of my stuff and make a CD of the guitar club's material, individual and group.
I don't want a program for my computer as my house is too noisy with my kid and the dogs to record here. I'd also like to record some live performances. We'd probably record at my buddy Curts house. I'm thinking of the Fostex MR-8 but I'm open to suggestions as I don't know much in this area. I'd like to keep it under $300.00, $400.00 max.

Any help or ideas will be greatly appreciated.

[gbacklin]

Hello,

Is your want to make a CD for yourself and live performances, for reasonable sounding recordings for keepsake purposes ? Then get a recorder that will be easy for you to work. One piece of advice that I received so I spread it around is...Do not overlook the importance of a good mic.

If you are looking to get a quality in the realm of the CD's that you have heard other forumites get produced, it will probably take a little more than $400 for a complete package.

You can get reasonable sounding recordings, that you and friends can enjoy, just make sure......you get a good mic

Take Care,
Gene

[Deleted]

I had a fairly high end home deck, the Korg 1200, and could never get the hang of it. Recently picked up the Boss 600 ($400) and I'm in boss hog recording heaven now. It is very simple to use, it is compact, friendly, and has enough effects and such to give you tools without overwhelming you. No phantom power is the only drag, but easy enough to solve. Highly recommended!
Mike

[Deleted]

I have the Korg 1200, and also find it a bit hard to work with. I can record the whole band at once with it, which is great for practice tapes, but applying effects and eq are very non-intuitive, and the manual is a nightmare. Even simple recording takes a while to get sorted out. I would have got one that was much simpler, except that I was trading a guitar for it. I mostly just use it for practice tapes.

Much as I'm not a good example of this, the mics matter much more anyhow.

Hope this helps,

Paul

[kenlarsson]

OK, thanks all. The MR-8 would probably work as a recording device but what would work as decent but affordable mikes?

[Deleted]

You cant go wrong with a shure 57 or 58.

[John B]

Definitely read the manual on the MR-8. And get a good-sized CF card (check on the Fostex site for compatible cards).

Signed,
An MR-8 user who can't remember some key steps in the recording process, and who can only capture a very short song anyway

[Tim Alexander (fmrly. Camalex)]

Ken -- I am looking into seriously buying one of those Edirols (with a 4GB flash card) for the precise purpose you've described. Instead of spending thousands on mic/preamps/mixing board/soundcards etc. I figure this recorder will do everything I need to record solo guitar material (I am not tracking anything separately though).

Doug Young wrote up a very nice review of the Edirol R-09 in AG magazine this/last month and we've been exchanging e-mails on this same subject for the past 2 days. I'm thinking that if I had a quiet/acoustically "silent" room to record in, an Edirol R-09 (with its internal mic's) would be more than sufficient for high quality "scratch" recordings that I might even get my studio (Target Studios) to edit/master/dress up for me. I am eyeballing a large walk-in interior closet to sound proof and convert for this purpose.

Plus I can get a great price ($320 no tax/no shipping) on a new Edirol R-09 through work. Hard to pass up. Total investment for this mini-studio might be $400.

[Deleted]

I also found it helpful to have extra cables(Monster) and a multi Instrument tuner( GoGo clip on tuner) handy to be safe.

[Deleted]

I've got a MR-8 that has gone all over the planet with me. There's a built-in condenser mic that comes in very handy if you get an idea for a song in the middle of the night. Being solid state (uses compact flash drives, like a SD-RAM card) it uses very little juice, so it can run for a couple hours on battery with the backlight off. The sound quality is surprisingly good, and Fostex has software that lets ya take the sound files over to your computer later for editing. And yes, it CAN provide phantom power for large diaphragm mics (though I suggest plugging it in if you're going to do so.)
That said, there's a rather hefty learning curve. Gotta readjust your logic to figure out how to edit. It's very much possible to edit on it, but you'll need to plan ahead.
I hear the MR-8s without CD are going for very little money on Ebay these days. Be sure to get at least the Mk II, if you go for it.

Now, what *I* got most recently: While I still have the MR8, and don't see myself ever giving it up, it IS limited, and even burning a mix down to CD is a pain, as you have to mix everything down to stereo on 7&8, THEN mix them down to a stereo .wav file, THEN burn 'em to CD... and it's still only 8 tracks after bouncing. So...

I had a Korg D3200. Excellent machine, no major issues. But they're quite a bit more, even used, than your budget. Mine too, lately. So I bought a Tascam 2488 Neo. This new version has none of the issues the original 2488s had. It has some built-in effects, EQ, etc., tracks are assignable, digital routing, etc. 160 GB HD inside... 24 track and a built-in CDRW as well as the USB interface to allow ya to take tracks directly into your computer for use with Digital Performer or Sonar Producer or whatever else. I got a smokin' deal from Zzounds ($550, free ship, no tax, divided into 4 payments). They're usually $650 these days, but it's DEFINITELY worth the small amount more to get this much room, ease of use, etc. There are so many strong features and effects, compression, a metronome, etc. in the 2488 Neo, it's impossible to even consider anything else (unless you MUST have battery operation.) It's still portable... highly recommended.

Good luck, whatever you choose!

[Deleted]

Mar 23, 2007 10:22:05 GMT -5 Tim Alexander (fmrly. Camalex) said:

Ken -- I am looking into seriously buying one of those Edirols (with a 4GB flash card) for the precise purpose you've described. Instead of spending thousands on mic/preamps/mixing board/soundcards etc. I figure this recorder will do everything I need to record solo guitar material (I am not tracking anything separately though).

Doug Young wrote up a very nice review of the Edirol R-09 in AG magazine this/last month and we've been exchanging e-mails on this same subject for the past 2 days. I'm thinking that if I had a quiet/acoustically "silent" room to record in, an Edirol R-09 (with its internal mic's) would be more than sufficient for high quality "scratch" recordings that I might even get my studio (Target Studios) to edit/master/dress up for me. I am eyeballing a large walk-in interior closet to sound proof and convert for this purpose.

Plus I can get a great price ($320 no tax/no shipping) on a new Edirol R-09 through work. Hard to pass up. Total investment for this mini-studio might be $400.

Tim,

How would the Zoom H4N or H2 compare to the Edirol?

The Zoom seems so simple to use.

I've also debated getting good mics and a preamp, but it is not cheap and I truly wonder how significant the sound would be improved (esp. if just for YouTube). There seems to be little concensus on this last point - everybody has an opinion but no one seems to really know.

Thanks,

--Bill

[Deleted]

Sounds nice, professional recording devices can be bulky to carry around. What instruments will you be using during your recording session? You could also try soundproofing the room however the expenses would range from $300 to $500 for a room however you get to have the convenience to record a song anytime you get inspired with a new idea

[Deleted]

I found a used Boss BR-1600 for $400.00. 16 tracks plus virtual tracks. It works great, has lots of options, an internal hard drive and a CD burner. I like it.

[Fingerplucked]

Feb 10, 2016 17:54:17 GMT -5 @badgertom said:

I found a used Boss BR-1600 for $400.00. 16 tracks plus virtual tracks. It works great, has lots of options, an internal hard drive and a CD burner. I like it.

You already bought it?

[Deleted]

Feb 10, 2016 18:08:10 GMT -5 Fingerplucked said:

Feb 10, 2016 17:54:17 GMT -5 @badgertom said:

I found a used Boss BR-1600 for $400.00. 16 tracks plus virtual tracks. It works great, has lots of options, an internal hard drive and a CD burner. I like it.

You already bought it?

Oh. Yes, I've had it for several years now. I was trying to point out the more bang for the buck used market.