| Author |
Topic: What is best handheld recorder? |
Ron Whitworth
From:
Yuma,Ariz.USA Yeah they say it's a DRY heat !!
|
Posted 20 Jan 2014 7:22 pm |
|
Hello;
I am looking at buying one of those digital handheld recorder that takes a SD card for storage.
I want to use it to record practice + on the bandstand too.
What do you guys recommend??
It looks like either Zoom or Tascam are the top 2?
Which one do you prefer & why?
Thanks for all info/help you can provide.
Thanks ...... Ron
_________________
"Tone is in the hands. Unless your wife will let you buy a new amp. Then it's definitely in that amp."
We need to turn the TWANG up a little
It's not what you play through, it's what you play through it.
They say that tone is all in the fingers...I say it is all in your head 
Some of the best pieces of life are the little pieces all added up..Ron
the value of friendship. Old friends shine like diamonds, you can always call them and - most important - you can't buy them. |
|
|
 |
Leroy Golden
From:
Muskegon, Michigan, USA
|
Posted 21 Jan 2014 6:34 am
|
|
I have two zooms, the H1 and the H4N, love 'em don't know about tascam, but a friend has one and it sounds great as well, so I think it's a matter of features and how it would be used! Hope that helps.
 |
|
|
|
Leroy Golden
From:
Muskegon, Michigan, USA
|
Posted 21 Jan 2014 6:35 am
|
|
I have two zooms, the H1 and the H4N, love 'em don't know about tascam, but a friend has one and it sounds great as well, so I think it's a matter of features and how it would be used! Hope that helps.
|
|
|
|
Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
|
Posted 21 Jan 2014 9:38 am
|
|
hard to beat the Zoom H2
_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders , Eastman Mandolin ,
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years
CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website |
|
|
|
Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
|
Posted 21 Jan 2014 10:33 am
|
|
| I have both the Zoom and the Tascam. Either of them would do what you want. They're both great machines. |
|
|
|
John Peay
From:
Cumming, Georgia USA
|
Posted 21 Jan 2014 11:28 am Zooom H2
|
|
| Tony Prior wrote: |
| hard to beat the Zoom H2 |
I've been more than happy with my Zoom H2 as well. But not having used a Tascam, I can't directly compare them.
The "H2N" replaced the H2, and I'm seeing H2's on my local C-list for $100 and under. |
|
|
|
Ron Whitworth
From:
Yuma,Ariz.USA Yeah they say it's a DRY heat !!
|
Posted 21 Jan 2014 6:46 pm
|
|
Hello Gentlemen;
Thank You for all of your replies.
I am sorry - I should have gave you more info but your answers are all great & I thank you for taking the time to answer my thread.
here is a short must have list of features for me >>
As I said above:
I want to use it to record practice +
record on the bandstand too.
Portable
External SD card
Run on batteries or AC power
USB connection to computer
At least 2 channel recording
These are likes I would like to have >>
Ability to change speed of playback without
changing the key ( if possible ? )
internal & external mics
Will the Zoom do most or all of the above for me?
Thanks for your time.
Ron
_________________
"Tone is in the hands. Unless your wife will let you buy a new amp. Then it's definitely in that amp."
We need to turn the TWANG up a little
It's not what you play through, it's what you play through it.
They say that tone is all in the fingers...I say it is all in your head
Some of the best pieces of life are the little pieces all added up..Ron
the value of friendship. Old friends shine like diamonds, you can always call them and - most important - you can't buy them. |
|
|
|
Darrell Birtcher
|
Posted 22 Jan 2014 1:44 pm
|
|
Hey Ron,
I have owned both a Zoom and a Tascam and here's why I sold the Zoom:
There is no way to attenuate the signal before it gets to the Analog-to-Digital converter so if you are recording something really loud, from either the mics or the line-in jack, it will overdrive the converter and make a total mess of the sound, and it's unrecoverable. The level control is digital, but being after the converter, it can't do anything to fix an overdriven converter. This scenario saves $$ for Zoom since it reduces the parts count. I think they also had to use a pretty cheap converter for the price point they were selling at. I tried recording subtle things like crickets around a campfire and the amount of digital hash was awful. Sounded more like a string quartet on an airport runway!
The Tascam that I have (DR-07) has an analog front end with a real rotary volume control that can attenuate (reduce) the signal before it can overdrive the converter. I also prefer the menus and panel layout on the Tascam but that is just personal preference. I haven't tried recording anything subtle with it since the campfire incident with the Zoom.
Other than that I was very happy with the Zoom, although to my ears the Tascam just sounds more natural. I made sure that the new owner of the Zoom was aware of the issue but she only uses it to record her yoga classes so it wasn't a problem. For a loud bandstand, the Zoom was a disaster. It did not handle drum transients well at all.
