LearnGospelMusic.com Community
Gospel Instruments => Bass Guitar => Topic started by: dhagler on September 05, 2009, 01:02:25 PM
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Greetings LGM Family,
After nearly 4 years of using a standard cassette recorder to record rehearsals, I think the time has come to upgrade.
Please share your experiences with using a digital voice recorder:
1. What brand and model do you use?
2. What are the pros and cons of that particular model?
3. How does it do with recording lower frequencies?
Thanks in advance for your responses. :)
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I use a casio exilim digital camera.
Pros: Its also a still + video camera, Good sound quality, even at high volumes. small file sizes, Good battery life, and its rechargable
Cons: it records in wav, not MP3
I'm not sure if the new models have a voice recorder, so you wll have to verify that
PM me ur email and I can send you a sample of recording...
Now I did my an olympus recorder for like $40...and it was crap
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I use a Zoom H2. It records in wav or mp3 and handles low frequencies very well. I haven't found any cons other than it's iffy with certain brands of SD cards especially higher capacity ones (4gb+). 2gn cards will still get you a ton of recording time and I really have no use for anything higher. 2gb cards can be had for cheap these days and I have about 10 of them! I'd post a recording but it is of the secular nature but if anyone wants to hear a recording, PM me.
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Had a Sony digital recorder, but I justuse my iPhone now. It had a digital recorder on it. Crispy CLEAR...
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I use a Zoom H2. It records in wav or mp3 and handles low frequencies very well. I haven't found any cons other than it's iffy with certain brands of SD cards especially higher capacity ones (4gb+). 2gn cards will still get you a ton of recording time and I really have no use for anything higher. 2gb cards can be had for cheap these days and I have about 10 of them! I'd post a recording but it is of the secular nature but if anyone wants to hear a recording, PM me.
I think I may get that one
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I use a Zoom H2. It records in wav or mp3 and handles low frequencies very well. .....
Ditto!
In addition to the quality of the recordings, I really like the easy interface with my computers, both PC and iMac. I like the SurroundSound recording feature. They may over-play it a bit in the claims, but it does allow you to record to the front of the H2 only or to record from both the front and back. I'll try to post a clip from a recent rehearsal or service.
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Dont remember what model mine is, but its an Olympus recorder that part of it comes off and reveals a USB so you can plug the recorder into your computer. Its no where near a Zoom, but for 30 bucks it works quite well and picks up ALOT. If I get the spare loot, I will upgrade to a Zoom H2 though. Great quality and alot of features.
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...I'll try to post a clip from a recent rehearsal or service.
Here's a rehearsal. It's pretty raw in some parts, 'cause we were still experimenting with the arrangements on "Stir Up The Gift". It does give a good example of the range of the H2. The drummer and I were in the same area. The keyboard was about 20 ft from us. The vocalists were probably the same distance away but in a different direction. You can even here one of the vocalists dealing with her kid's nose issues.
http://www.learngospelmusic.com/media/displayimage.php?album=422&pos=22 (http://www.learngospelmusic.com/media/displayimage.php?album=422&pos=22)
And this one is from a service. In this case, the H2 is sitting on top of my speaker cab, near the keyboards and about 5' in front of the drums. The vocalists are about 50' away and off to the left. The guitarist is about 10' off to the right.
http://www.learngospelmusic.com/media/displayimage.php?album=422&pos=10 (http://www.learngospelmusic.com/media/displayimage.php?album=422&pos=10)
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Many thanks for all the responses. The Zoom H2 is an impressive instrument but more costly than I want to invest in this endeavor. I am researching digital voice recorders with USB connectivity in hopes of finding something under $30.
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Many thanks for all the responses. The Zoom H2 is an impressive instrument but more costly than I want to invest in this endeavor. I am researching digital voice recorders with USB connectivity in hopes of finding something under $30.
Good luck with that. maybe you can find something on craigslist, like a minidisc recorder, otherwise you are better off with the tape recorder in terms of sound quality,
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I was considering the TASCAM DR1 digital recorder. Seems kinda pricey, but I like TASCAM. What do you think?
