Topic: LOOKING FOR Basic Middle of Road Recording Gear for SALE!! HELP!!

[angel77]

I am a recording engineer by trade but have been out of the game for a while. I'd be very interested in purchasing a basic recording set up if anyone can help me with some brands, models, ect that are not too expensive but produce high quality recordings. Cheers, Adrien  adriendowa@hotmail.com 

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

Common question...and the common response to have you define "not too expensive."

A set up can run anywhere from $100 to well over $10,000. Therefore "middle of the road"= $5000.

I'm going to bet you'd like to keep it somewhere under 5 G's 

[angel77]

Definately and thank you for helping me clarify. I'm looking for something CHEAP I guess. Somewhere around $100.00 to $200.00 range thAT DOES A NICE JOB.

[bryonsos]

Definately and thank you for helping me clarify. I'm looking for something CHEAP I guess. Somewhere around $100.00 to $200.00 range thAT DOES A NICE JOB.

I think you're going to have a hard time getting something that does "a nice job" for that budget. One option would be to get a recorder with decent internal mics. Many folks here believe the Tascam DR07 make good recordings with the internals. I suggested this recorder to a musician friend that just wanted something to record his acoustic gigs, and he found one on sale at Sam Ashe for ~$120. He's happy with it, and the recordings are pretty good for coffee house acoustic shows, but I doubt it would perform well in a concert environment.

If you're willing to go up to the ~$4-500 range for a very nice and flexible rig, you could pair that recorder with some Church Audio equipment. He's currently got deals going for preamp/mic bundles:

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=141135.0

The 9100 + CA14 bundle is particularly attractive. 2 pairs of mics (cards + omnis) plus a preamp for under $300 that will give you the flexibility to run under any conditions. Many tapers around here running this combo are getting great results. You can go to the Live Music Archive (www.archive.org) and listen to hundreds of examples to interview them. You can also use the Archive to check out other gear to see what you think. Here's a recording from a friend who swears by Church equipment:

http://www.archive.org/details/yarn2011-04-16.CA-14omni.flac16

Hope that helps!

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

$200 is going to be really difficult to pull off.  I would highly suggest saving your pennies because if you don't you'll just be disappointed and either leave the equipment you get collecting dust, or end up spending the extra money later (which usually will end up costing you more in the long run).

The Church mics are probably your best option for inexpensive mics, but that puts you over your budget and you'd still need a recorder.

Many people will recommend a less expensive recorder option like the Tascam DR-07...others will suggest y ou splurge and get the Sony M10( $220 new). The biggest advantage of the M10 over the other recorders is battery life. It's actually pretty scary how long you can run on a single set of batteries with the M10. Very nice to not have to worry about running out of juice. The M10 is also very easy to use (less likely to walk away with no recording due to user error).

So...IMO, save your pennies. Get a M10 + the CA14 deal. This gives you a wide variety of options and will give you pretty good recordings. Cost for the package is roughly $500-600. Honestly you don't NEED anything better than that, but anything less may leave you wanting more.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

Definately and thank you for helping me clarify. I'm looking for something CHEAP I guess. Somewhere around $100.00 to $200.00 range thAT DOES A NICE JOB.

That's going to be a bit less middle of the road, and more "middle of a muddy footpath"

But you gotta start somewhere and I encourage you to do so.  There's a lot to learn that isn't gear specific.

Try and find a good used recorder.   R09's come up here once in a while for $80-100.  That, plus some good used Church gear would be really good.  I strongly disagree with spending $230 on a new recorder.

[bryonsos]

So...IMO, save your pennies. Get a M10 + the CA14 deal. This gives you a wide variety of options and will give you pretty good recordings. Cost for the package is roughly $500-600. Honestly you don't NEED anything better than that, but anything less may leave you wanting more.

I'll second that. I have an M10 and I love it! I'll also second the idea to watch the yard sale, but I doubt you'll find an M10 there too often. Once people have one, they seldomnly let it go. I made my suggestion based on using the internals as an option, and trying to keep the budget down. I too was an engineer in my past life, and when you're used to dialing things in to get the sound "just right," I can assure you that getting home with a crummy tape is a very unsatisfying experience.

BTW- welcome to the Taperssection, you can leave your wallet at the door. 

[tay666]

I was pleasantly surprised by the results of using the internals on my Tascam DR-2D.
It's a little weak on the base end of things, but otherwise handled a loud outdoor rock show rather well.
Samples can be found on this page
http://www.tylisaari.com/misc/shows/master.htm
(and that was from inside a coat pocket)

It also has the advantage of being able to do dual recording.
Battery life isn't the greatest, but with the firmware upgrade, and a fresh set of rechargeables, you can get 5 hours or more without worry.

Yeah, it's not ideal. But it gets you started.
From there, you can pair it up with whatever mics, battery box, or preamp you want when you have the cash.

[aaronji]

Personally, I would avoid internal mics...

You can get a pair of CA-14s and a battery box for $140 (http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=141135.0).  Add in any cheap recorder and you won't be too far off budget.  There are also a number of inexpensive mics currently in the Yardsale; I'd definitely take a look at those.