Topic: New Recorder Owner Here.

[Monkey]

Hi All, I hope that this is the correct place to ask a couple of questions of from what I have been reading on these
forums you seem to be the collective font of all knowledge. :-)
I have just bought a Edirol R-09HR recorder to do some stealth recording, I have in the past and still do download shows
from Dime, Traders Den etc and I want to hopefully give something back myself.
I managed to get a good deal from someone who used to record their band practices so he said but no longer needed the Edirol
so I have got it now.
I have read some of the threads on the 09 but its overwhelming I must say guys. :-)
I am a total newbie when it comes to all things recording and I was pointed to this taping heaven on the net.
What I would like to ask I hope doesn't sound too stupid to you all.
Firstly after going on the the Roland/Edirol site and also after installing the "Cakewalk" I was asked to registrar the stuff, I e-mailed
the guy about it and he said he thought the code/s was on the side of the box, well can any one please tell me what the code/numbers
would start with as there quite a few above and below the bar codes.
I also asked in my mail what firmware it was running and if he had  upgraded himself, he said no when I switch the recorder on its says
ver 1.4 is this the firmware and do you think I need to upgrade or stay with what I have until I am used to the recorder.
Lastly for now I am seeing Clapton/Winwood at Bercy in Paris in 2 weeks and was wondering what levels I should put on the recorder,
as Bercy is quite large would around 40 be high enough or should I need higher, what do you tapers recommend please and does anyone
have any sort of graph saying what levels work best with different types of show ie:Rock, Folk etc.
I am really sorry if this is long winded or reads daft to you but I would like to try and get something halfway descent from the off and again sorry if what I have asked is buried somewhere in all those Edirol threads.
I dont mind Pming if anyone wants to "talk" that way.
Thanks for reading and I hope to be around awhile. :-)

Peace,
Andrew. 

[fmaderjr]

You have acquired a great recorder, but it is not going to make great recordings with the internal mics. You will need to buy a pair of external mics and a battery box or small preamp in order to do that. Church Audio gear gives you a lot of quality for a very reasonable price. You can research it on this site.

[Monkey]

Hi All,

Please is there any owners of the R-09HR, that can possibly help me out by answering these questions
if you can.
I would really appreciate it.
Thank you.

Peace,
Andrew.

Hi All, I hope that this is the correct place to ask a couple of questions of from what I have been reading on these
forums you seem to be the collective font of all knowledge. :-)
I have just bought a Edirol R-09HR recorder to do some stealth recording, I have in the past and still do download shows
from Dime, Traders Den etc and I want to hopefully give something back myself.
I managed to get a good deal from someone who used to record their band practices so he said but no longer needed the Edirol
so I have got it now.
I have read some of the threads on the 09 but its overwhelming I must say guys. :-)
I am a total newbie when it comes to all things recording and I was pointed to this taping heaven on the net.
What I would like to ask I hope doesn't sound too stupid to you all.
Firstly after going on the the Roland/Edirol site and also after installing the "Cakewalk" I was asked to registrar the stuff, I e-mailed
the guy about it and he said he thought the code/s was on the side of the box, well can any one please tell me what the code/numbers
would start with as there quite a few above and below the bar codes.
I also asked in my mail what firmware it was running and if he had  upgraded himself, he said no when I switch the recorder on its says
ver 1.4 is this the firmware and do you think I need to upgrade or stay with what I have until I am used to the recorder.
Lastly for now I am seeing Clapton/Winwood at Bercy in Paris in 2 weeks and was wondering what levels I should put on the recorder,
as Bercy is quite large would around 40 be high enough or should I need higher, what do you tapers recommend please and does anyone
have any sort of graph saying what levels work best with different types of show ie:Rock, Folk etc.
I am really sorry if this is long winded or reads daft to you but I would like to try and get something halfway descent from the off and again sorry if what I have asked is buried somewhere in all those Edirol threads.
I dont mind Pming if anyone wants to "talk" that way.
Thanks for reading and I hope to be around awhile. :-)

Peace,
Andrew.

[rastasean]

Hi All,

Please is there any owners of the R-09HR, that can possibly help me out by answering these questions
if you can.
I would really appreciate it.
Thank you.

Peace,
Andrew.

I have the 90hr with firmware 2.0. What exactly are your questions?

[fmaderjr]

People are very helpful here, but you have to try to make your questions more concise.

And to repeat. Number 1 tip is not to rely on internal mics if you want to make a good recording.

[bonghitwillie]

i have an r9.  i did a firmware upgrade which allowed me to record on 8g sdhc.  how big is your sdhc card?  charge your batts or put new ones in.  format the sdhc card you have and see how long you can record at the format you want.  mine only goes to 48/24. i can record non stop for 7.5 hours.  i have found that the internal mics are alot more sensitive than external mics.  i mainly use the dpa4061's and power supply from coresound.  in very loud situations i record around 18-20.  miy r9 goes up to 30.  if i am right in front of the pa stack and it is loud, i will reocrd at 15-16.  it is better to under record than over record.  i would go to a cheap/free club and test the unit in various locations and see what the volume does.  i think the internal mics distort if the volume is too loud (too close to pa stack).  i have the old church cardiod mics.  i do not use them much.  i had too use them a couple of months ago.  they sound good, but are terrible in the wind.  i would not use them outdoors unless you have good windscreens or maybe bury them in your shirt.  even a little wind will distort the m mics.  the new smaller church's might be better.  the sure are cheaper than the dpa's.   good luck.   