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I was considering the TASCAM DR1 digital recorder. Seems kinda pricey, but I like TASCAM. What do you think?
From what I've seen it's very similar in terms of specs, with the Zoom H2. Probably a little nicer, since it comes with rechargeable lithium batteries. If they were the same price, I's probably go for the TASCAM. Prices I've seen have the Zoom at $169.99 and the TASCAM at $209.99. For that differences, I'd go for the Zoom.
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From what I've seen, the Zoom is bigger than most of the other brands and uses regular batteries. Here's my thing, if you're out in the field and your internal battery dies in the middle of an important recording, you're out of luck. I prefer electronics that use replaceable batteries (except iPods of course). Just my preference. The other brands are all nice and can fit in your pocket. Nice they come with 1gb or higher SD cards as well but you do get a lot of accessories with the Zoom H2. Not sure what comes with the other brands! I can't wait to see the next generation H2. They've already updated the H4 to the H4n.
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I use my laptop.
I plug my laptop mic input to the headphone jack on my mixer.
I use audacity to record. Then I have the ability to burn it to CD which I then hand out to the choir members after practice so they can listen to it wherever they feel like.
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I use my laptop.
I plug my laptop mic input to the headphone jack on my mixer.
I use audacity to record. Then I have the ability to burn it to CD which I then hand out to the choir members after practice so they can listen to it wherever they feel like.
Pros:
I forgot to add that audacity is free.
If you already own a laptop you can save money there.
No need to worry about hard drive space.
The ability to manipulate the audio using audacity.
If you have enough mic inputs on your laptop you could in theory record vocals, bass, keyboard, and drums separately and then combine them using audacity.
The ability to share is greatly enhanced because of the many formats you can output to.
No need to worry about USB compability.
If you don't have a headphone jack to plug into you could just plug a microphone into your laptop and use that.
You can add additional things such as a click track to the song.
The ability to save all your rehersals and then plug your laptop into your bass amp and play it back so everyone can hear how something was done 2 months ago!
Cons:
Laptops are a lot larger and heavier.
Battery life is not as good as a hand held recorder.
Depending on your soundcard you could run into a high pitch hiss sound in the recording. ( I have this problem when it is recording a lot of silence)
If the input is too hot (Loud) you could mess up your soundcard on your laptop.
Audacity can be intimdating. If that is the case just use windows sound recorder.
Assumption: I assume the laptop is a windows computer. (I don't like Macs, and Linux may even be a better option because of the multitude of free software.)
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I use my laptop.
I plug my laptop mic input to the headphone jack on my mixer.
I use audacity to record. Then I have the ability to burn it to CD which I then hand out to the choir members after practice so they can listen to it wherever they feel like.
Why not just send it as an MP3 in an email, rather than burn cds??
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Why not just send it as an MP3 in an email, rather than burn cds??
... That would work and it would be cheaper!!! I don't know why I didn't think of it before.
I know I will still have to make CD's for a few of the older members who don't really understand email as much.
But thanks for the idea.
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I have a laptop but taking it to rehearsals seems cumbersome. Your mileage may vary. One of my group members uses an RCA digital recorder to record rehearsals. His particular model allows him to save the sound files in .voc format, but the included software converts the files to .wav, which he then e-mails to us. The sound quality is not the best, but it is enough to be able to hear what's going on and have something to practice against. So I will probably go that route. It is definitely a step up from my $20 portable cassette recorder. The Zoom H2 looks like a great product but the cost is much more than I choose to spend. I bought a Line 6 TonePort UX2 last year and have barely used it so, for the moment, my needs are very spartan and can be met for mininal expense.
Thanks to everyone who responded. :)
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I think the main idea is portability! Laptops are cool (I have a fully loaded recording studio on mine) but again, in the field, you're limited to the internal battery and most laptops have about an (realistic) hours worth of battery time!
