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Author Topic: Recorder damage symptoms  (Read 4133 times)

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Offline Nelle B

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Recorder damage symptoms
« on: September 16, 2018, 10:48:47 PM »
Unfortunately, on Friday night I accidentally dropped my Edirol R-09. It was a fall on a hard faced floor. Apart from a little scratch on the side, there are no exterior marks and the recorder seems to operate as it did before.

However, I have noticed since then that my recorder is picking up much more unwanted noise in my recordings from recitals and voice lessons (background crinkling, clicks, small sounds like that) that it seemingly did not before – at least not to my memory. The recordings also just sound... different. Like the mix between the two channels isn't as smooth.

Are any of these things I mentioned possible symptoms of damage to my recorder from the fall, or am I just being paranoid? Could these changes just be due to factors like different acoustics?
« Last Edit: September 16, 2018, 11:00:42 PM by Nelle B »

Offline relefunt

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Re: Recorder damage symptoms
« Reply #1 on: September 16, 2018, 11:02:08 PM »
This might sound strange, but do you think those sounds are really there in the environment and the recorder seems to be picking them more than before, or are they seemingly alien sounds of the kind you have never heard before?

I have heard a lot of tales of people dropping R-09's and Sony M10's repeatedly on the floor without much damage, but it's sort of like dropping an iPhone -- each drop is unique and one drop might shatter the glass screen and another might show no obvious damage.

Keep using it and good luck!
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Offline Nelle B

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Re: Recorder damage symptoms
« Reply #2 on: September 16, 2018, 11:07:04 PM »
If any, what are the most common signs of damage to a recorder after a drop? (My recorder does not wear a case, so this was without any protection).

Offline relefunt

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Re: Recorder damage symptoms
« Reply #3 on: September 16, 2018, 11:35:57 PM »
If any, what are the most common signs of damage to a recorder after a drop? (My recorder does not wear a case, so this was without any protection).

I'm sure others can chip in here, but i would say common defects would be physical buttons/sliders not working properly, problems with the SD card being read without errors, distortion from direct microphone damage, and crackling noises and intermittent signal loss from connections becoming loose. Plus a keen desire to buy a fancy new Roland R-07.   ::)
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Offline Nelle B

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Re: Recorder damage symptoms
« Reply #4 on: September 16, 2018, 11:47:11 PM »
What would count as "direct microphone damage?"

After a few listens, I do hear occasional clicking sounds in the recording, which I am quite sure weren't in the actual event. It sounds like when you click on something with a mouse on a computer.

Sorry if I am being repetitive, but do you think that if there aren't any physical or obvious changes to the recorder's functions (like not turning on, not recording, etc) that the changes I hear could be circumstantial, and I'm overthinking it?

Thanks for all the input. Sorry if I am being repetitive.
« Last Edit: September 16, 2018, 11:54:11 PM by Nelle B »

ilduclo

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Re: Recorder damage symptoms
« Reply #5 on: September 17, 2018, 09:38:34 AM »
I had a sharp minidisc that happened to. You could hear “ machine noise” after it got slammed around. For a test, set it on a table and let it record ambient sound for a while, then try holding it your hand and moving it around slowly while recording, then moving it more and more....might hear something that generated by the deck or mics.

Offline Nelle B

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Re: Recorder damage symptoms
« Reply #6 on: September 18, 2018, 10:13:21 PM »
After a few more trials, the thing I've noticed is there is more contrast in volume between the 2 channels. The mix is not as smooth. This could obviously be circumstantial (the position of the recorder) but who knows. Has anyone experienced this?


Offline DSatz

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Re: Recorder damage symptoms
« Reply #7 on: September 19, 2018, 06:15:05 PM »
I'm sorry to hear about your accident. I think the "Anna Karenina" principle ("Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.") may apply here: All properly functioning audio recorders are (essentially) alike, while each broken recorder is broken in its own way.

--best regards
music > microphones > a recorder of some sort

Offline Nelle B

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Re: Recorder damage symptoms
« Reply #8 on: September 19, 2018, 06:37:08 PM »
I wouldn't call my recorder "broken" per se, but I really hope these problems I'm hearing are all circumstantial.

Offline DATBoy

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Re: Recorder damage symptoms
« Reply #9 on: September 21, 2018, 04:26:51 PM »
Edirol R-09??? They have been out of production for quite a while now. Maybe it's time for a new recorder anyway.

Offline Gutbucket

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Re: Recorder damage symptoms
« Reply #10 on: September 21, 2018, 04:51:36 PM »
As have Stradivari and Guarneri products!

Not to equate a lowly digital recorder tool with highly revered musical instruments, but out of production status in itself is not a particularly compelling reason to ditch and buy new as long as its working correctly and he's happy with the results..  although that may not actually be the case here if it actually is damaged.

The flip-side is misplaced nostalgia for "vintage" audio equipment.  Microphones obviously dominate that category and it doesn't usually apply to digital recorders,  but I know of one member here who swears that the Edirol R-01 sounds better in one of his signal chains than any of his more modern digital recorders! 

[edit- not saying that particular choice is misplaced nostalgia, as he made that choice based upon close critical listening]
« Last Edit: September 24, 2018, 02:36:44 PM by Gutbucket »
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Offline DATBoy

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Re: Recorder damage symptoms
« Reply #11 on: September 22, 2018, 11:13:58 AM »
As have Stradivari and Guarneri products!

Not to equate a lowly digital recorder tool with highly revered musical instruments, but out of production status in itself is not a particularly compelling reason to ditch and buy new as long as its working correctly and he's happy with the results..  although that may not actually be the case here if it actually is damaged.

The flip-side is misplaced nostalgia for "vintage" audio equipment.  Microphones obviously dominate that category and it doesn't usually apply to digital recorders,  but I know of one member here who swears that the Edirol R-01 sounds better in one of his signal chains than any of his more modern digital recorders!

In the digital age we live in now, the OP surely can find something out there that is more suitable that is a new recorder. The OP has many options and can try something like a Zoom/Olympus/Tascam that might be comparable to what he used the Edirol for. I think it is better to buy an entirely new thing than to keep wondering about why your digital recorder that was made and released in 2007 is having problem or might be having issues. Besides that, the battery life on that Edirol R-09 is horrible compared to the ones we have now! I don't think it is worth the time to investigate. Throw it in the trash and buy something a little more newer.

Offline Perry

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Re: Recorder damage symptoms
« Reply #12 on: October 15, 2018, 05:32:16 PM »
After a few more trials, the thing I've noticed is there is more contrast in volume between the 2 channels. The mix is not as smooth. This could obviously be circumstantial (the position of the recorder) but who knows. Has anyone experienced this?
Are you using the internal mics? One of them may have broken loose from its mount and ended up pointing straight up or otherwise out of whack. This could also explain the clicks you hear- the dislodged mic is vibrating against whatever it's resting on now.
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