Topic: best 4 channel recorder

[olli66]

hi, I have a Tascam that is giving me errors (file error and unreadable files) all the time, no matter which SD card I use
I want to get rid of this unreliable recorder and now I am thinking of buying an even smaller recorder (Sony PCM-M10) for stealth recordings and for recordings where I am allowed to tape or hired to tape I am thinking of getting a "bigger" gear with XLR inputs etc.
I am looking for a recommendation on one recorder that allows recording from the soundboard + parallel recording ambience with mics (3,5mm inputs and XLR inputs as well so I can chose)
thanks for your tips

[Gutbucket]

There is no single category of 'best'.

A Roland R44 plus a pair of PFAs wired to a 3.5mm stereo input to power your low voltage mics is an obvious rock-solid choice around here but that setup would run about 6x the current street cost of a DR-2d.

I'd return the suspected defective DR-2d for a new one and see how you like one the functions correctly first.  It's a machine that has been proven quite reliable by many users here.

[olli66]

thanks! I'm new to this...what's a PFA?

[page]

thanks! I'm new to this...what's a PFA?

http://www.naiant.com/pfaspecification.html

the guy who makes them is a user here also.

[tgakidis]

The Roland R-26 has Both XLR-1/4" Combo Jacks & 1/8" TRS inputs. http://www.roland.com/products/en/R-26/

[yltfan]

Not 4-channel, and no 1/8" input, but for $429, it's hard to beat the DR-680.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/673541-REG/Tascam_DR_680_DR_680_8_Track_Portable_Field.html

8 channels, XLR, 1/4" TRS, and SPDIF inputs.

[acidjack]

hi, I have a Tascam that is giving me errors (file error and unreadable files) all the time, no matter which SD card I use
I want to get rid of this unreliable recorder and now I am thinking of buying an even smaller recorder (Sony PCM-M10) for stealth recordings and for recordings where I am allowed to tape or hired to tape I am thinking of getting a "bigger" gear with XLR inputs etc.
I am looking for a recommendation on one recorder that allows recording from the soundboard + parallel recording ambience with mics (3,5mm inputs and XLR inputs as well so I can chose)
thanks for your tips

You won't find a bigger enemy of Trashcan around here than me (EDIT TO ADD: The DR-40 I owned was fine). I got burned again by yet another 680 after I recommended a local venue buy one, since they couldn't afford an R-44. The POS -- which has only been used on a table, with AC power -- has now crapped out after 4 months and none of the analog inputs work at all (I know, because I tried to "fix" it last night). 

So suffice it to say, I would recommend the R-26 for its small size and ease of use and excellent battery life and price.  The R-44 is sturdier and has 4 channels of XLRs, but of course, costs more than 2x as much. If you just want to do a board feed plus two channels of phantom it's hard to beat the R-26.

[cybergaloot]

I bought my R-44 when they first came out and have run it hundreds if not thousands of hours. If I could afford it I'd buy 5 more. That's  how much I like them.

[page]

You won't find a bigger enemy of Trashcan around here than me.

Moke. I'm pretty sure he destroyed his last tascam recorder Office Space style during a fit of rage.

I'm going with the R-44; it's price/channels/reliability rating is probably at the best you can get without taking a hit on one of the three categories.

[Marshall7]

I bought my R-44 when they first came out and have run it hundreds if not thousands of hours. If I could afford it I'd buy 5 more. That's  how much I like them.

I've never had a single problem with my R-4, so never had a reason to upgrade to the R-44.  You can probably find an R-4 in the Yard Sale at a good price.

[Gutbucket]

You won't find a bigger enemy of Trashcan around here than me.

Moke. I'm pretty sure he destroyed his last tascam recorder Office Space style during a fit of rage.

Was that their CDR recorder which could write higher than 16/44.1 rates but had to fully initialize discs before writing to them?

[page]

You won't find a bigger enemy of Trashcan around here than me.

Moke. I'm pretty sure he destroyed his last tascam recorder Office Space style during a fit of rage.

Was that their CDR recorder which could write higher than 16/44.1 rates but had to fully initialize discs before writing to them?

I thought it was one of his DAT decks, but that post is likely gone to the ether otherwise I'd look... 

I just remember that he was super pissed and destroyed the thing. It wasn't his only run in with Tascam, but it was the one which he finally said to hell with them.

[Gutbucket]

I just remember JohnR mentioning that CDR machine and how it was the hot thing when it was released but it's quirks and unreliability pissed off a lot of people around here.  I think he and Moke and a few others bought them in the early 00's as a route to 24bit location recording.  I think John may still use one for churning out festival archival artist CDs

I'm sure Mokes posts about it are no more.  I was reading through an old thread a few days ago looking for something, and back when it was current we had alternated posts back and forth without quoting each other.  Portions of that thread now reads like I'm talking endlessly to my schizophrenic self. 

[shownomarcy]

I love Tascam DR-2d so far. Great for both 2 pair of mics or external+sbd too, worked well. I also used Dual mode in a very stealth situation (radio's studio with only 30 ppl - had no chance to check input levels).

[cybergaloot]

I just remember JohnR mentioning that CDR machine and how it was the hot thing when it was released but it's quirks and unreliability pissed off a lot of people around here.  I think he and Moke and a few others bought them in the early 00's as a route to 24bit location recording.  I think John may still use one for churning out festival archival artist CDs

I'm not sure which model Tascam CD-RW you are referring to. I've run most if not all of JohnR's CD units but can't remember model numbers. I think most are 750s. He has one silver one that isn't a rack mount unit that seems to be his least favorite. I thought about buying a pair of 750s for my own rack just so I'd have my own equipment that I was familiar with but its hard to justify spending the money on them just to use a couple of times per year. The only Tascam unit I have had is the DR-40 which has worked flawlessly for me. I am thinking of getting a DR-2D for a trip out to Vegas to use with my Church Audio mics and pre. Small and portable will be the name of the game on that outing.

[Gutbucket]

I don't know.  I think the issue was pre-authoring the disc, necessary for writing greater than 16/44.1 data files (the primary reason for that machine) which turned out to be problematic, error prone, take forever, or some combination of those things.  I don't think it needed to do any pre-authoring for use as a standard 16/44.1 audio CD burner, which is presumably why John held on to it and was still using it. 

[H₂O]

I am pretty sure Moke had the Tascam DV-RA1000

http://tascam.com/product/dv-ra1000/