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I think the main idea is portability! Laptops are cool (I have a fully loaded recording studio on mine) but again, in the field, you're limited to the internal battery and most laptops have about an (realistic) hours worth of battery time!
take your power supply with you.
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take your power supply with you.
What if you're out in the field with no access to AC?
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What if you're out in the field with no access to AC?
I thought we were talking about rehearsals. :D
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What if you're out in the field with no access to AC?
How would you play your bass if you have no access to AC?
Then again, like dhagler said the laptop will be too cumbersome.
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Hi guys, I have been reading this site for a couple of years and very rarely post anything of any real value. But... I have a Boss Micro BR recorder that is perfect for recording rehearsals. It also makes a great practice tool. It is a four track recorder, a tuner, an effects box, a drum machine, a metronome, and an MP3 player. Not bad for $200. The internal mic is great for catching the whole band and it can export to MP3.
Al
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An update. I finally settled on the RCA VR5220 Digital Voice Recorder (about $32 on eBay). It has 512 MB of memory and a built in USB jack. If I record in HQ mode I can get 17 hours of recordings in .wav format. Or I can use the Digital Voice Manager software and convert the LP (202 hours) or SP (35 hours) mode recordings from .voc to .wav.
I will try it out this weekend (two rehearsals and a Sunday service) and report back with my findings, maybe even post sound clips. Wish me luck!
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I have one that I bought from Best Buy. It works well. I don't remember the model, though.
I tried a few models, and all my previous ones didn't handle low frequencies well. I think, in general, if you spend below $100 for it, it may very well be crap.
Now, I had one of those mini-cassette recorders that worked really well too, and it was about $30, but transferring data to your computer takes a long time.
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I tried a few models, and all my previous ones didn't handle low frequencies well. I think, in general, if you spend below $100 for it, it may very well be crap.
Crap is in the ear of the beholder. :)
I realize that the sound quality will be much, much less than a more expensive recorder and certainly a Zoom H2. But if I meet my objective--a reasonably faithful recording of my rehearsals that I can archive--then it will be $32 well spent. I wasn't unhappy with my $20 cassette recorder in terms of sound quality, but I didn't have a way to archive without amassing several cassette tapes.
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How would you play your bass if you have no access to AC?
thats a valid scenario. i had a few rehearsals where everything was set up in such a way where i came in and had to plug up into the direct box and come through the board, but i couldnt just come plugging stuff up wherever i wanted. thats how it is sometimes. another where i was at a church where my amp took the last slot on the surge protector to the one outlet in the musicians area. it just happens that way. lol (or is that just me?)
@dhagler, do you have a digital camera? i've recorded some rehearsals like that and the sound was pretty good. plus you get video if you want it. no tapes and battery life is good and memory can be upgraded.
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@dhagler, do you have a digital camera? i've recorded some rehearsals like that and the sound was pretty good. plus you get video if you want it. no tapes and battery life is good and memory can be upgraded.
I do have a digital camera, floaded, just wanted to go in a different direction.
We had a rehearsal last night. I used the recorder in HQ mode (.wav format so no conversion necessary) and I am blown away by the clarity. It was simple to transfer the files to my laptop--just plug the player into a USB port. I line out my laptop to my stereo system so I can hear the bass very clearly. All in all, $32 well spent. The jury is still out on battery life but I could always buy rechargeables.
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I used to use a cassette recorder too but stopped. The hassle of getting the tapes is just too much.
Now i use an "el cheapo" Kodak EasyShare digital camera. Funny enough the quality is very good and i can actually pick up the lower instruments, like the bass, very well.
