Topic: EDIROL R-44 (PART IV)

[nOrD]

If you use the MS effect during recording, the mid and side inputs will get converted to a normal stereo recording before being passed to the SDHC card.  Whether you record that as a stereo file or two mono files doesn't matter - it's just left and right at that point, same as if you'd recorded using a conventional stereo mic.

If you connect an MS pair to the R-44 and don't use the MS effect to record, monitoring the recording will sound weird.  If you use the MS effect on playback, then it will sound ok.  It's a pity that the R-44 does not allow you to hear effects during recording unless you record with effects.

If you record without the MS effect, you can vary the width on playback with the MS effect switched on, using the provided control page (see manual for details - I think it's the 'display' button).  If you record with the MS effect on, you can still vary the width afterwards in a DAW using the Voxengo "MSED" VST effect (or any other that does the job).  That VST effect converts the normal stereo signal you've recorded back to MS, allows you to vary the width, then converts back to normal stereo.  MSED works with a stereo file, so if you've recorded two mono files you need to route them to a stereo track in your DAW and apply the effect on that track, which is marginally more complex.

Try all this thoroughly at home before using it for real.

Many thanks for your clean and helpful explain! Actually I do not have the mentioned MSED VST by Voxengo so will try out the built-in with Cubase first.

It is a good thing after all that you can at least monitoring in MS with R-44. I am curious how the MS sound will be different after load it to computer and working with MSED or other dedicated plug-in.

Thanks a lot again.

[cybergaloot]

I accidentally stressed my R-44 last night. I was packing things away and it got tangle in a cable I was rolling up and it fell about three feet onto the concrete floor. It has a scuff mark but it seems to be working fine. Its nice to know it can stand up to that sort of abuse!

[nOrD]

I am glad to share my tip to on a really inexpensive but long last carrying case for Edirol R-44 recorder. The case is an Airsoft Molle Modular Large Utility Tools Drop Pouch OD. It is 210mm(H) x 170mm(W) x 70mm(D) and as you can see from attached photos, fits perfectly with my R-44.

You can attach the case to any 1'' ...belt or use with other Molle system.
I made cut out for mic plugs by myself with a sharp blade knife. The cable for your external battery pack can be easily put into the pouch, it fits just nicely. I bought this Molle pouch for $8.99 only! Hope you find my idea usable in the case if you are looking for a smooth case for your R-44.

[terabyte23]

I am trying to understand the outputs on my R-44 (I usually just use the inputs!).  The four analog output jacks seem pretty straightforward - you can set them to be 4 individual, or controlled by the monitor selection.  It's the digital output jack that I find confusing.  Is it a straight pass-thru of the digital input signal?  Or does it receive a signal from the other inputs?  I suspect the latter, since the manual states that the digital out provides the same output as the headphone jack, just in digital form.  If that's the case, is it possible to control the mix that goes thru the digital out?  A footnote in the manual states that the monitor level knob cannot be used to adjust the volume of the digital out.

[Ozpeter]

I've never tried it but I guess the mix would be controlled by the sliders you see on the screen when you press the display button during playback (going from memory).  However, monitoring is perhaps the R-44's weak point so it might not be particularly useful.  You certainly wouldn't get panning of the outputs which isn't available for the analog monitoring or replay.

[Myco]

I accidentally stressed my R-44 last night. I was packing things away and it got tangle in a cable I was rolling up and it fell about three feet onto the concrete floor. It has a scuff mark but it seems to be working fine. Its nice to know it can stand up to that sort of abuse!

Glad to see that it survives the drop test. I'd have to say that mine has failed the beer test though, $300 for a new pcb board. 

[Dutchman1101]

New owner here. Received it last Thursday and ran it for the first time Saturday. Slick little box I must say. I do have a few questions for you guys that I have searched for and couldn’t really find an answer.

1. Can you record to just channels 3 & 4 without having to put it in stereo x 2? From my tests it does not look like it.

2. What kind of DVD batteries are you guys using? I have 2 Energizer 9.0v's that will not turn this thing on. The cable I'm using allows me to swap the polarity of the plugs to accommodate different devices. I swapped it so the plugs were negative and it still won’t work. I changed the setting to 9.0v and one again it won’t turn on. FWIW, it will power up with the AC adapter. Is there a setting I'm missing?

