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Any of you guys got any experience with a pocket recording device?
Basically I want something small that I can turn on and dump in the middle of the room during practice to record ideas.
Only criteria really is that it has to be digital so I can send out the MP3s to the band, so I guess that 80s style dictaphones are out And it has to be able to cope with the noise levels in a band practice and not just turn everything to distorted clipped mush.
Any ideas?

You can get digital dictaphones now. They probably work with a SD card or similar.

You could also use a tape one and record the mixed to computer fairly simply but the downside to that is that you'd have to do it in realtime so unless you already have one it's not worth it.

I OWN A ZOOM H2 RECORDER ITS THE SIZE OF A MP3 PLAYER, HAS 4 MICS IN IT.


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robroe wrote:ZOOM H2

do this. it's ace. we've found it invaluable.

Cheers, I only worry about whether a regular dictaphone can cope with the volume.
Just saw this in the Dolphin email: LANK

Looks like it would do the job perfectly.
There seem to be a bunch of them varying in price - any experience?

Too slow in posting my reply - will check out the Zoom H2 - thanks guys.

yamaha review (though SoS are very much a 'buy everything' type of reviewer)

I'd say you'd want something with an internal mic that can take 120db or so. Maybe just 100db. That would cover a band adequetely.

that seems fairly similar in spec to the H2, except the H2 has 4 mics like robroe mentioned. it gives you a pretty full stereo image and the input level is extremely fine tuneable. it has various built in compressor things too which automatically stop it clipping, supposedly (i've just set the level beforehand though).

bit of a price difference between those two though. i might have thought twice about the zoom if i'd had to pay new price for it (£160 retail, i think).

Cheers, was just reading that SOS review when you posted it. Seems decent enough and should do the job.
The H2 does look better, but thinking about what I want to do with it - not sure I want to pay full price as you say Stewart.

years ago I used to use an old Tascam 4 track. they have now gone digital and worth a look in my book dp800 lank review or if you want a hand held DR2 lank review

lorez wrote:years ago I used to use an old Tascam 4 track. they have now gone digital and worth a look in my book dp800 lank review or if you want a hand held DR2 lank review

Cheers will take a look. A bit more expensive than what I think I want to spend, but will certainly have a read.

Thom wrote:

lorez wrote:years ago I used to use an old Tascam 4 track. they have now gone digital and worth a look in my book dp800 lank review or if you want a hand held DR2 lank review

Cheers will take a look. A bit more expensive than what I think I want to spend, but will certainly have a read.

I know about the expense but they are the latest versions of what I know and used to trust for practice situation. the good thing is (especially with the 8 track) you can use them in a live situation so recording gigs would be an easy thing also.

lorez wrote:the good thing is (especially with the 8 track) you can use them in a live situation so recording gigs would be an easy thing also.

This is definitely something worth considering, so not writing it off just yet

lorez wrote:

Thom wrote:

lorez wrote:years ago I used to use an old Tascam 4 track. they have now gone digital and worth a look in my book dp800 lank review or if you want a hand held DR2 lank review

Cheers will take a look. A bit more expensive than what I think I want to spend, but will certainly have a read.

I know about the expense but they are the latest versions of what I know and used to trust for practice situation. the good thing is (especially with the 8 track) you can use them in a live situation so recording gigs would be an easy thing also.

It's worth noting that the Tascam DP-008 can only record two simultaneous tracks, which would presumably be used for a stereo image. It also doesn't come with an AC adapter, which is not a standard size or output and costs around 40 USD (27 GBP); this alone kept me from buying one.

My vote is also for the H2. After a bit of looking around, I don't know why it's so damned expensive over there. They can be had for less than 145 USD (97 GBP) here in the states.

avj wrote:My vote is also for the H2. After a bit of looking around, I don't know why it's so damned expensive over there. They can be had for less than 145 USD (97 GBP) here in the states.

yeah, i was looking into getting one shipped over before bassintom's one popped up in the classifieds. you'd need to buy a new power supply too though.

I have the Zoom H4n and I can't say enough good things about it. The sound quality of it is great. I have recorded a couple demo songs recently with the Zoom H4n. You can hear the two songs at my sound click. These were recorded strictly on the Zoom H4n and EZdrummer for the drums. I used a combination of the on board mics and a couple cheap MXL condensor mics to record everything.

http://www.soundclick.com/beasyourfather

I got the Yamaha in the end, largely due to not wanting to spend any more than that. The reviews were good and I tried it out at practice last week. Was really impressed and did exactly what I wanted. Adjusting the mic sensitivity was really easy and the definition was really good.

I'm not sure how into it you are but that sort of thing makes an excellent field recording device. If you make video you can recording your own foley or you could use it to record background sounds for songs if you do any production.

G;ad you got something that does exactly what you want and ticks all the boxes in terms fo size, functionality etc.

where / why are you paying 160 pounds for an h2 ???

they have them for 129 USD at my local best buy. isn't that like 70 pounds ?

robroe wrote:where / why are you paying 160 pounds for an h2 ???

they have them for 129 USD at my local best buy. isn't that like 70 pounds ?

yep more reason how we get the shitty end of the stick Rob, here is a link to the best shoppin prices from Google and even then you aren't likely to get the price advertised.