Topic: Tascam/Teac VR-10 Digital Recorder

[UnknownVT]

Music - simply put -

don't suck in this town.

That's why I'm out almost every single night of the week doing photography.

So a little over a year and a half ago I got a pocket digital recorder the Teac VR-10 -
just so that I could capture what I heard.

First a BIG caveat - there is no way I am claiming my recordings are as good as ones captured by professional live recordings -
BUT they are pretty darned good - and not just "for what it is" -
they are much better than I have any right to expect -
as some of the posted recordings in this thread will attest.

As indicated a few months ago I bought a back-up to my Teac VR-10, the Tascam DR-03.

By all accounts - the Tascam DR-03 is likely a re-badged and cosmetically different version of the VR-10
and over 100 recordings later - in my estimate it is basically the same recorder - I can use them interchangeably and be happy with the results.

Now back to the music -

Last night - a Wednesday - local club -
on stage were 2 Grammy winners and a nominee -
and the son of the legendary Blue Note guitarist Grant Green.....


Like I said - the music didn't suck -

2.02 Watermelon Man.mp3 - Download (14.92MB)

2.03 Les Brers in A Minor.mp3 - Download (7.87MB)

Tascam DR-03 24bit 48kHz L-PCM original> 44.1k vbr3

Enjoy!

[UnknownVT]

WARNING - this might not be for everyone, it is experimental/improvisational/avant-garde  -
but if you're into this - it is some truly inspired stuff -



02 Improv 2.mp3 - Download (25.9MB)

This was from Tuesday - 3 nights ago -
it is very unusual as Deantoni Parks normally plays solo -
but with two musicians - Kebbi Williams (sax/flute - 2 times Garmmy winner w. Tedsechi-Trucks Band) and Kevin Scott (bass - ex-Col Bruce Hampton)
he not only used samples off recordings, but actually sampled the live musicians!

Tascam DR-03 - 24-bit 48kHz L-PCM original >44.1k vbr3 +RG

Enjoy!

[rastasean]

Nice photography, Vincent! I like how you're capturing the musicians and a song they are playing.

[UnknownVT]

Nice photography, Vincent! I like how you're capturing the musicians and a song they are playing.

Thank you kindly.

Although the focus (pun) here is on the audio recordings - my prime purpose at gig is photography -
it's a passion verging on obsession - as I go to as many as 3-4 gigs/night - I am hearing a lot of very good music -
as I've said the music don't suck in this town - and I don't stay if the music is no good - much less take photos -
so in that way they are almost always good gigs.

This is the reason why I investigated pocket digital recorders -
with the understanding they were not going to be as good as professional set ups -
but these tiny recorders even on their humble internal mics surprised me (I think astounded may be closer)
and produced sound quality much better than I had any right to expect.

Mostly I place the recorders pretty close - so it is almost always on the lowest record level setting
(only backing away if the band is loud enough to cause clipping/distortion) -
I think it's the closeness that seems to give the recording better "punch"/dynamics.

Thanks,

[LikeASong]

Just to keep this thread alive for the non-believers 

So... My Tascam DR-08 died not long ago (see this thread) And I'm replacing it with a DR-03 I found on the cheap over at eBay ($44 plus shipping... http://www.ebay.com/itm/111487209564 ) ... Let's see how they compare to each other. I've loved the DR08 for its price, size and usability, and if the DR03 is somewhere near its quality/price relation, I'll be more than happy with it.

[UnknownVT]

Just to keep this thread alive for the non-believers 

So... My Tascam DR-08 died not long ago (see this thread) And I'm replacing it with a DR-03 I found on the cheap over at eBay ($44 plus shipping... http://www.ebay.com/itm/111487209564 ) ... Let's see how they compare to each other. I've loved the DR08 for its price, size and usability, and if the DR03 is somewhere near its quality/price relation, I'll be more than happy with it.

Thanks LikeASong.

I use the Tascam DR-03 (which I also got off eBay cheap! ) and the Teac VR-10 more or less interchangeably.

Off side-by-side recordings of CDs played on my home system I think I can just about tell the difference -
BUT I probably would fail an ABX test, and definitely I would not be able to tell the difference in isolation.

As most know gig to gig with different venues and even different sound systems/persons - the difference are far more significant -
and sometimes even fractionally different positions.....

In comparison any difference between the DR-03 and the VR-10 would be insignificant -
so practically speaking they are interchangeable (for me).

Here's that more critical test I did when I first got the DR-03 -
from this thread -
in Reply #103

and a more comprehensive one of all my portable recorders -
in:  Re: Tascam DR-05 - Low price and Rebate  « Reply #12

better acoustic guitar comparison -
in:  Re: Tascam DR-05 - Low price and Rebate  « Reply #31


Here's a little Big Band recording I did last night on the Teac VR-10 placed on a dining table (clothed) - about 10ft from the front of stage (my) right of center -



The Shadow of Your Smile.mp3 - Download (6.67MB)

Teac VR-10 24bit 48kHz WAV original > 44.1k vbr3+RB

I was particularly taken with the harmonies of this arrangement - especially the twin flugelhorns then the twin alto saxes....

[Ekib]

I scrolled through all the 8 pages of this topic , and also the manual . However I can't figure out how you don't get brickwall ( distortion ) when using mic input and external mic's when recording a loud concert ? This recorder doesn't seem to have a -20 DB setting like the Sony PCM M10 does .
I was thinking getting this recorder as a back up , or to record a gig using two different type of mic's . ( I have a PCM M10 already )