It was the H2 model Zoom. I doubt they've changed the signal path much in this regard on the newer models but I can't confirm this. Good for yoga, bad for bandstand. Just my two cents worth. |
|
|
|
Ron Whitworth
From:
Yuma,Ariz.USA Yeah they say it's a DRY heat !!
|
Posted 22 Jan 2014 3:59 pm
|
|
Hello Darrell;
I understand what you are saying & I sure appreciate you telling me this before I bought something I would not be happy with.
Let me pick you brain a little bit if I may >
Do you use yours to record your practice sessions or
live on the bandstand?
If you were to buy a new one tomorrow -
would you buy the same model you have or would you buy a newer model of the Tascam handheld recorder - if so which one?
Thanks & anyone else have anything to add to this - more than welcome to comment - this is how we all learn from each other -
Thanks ... Ron
_________________
"Tone is in the hands. Unless your wife will let you buy a new amp. Then it's definitely in that amp."
We need to turn the TWANG up a little
It's not what you play through, it's what you play through it.
They say that tone is all in the fingers...I say it is all in your head
Some of the best pieces of life are the little pieces all added up..Ron
the value of friendship. Old friends shine like diamonds, you can always call them and - most important - you can't buy them. |
|
|
|
Darrell Birtcher
|
Posted 22 Jan 2014 8:44 pm
|
|
Ron,
I sent you a PM with a bunch of details on these
units. Hope it helps.
Darrell |
|
|
|
Rick Barnhart
From:
Arizona, USA
|
Posted 23 Jan 2014 8:23 pm
|
|
Does anyone have an opinion about the Tascam DR05VG? GC has them on sale for $69.99 until Jan. 31. I know nothing about these type recorders, are the good for multi-track recording, or just live performances?
_________________
Clinesmith consoles D-8/6 5 pedal, D-8 3 pedal & A25 Frypan, Pettingill Teardrop, & P8 Deluxe. |
|
|
|
Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
|
Posted 24 Jan 2014 11:14 am
|
|
Like Darrell, I have a DR-07, and I echo everything he said. I use it in preference to the Zoom, although, in reality, since I record most things in the recording studio in my den, most of my recording is direct to much higher level equipment.
I am biased towards TEAC/TASCAM equipment. Over the years I've used their reel-to-reel recorders, their Portastudios, etc. I've had very few problems with any of their equipment. I have two of their 8-channel reel-to-reel Portastudios, the Tascam 388 Studio 8, and they're magnificent machines built like tanks.
Any hand-held recorder has to be a compromise. Recorders just shouldn't be held in the hand.  |
|
|
|
Ken Byng
From:
Southampton, England
|
Posted 24 Jan 2014 12:05 pm
|
|
I have the DR-07 Mk11. Piece of cake to use and produces an instant .wav file to burn onto CDR. Great machine and the stereo mikes are of a very high quality. Don't know much about the Zoom, but reports are good.
_________________
Show Pro D10 - amber (8+6), MSA D10 Legend XL Signature - redburst (9+6), Sho-Bud Pro 111 Custom (8+6), Emmons black Push-Pull D10 (8+5), Zum D10 (8x8), Hudson pedal resonator. Telonics TCA-500, Webb 614-E, |
|
|
|
Ron Whitworth
From:
Yuma,Ariz.USA Yeah they say it's a DRY heat !!
|
Posted 24 Jan 2014 12:11 pm
|
|
Hello All;
I just now purchased off the web a Tascam DR-07 MK11 recorder.
I should have it sometime next week.
After a lot of researc this looks like it will do what I need & at a good price too.
I want to thank everyone for all their advise.
Thanks
Ron
_________________
"Tone is in the hands. Unless your wife will let you buy a new amp. Then it's definitely in that amp."
We need to turn the TWANG up a little
It's not what you play through, it's what you play through it.
They say that tone is all in the fingers...I say it is all in your head
Some of the best pieces of life are the little pieces all added up..Ron
the value of friendship. Old friends shine like diamonds, you can always call them and - most important - you can't buy them. |
|
|
|
Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
|
Posted 26 Jan 2014 4:02 pm
|
|
good luck with your Tascam purchase, enjoy ! Nice unit...
For others...with regard to comments above, I have recorded easily 100 gigs with my H2 as well as rehearsals etc, never had any issue whatsoever. A tad over 5 hours on 2 AA batteries and reliable as all get go. Still running strong with over 2 years of constant use. The same SD card too ! I don't bother with the USB port, I pull the card and plug it directly into the PC for file transfers.
_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders , Eastman Mandolin ,
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years
CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website |
|
|
|