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thats a valid scenario. i had a few rehearsals where everything was set up in such a way where i came in and had to plug up into the direct box and come through the board, but i couldnt just come plugging stuff up wherever i wanted. thats how it is sometimes. another where i was at a church where my amp took the last slot on the surge protector to the one outlet in the musicians area. it just happens that way. lol (or is that just me?)
hmm never thought about any of those scenarios. Thats one of the reasons i like this place. I can learn from other people experiences without having to actually experience them! ;D
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thats a valid scenario. i had a few rehearsals where everything was set up in such a way where i came in and had to plug up into the direct box and come through the board, but i couldnt just come plugging stuff up wherever i wanted. thats how it is sometimes. another where i was at a church where my amp took the last slot on the surge protector to the one outlet in the musicians area. it just happens that way. lol (or is that just me?)
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That is CERTAINLY not just you. After having that happen to me one too many time, I started keeping an extra surge protector in the back of my rack. Just in case......
I end up using it about 30% of the time. I usually have 3 or 4 plugs going....amp, tuner, Zoom H2, and if I'm using an Alembic, the external power supply.
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I started keeping an extra surge protector in the back of my rack. Just in case......
The orange extension cord. Don't leave home without it. ;)
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The orange extension cord. Don't leave home without it. ;)
Or get a rack mounted power conditioner.
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Or get a rack mounted power conditioner.
That's how you tell the big boys from the amateurs. I don't know what a rack mounted power conditioner is. Heck, I don't even have a rack! ::)
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That's how you tell the big boys from the amateurs. I don't know what a rack mounted power conditioner is. Heck, I don't even have a rack! ::)
Definitely not one of the big boys.
http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-FUR-M8DX (http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-FUR-M8DX)
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nice post;thanks for sharing;I think "Oh give thanks"is from Judith Cristie-Macallister's 1 st cd from 3-4 years ago
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I use my IPOD classic to record. I bought a mic that plugs into the headphone jack. Very convenient.
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I have an olympus personal recorder. It's a great recorder picking up sounds in stereo. It only records wma files but it will play those and mp3s. It takes one AAA battery and has no DC power cord so you will have to buy rechargeable batteries. I used to carry the rayovac batteries in my pocket. Just don't do that with a pocket full of change. :) It has USB to upload files to your computer. Some of the clips I uploaded here were recorded with it but I coverted the quality. If I was home I could upload a file in it's actual quality.
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It's best to look at the recording spec. Some years back when I first bought a digital recorder I went the cheap route and that recorder sounded like a tape recorder. :D
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I use my IPOD classic to record. I bought a mic that plugs into the headphone jack. Very convenient.
That actually works?
I always assumed that a headphone jack could only output sounds not input.
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That actually works?
I always assumed that a headphone jack could only output sounds not input.
Yes it does work. Im not sure how but it does.
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Yes it does work. Im not sure how but it does.
what buttons do you press to record?!?
man i wish i would've known that when i had mine!!!!!!!
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what buttons do you press to record?!?
man i wish i would've known that when i had mine!!!!!!!
the new classics come with that capability, as well as the iPod Touch and Nano
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The jack is a three section one. One section for left and right stereo and one for the mic. I recorded last night up close to the instruments. I set my iPhone on the floor near the monitor. Not a good idea. lol Its all distorted. I'm listening to play back of some recordings right now and the mic on the iPhone can't really take heavy music. It may be different with using a mic through the headphone jack. I will have to try it. There is also this hollow like sound to the recordings. My Olympus recorder sounds better and can handle music from different directions.
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Okay, I understand now what you guys are talking about.
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what buttons do you press to record?!?
When you plug in the mic, it automatically starts the record mode. The screen will give you the option of starting to record or stopping. Also it tells you how long you've recorded.
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For the last 7 years, I've used my Creative Zen to record rehearsals, I also use it to store and play back songs that we'll play on Sunday too ... two real good features of the Creative MP3 player is (1) you can scroll backwards to replay a particular portion of the song (you can't beat this when you want to hear just one lick over and over until you get it) and (2) you can use the software to assign names to the rehearsal tunes so you can save them in your PC file system and locate them in the future by name ...
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It's me again. ::)
My RCA digital recorder crapped out on me so I returned it to buy.com and they refunded the purchase price (shipping was free so no loss there).