[tgakidis]

1. Can you record to just channels 3 & 4 without having to put it in stereo x 2? From my tests it does not look like it.

2. What kind of DVD batteries are you guys using? I have 2 Energizer 9.0v's that will not turn this thing on. The cable I'm using allows me to swap the polarity of the plugs to accommodate different devices. I swapped it so the plugs were negative and it still won’t work. I changed the setting to 9.0v and one again it won’t turn on. FWIW, it will power up with the AC adapter. Is there a setting I'm missing?

1.) No, you can't just record on channels 3&4 with out 1&2 being active.

2.) You should have no problem with that battery and there is no setting that needs to be changed on the R-44.  Either your battery is dead or cable is bad.

[Todd R]

I can't remember if mine works with an external DVD battery and the R44 set to external 9v (if that even is a setting, I don't recall).  To use my external DVD battery, I set the R44 to say it is running on the AC wallwart.

Try that and see if it solves your problem.

[Dutchman1101]

Both my batteries and cable are fine. They power my HD-P2 with no issues. My cable allows me to swap the polarity on the tips which I did because it's the opposite of the Tascam, and it still won’t work. Like I said the AC adapter powers it up just fine so, what gives? It's not what Wookie was experiencing.

What do you guys use for DVD batteries, if you use them? I kind of dig using AA's because it's less stuff to carry around but for festivals or longer shows, a DVD battery would be nice to have.

[busterr]

Dutchman, really any of the 9v li-ion DVD batteries(typically 5400mah and up) should work just fine. Initial, Dynex, Impact, Endurance are a few brand names that are known to work with the R-44, don't know if any are still in production, but can often be found on Ebay.

Otherwise like ToddR mentioned, make sure you have the R-44 set to "adapter"(as if using a/c power) and not one of the battery settings. The low battery threshold is just too low for any of the external battery settings to work with our 9v options.

If you still have problems, I have 2 or 3 extra 9v 6000mah batteries + charger that I used with my R-44 that I will let go cheap, shoot me a PM if interested...

[justink]

I needed to transfer a dat so I tried it using the R-44 last night.

D7 (7pin>coax) > R-44

I think I read that the R-44 takes the digital signal in exactly as it's sent. I found this to be half right. The signal levels came in and the R-44 disabled both the analog and digital level controls, so whatever you were sending is what the R-44 captured.

However, the DAT was 16/44.1 but the R-44 recorded in 24/48 and didn't recognize the original sample rate.

Is this expected?

[bhadella]

I needed to transfer a dat so I tried it using the R-44 last night.

D7 (7pin>coax) > R-44

I think I read that the R-44 takes the digital signal in exactly as it's sent. I found this to be half right. The signal levels came in and the R-44 disabled both the analog and digital level controls, so whatever you were sending is what the R-44 captured.

However, the DAT was 16/44.1 but the R-44 recorded in 24/48 and didn't recognize the original sample rate.

Is this expected?

You need to make sure to set your Record Frequency to "44 kHz" and Rec Bit to "16" in the Recording Setup menu.

[justink]

I needed to transfer a dat so I tried it using the R-44 last night.

D7 (7pin>coax) > R-44

I think I read that the R-44 takes the digital signal in exactly as it's sent. I found this to be half right. The signal levels came in and the R-44 disabled both the analog and digital level controls, so whatever you were sending is what the R-44 captured.

However, the DAT was 16/44.1 but the R-44 recorded in 24/48 and didn't recognize the original sample rate.

Is this expected?

You need to make sure to set your Record Frequency to "44 kHz" and Rec Bit to "16" in the Recording Setup menu.

right... but i was thinking the R-44 would automatically acknowledge the signal's bitrate and react accordingly.  i guess the digital signal isn't bit perfect?

[kirk97132]

It would be "bit perfect" if you had chosen the same settings.  You told the deck to up the bit rate and sampling to the incoming signal.  The deck doesn't automatically do anything.  Some people up the bit rate anyway then do all their post work so that when the resample back down they have not lost any information.  After all it is only adding zeros to the 16 bit signal