[fmaderjr]

i have the old church cardiod mics.  i do not use them much.  i had too use them a couple of months ago.  they sound good, but are terrible in the wind.  i would not use them outdoors unless you have good windscreens or maybe bury them in your shirt.  even a little wind will distort the m mics.  the new smaller church's might be better.  the sure are cheaper than the dpa's.   good luck.   

Willie gives good R-09  advice, but all cardiods are way worse than omnis in the wind and cheap windscreens don't help. You need one of those furry Windjammer type things to put over the cheap windscreens to have much chance of blocking out the wind. The CA-11's sound great indoors and would probablly do as well as an similar cardiods in the wind if fitted with Windjammers.

[Johnny Thunder]

Hey Andrew,

I hope you get this in time!

1.) I can't really help you with the Cakewalk software, but you'll probably be better off with something like Audacity anyway, and it's FREE. Download that, Trader's Little Helper and maybe CD Wave Editor and you'll have a good start for sure. If you REALLY want to get Cakewalk running, try ALL of the codes on the box. Patience young Jedi!

2.) 1.04 IS your firmware revision number. You are right mostly about that. (Like I said, it's 1.04 not 1.4) DEFINATELY update your firmware. Here's is the address:

http://www.roland.com/products/en/_support/dld.cfm?PRODUCT=R%2D09HR&iRcId=1812293&dsp=1

Follow the instructions in the PDF files at the bottom CAREFULLY. Do NOT use battery power when flashing the new firmware. Definately use the adapter and do NOT let that thing get turned off or unplugged when your flashing it. The newest revision is 2.01.

Edit 2a.) I'm hoping you have at least a 4GB SD card. If so, at 4GB, try recording at 24 bit 48kHz. If you have a bigger card, you can record at a higher frequency, but I doubt it'll get a WHOLE lot better. 4 GB at 24 bit 48kHz will give you roughly 4 hours of recording time. To make sure it's set right, (and for God's sake not set to some MP3 setting!) Press the Menu button and select "recorder setup." Press record to enter the recorder setup screen. Here you select your sample rate. Again, I'd recommend 48 kHz, but you can try 44.1 if you want to. If you have a huge card and want to try 88.2 or 96 kHz, go for it, but I doubt you'll have any greatter success as a result and your record times will be dramaticly reduced. Below that you'll select what they call the Record Mode. You want to set that at a MINIMUM to WAV-16bit, but again, I'd recomend WAV-24bit for your purposes.

3.) If you've no option but to use the internal mics, do NOT be discouraged! Yes, you'll get a much nicer result using even a "inexpensive" external mic set and box such as Chris Church's CA-14's and a battery box or preamp, but you CAN get a decent pull with the internals too! Here's what you need to know. First off, set all 5 switches on the back to the left. Hold-Off - Limiter/AGC-Off - Plug-In Power-Off - Low Cut-Off and Mic Gain-Low. Now, if there's an opening act, that's the time to get your levels set somewhat close. Remember, that opeing act is NOT going to be as loud as the headliner! Start the recorder and adjust the level so that the meters on the display are peaking around -12 dB OR A BIT LESS! This is a pretty good starting point. Remember, low is WAY better than clipped. (IE too high where the meters are hitting the top of their scale and that red "PEAK" indicator is lighting up even just a little bit.) Low levels can be fixed in post-production. Levels set too high can not. (This is where that Audacity program comes in.) IF there is no opener, and it looks like there may not be, set the recorder in standby by pressing the record button once so the light is flashing, and set the recorder so the meters are PEAKING just above the -40dB mark on the scale. Once the band is being introduced as they usualy are, I imagine the levels should be between the 30 and the 20 on the scale. (It doesn't SAY -20 and -30dB, but that is what the values actualy are.) Remember, we're NOT talking about the number that is says the record level is set to, we're talking about what the METERS are actualy telling you, ok? Start your recorder a little early! Make sure the red light is lit steady and not flashing! Watch those levels as best you can without being obvious. Adjust them as quickly as you can so they are absolutly peaking at LESS THAN -6dB! Mostly peaking just above -12, but not quite hitting -6 is what you're looking for. If they open with a quiet song, error on the side of caution and set your levels peaking about -12. You KNOW those guys are going to rip off some seathing blues and it's gonna get louder when they do. Once you're satisfied with your levels, please, OH PLEASE, set that hold switch on the back to the right hand "locked" position! I say this from experiance. This prevens anything from getting changed if you inadvertantly hit a button.

4.) Above all else, don't get discouraged no matter WHAT the outcome! This is supposed to be fun above all else. Go and have a great time, and if you are able to follow my advice fairly closely, you'll get a great pull of that show even with the internals. I've gotten very listenable results using stock mics in an R-09, and so can you. DLing and sharing shows is fun, but man, there's nothing like the feeling of listening to a show you pulled YOURSELF!

Again, I really hope you get this in time, or even if you don't, that you go and tape that show! That's what it's all about my friend.

-JT