Topic: Sony MZ-RH1 and ECM-719

[P-Man]

I'm interested in getting into taping. I was advised to purchase the Sony MZ-RH1 and ECM-719. Is this a good buy? My budget is roughly $500CDN.

[rdflash]

no, buy an iriver 120 and some chris church mics and pick up a cheap battey box.

i had mini disc and that exact mic and upgraded after one show!

[P-Man]

I really just want an all-in-one device if possible and external mic. Nothing with excess cords. Maybe as I get more involved, I'll buy those things, but am just a casual taper to start as I only go to 4-6 shows a year.

[Gawain]

I really just want an all-in-one device if possible and external mic. Nothing with excess cords. Maybe as I get more involved, I'll buy those things, but am just a casual taper to start as I only go to 4-6 shows a year.

that's what rdflash suggested: the iriver will serve you as storage drive, taping unit and mp3 player and you can get one h120 on Ebay for $140-$150. Not sure how much Chris mics cost now including a battery box (I think around $200???)...This gives you a VERY good started rig, MUCH better than the MD+719 you said and much cheaper than your budget.

[stantheman1976]

Hi-MD is good.  There's noting wrong with starting that way.  The only drawback is that blanks will probably have to be ordered online and cane be $4-5 a piece US, sometimes a little less.  The advantage is that you have a physical copy that will last for a long time.  The iRiver is great because it is small and records the same quality as the Hi-MD and serves as a really good MP3 player.  The main disadvantage is that you have no physical medium to record to.  You are basically recording files to be stored on a hard drive or other medium that can go bad sooner than tape or MD. 

I'd say if you want a hard copy of your recording go with Hi-MD.  Since you don't go to many shows the cost of blanks won't be that big of a deal.  If that doesn't really matter get an iRiver H1XX series and put Rockbox firmware on it.  The stock firmware sucks.

The other suggestions about Church Audio were spot on.  For about $200 you can get a batter box and stealth mics and have a great setup.

[smokydays]

The main disadvantage is that you have no physical medium to record to.  You are basically recording files to be stored on a hard drive or other medium that can go bad sooner than tape or MD.

This can be an advantage as well.

[P-Man]

what will the battery box do considering the iriver h120 has its own battery? how big will all this be?

[Gawain]

what will the battery box do considering the iriver h120 has its own battery? how big will all this be?

the battery will power the mics so they don't distort and they can handle high sound levels. They are small: being the smaller a bit more the size of a 9v battery and the bigger something around 10 X 4,5 X 2,5 (cm.)

[P-Man]

I was just looking at the iRiver H120 and it doesn't really say it records, but when I look, it says it encodes in mp3. I want a lossless media file. Where would I be able to find these things though? Would I find these at my local Future Shop/Best Buy?

[boojum]

I have an RH1 and it works just fine.  Yes, there is the advantage of removable media.  You can plug stereo mics into "mic-in" or use a battery box and go in through "line-in" for those really loud shows.  The user manual will cover that clearly.  Line-in has no pre-amp which you will not need for the ears bleeding shows.

The folks who reflexively bad-mouth MD's have usually not had experience with the Hi-MD units.  As for the mics, I was warned about SONY mics not having a good bottom end.  Well, I have an ECM-MS957 which does pretty well.  I do prefer the AT and Sennheiser based mics I am using but there are times that a stereo mic is a good thing.  Microphone Madness and Sound Professionals sell good, reasonably priced mics.  Chris Church also makes mics but I found him rude and hard to deal with.  Fortunately lots of other sources exist for mics. Some folks have had the same experience with Chris I had; other think he is swell. I have not yet heard a complaint or had a problem dealing with MM or SP.

Summing up I would say that you can use the RH1 as a platform: it works well.  Generally, SONY's mics are not the most musical.

Welcome aboard, recording is a lot of fun.  Learning where to place the mics for acoustic music is the art.  Standing in front of the speakers at a rock show is easy.    ;o)

Cheers   

PS - the RH1 is a great MP3 player, too.

[Gawain]

I was just looking at the iRiver H120 and it doesn't really say it records, but when I look, it says it encodes in mp3. I want a lossless media file. Where would I be able to find these things though? Would I find these at my local Future Shop/Best Buy?

different versions of the iriver stock firmware allow wav recording. But anyway you will want Rockbox installed on it, it's an open source firmware that improves every feature of the H120 and it's specially focused on recording, of course giving you wav recording.
You can try to get one in this forum in the Yard Sale or on Ebay.

[stantheman1976]

The main disadvantage is that you have no physical medium to record to.  You are basically recording files to be stored on a hard drive or other medium that can go bad sooner than tape or MD.

This can be an advantage as well.

Very true.  Depends on your outlook.  I can't judge because I use the H120 and think it's great.  However, I'd like to get a Hi-MD one day.  I miss having the physical discs that I can be fairly sure will be here 10 years from now.

[nameloc01]

get the hi-md.more advantanges than dis-advatanges.

[rdflash]

get the hi-md.more advantanges than dis-advatanges.

i would shy away from HI-MD based on transferring the shows (if he plans on sharing or just transferring to cd or anything involved w/ transfers).

1.  he would need a good sound card
2.  this is real time transfer
3.  still need something to store transfer on
4.  pain compared to the minute it takes iriver to connect and "drag n drop"

[dunebug81]

get the hi-md.more advantanges than dis-advatanges.

i would shy away from HI-MD based on transferring the shows (if he plans on sharing or just transferring to cd or anything involved w/ transfers).

1.  he would need a good sound card
2.  this is real time transfer
3.  still need something to store transfer on
4.  pain compared to the minute it takes iriver to connect and "drag n drop"

wow, pretty much nothing you said there is true.  RH1 will upload via USB to your computer with some simple software that comes with your HIMD.  Depending on how fast your computer is it will take about 15 min or so to upload a show that was recorded in PCM.