The next recorder I will try is the Olympus WS-210S. A little more expensive than the RCA but better reviews.
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I think you will be satisfied with the sound. Only cons are:
Saves only in wma
No DC adapter plug port
Speaker volume when in noisy areas
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If you haven't heard, the IPHONE/IPOD is awesome as a recording device! You can even get some low cost accessories to help out, (like Blue Mikey Iphone MIC for $48 on Amazon) but the APP Store has an app for just about anything you can imagine. The best part is I always have my phone with me, so I will never be without a tuner, flashlight, 4 track recorder, drum machine, loop player, mp3 player, chord chart, circle of fifths chart and fretboard map. I'm not even kidding either!!!
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If you haven't heard, the IPHONE/IPOD is awesome as a recording device! You can even get some low cost accessories to help out, (like Blue Mikey Iphone MIC for $48 on Amazon) but the APP Store has an app for just about anything you can imagine. The best part is I always have my phone with me, so I will never be without a tuner, flashlight, 4 track recorder, drum machine, loop player, mp3 player, chord chart, circle of fifths chart and fretboard map. I'm not even kidding either!!!
I just used my iphone for the first time in rehearsal, and the sound is quite good with no distortion.
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I just used my iphone for the first time in rehearsal, and the sound is quite good with no distortion.
If it wasn't distorted you all must not play loud. I guarantee if you put it in an area where the music is loud it will distort. Unless there is a way to turn down the internal mic I have not figured out. Now if you use video record that's a different story.
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If it wasn't distorted you all must not play loud. I guarantee if you put it in an area where the music is loud it will distort. Unless there is a way to turn down the internal mic I have not figured out. Now if you use video record that's a different story.
well the drummer wasnt there....
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The IPhone has at least 3 apps dedicated to field recording: Blue Fire (free app that actually works) iProRecorder ($4.99) and FiRe-Field Recorder($9.99). Blue Fire is optimized for the Blue Mickey, which goes for about $49. All three apps have an option for manage gain.
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If you haven't heard, the IPHONE/IPOD is awesome as a recording device! You can even get some low cost accessories to help out, (like Blue Mikey Iphone MIC for $48 on Amazon) but the APP Store has an app for just about anything you can imagine. The best part is I always have my phone with me, so I will never be without a tuner, flashlight, 4 track recorder, drum machine, loop player, mp3 player, chord chart, circle of fifths chart and fretboard map. I'm not even kidding either!!!
unless the battery is dead. but i guess u can plug it in (i would never have that option playing anywhere besides my own church).
what happens if you get a call or text while recording?
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unless the battery is dead. but i guess u can plug it in (i would never have that option playing anywhere besides my own church).
what happens if you get a call or text while recording?
If you don't answer it I believe it will keep recording. Just one of the things I don't like about my iPhone. Wish I had kept my lg env touch when I got that verizon plan. Prices have changed now.
If you can find an olympus recorder with dc adapter and records mp3, it would be worth the investment. One other problem with my Olympus is that sometimes the battery cover pops off when it's in my pocket.
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That actually works?
I always assumed that a headphone jack could only output sounds not input.
actually the new macbooks have only only one shared jack for input and output, so I guess its the same with the ipod.
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Happy again! I got the Olympus VN-6200PC for around $55. It has USB connectivity with a cable instead of a built in port, has 1 GB of memory (about 71 hours in HQ mode), and records in WMA format, which can be played in Media Player or converted to AAC and played in iTunes. The best part may be the fact that no proprietary software is required (a downside of the RCA and Sony players).
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Happy again! I got the Olympus VN-6200PC for around $55. It has USB connectivity with a cable instead of a built in port, has 1 GB of memory (about 71 hours in HQ mode), and records in WMA format, which can be played in Media Player or converted to AAC and played in iTunes. The best part may be the fact that no proprietary software is required (a downside of the RCA and Sony players).
Mine is a little outdated but those are some clear recorders. You can adjust the mic volume also.