I know.
but he didn't say he used CF.
and if you were planning to, why spend the extra for a HDD you wont use?
we digress....
You're right the HD is a moving part, but as long as it hasn't failed me in over 70 shows, it's hard to remember it is a moving part.
As far as how much I spent on the 722, it's worth every penny for the peace of mind I mentioned earlier like when I have a $185 ticket and only one chance to tape the show. Additionally there are many times when I have 3 shows in a workweek working 10 hour days and 2 hours commuting to/from the show, so I like being able to format the HD on Sunday and not have to move any files over until Saturday. I cannot do that when I'm working with a 4gb flash card.
^^^^^
Cards are cheap, you cold easily do that by grabbing a few more. You could pick up 16gb of flash for under $100 (say two 8gb cards) today (fall of '07) and not have to dump files.
My take on the $ vs bullet-proof argument- Yes, piece of mind is important. Yes, the R-09 seems and is vulnerable out of the box. With my first one, now 1-1/2 yrs old, I epoxied my jacks after a warrranty repair (covered after the 1yr. expiration
) and keep it in a modified cell phone case unless changing cards, batts, or dumping files. It doesn't seem or feel nearly as vulnerable to me that way and has survived drops to concrete floors, Hank III FOB crazies, and a 4 yr old nefew, though most of what I record is relatively tame. With the exception of the line-in breaking, I've never had a problem with it (user error issues are an exception
). I do run an external preamp because of my mics. When the line-in jack broke I switched to using the mic-in jack for 6 months before sending it in for repair. I've lost zero shows shows over the last 1-1/2 years due to the R-09's reliability, lost one due to a bad cable I discovered after the fact, and lost two due to running out of battery power without spares.
I just bought a second R-09 and picked up two additional 8gb cards a couple weeks ago all for under $400 delivered. I now have duplicate recorder redundancy plus the ability to patch (analog) into other rigs or the SDB with my backup recorder. At a 'fest a week ago I was admiring those pretty 7xx lights but was quite happy with my twin recorders, four 8gb cards and a bunch of AA's (+ a couple 9v's for my pre). Those SD recorders are great, I'd love one, but I often get results I like better from my rig, which I credit to mic choice, configuration and placement, not the recorder. I like the fact that I can swap cards for unlimited capacity and use two regular AA'a every 6-8 hrs. I just can't justify that much more $ for the recorder to essentially add digital and clock in over what I have, especially now that I have a spare. Realizing I had nearly 30 GB of recordings after getting home after that weekend was a bit of an eye opener.
My $.02? Upgrade your recorder last! That little R-09 will make fine recordings from your Naks or big $ mics if you decide to go that route, with the addition of an external pre if necessary. Yes, convinence is important too and the all in one nature of the SD's recorders + 48v phantom pre is great, but honestly my pre + recorder package is about the same total size and just needs a 1/8 patch cable between them (same with the Chris Church's pre > R-09 if you go that route). Learn how to use the Naks>R-09 to your best advantage in various situations, compare those recordings to your dad's, maybe add the Church pre. Go from there, but experiment with mic setup first and foremost. Most here will agree, that's were the true gains are to be found, where there is the most to learn and where the endevor starts to verge on 'art'. Then, if you want to go deeper and upgrade your mics, let the mic choice determine your need for a preamp (or another recorder with a suitable one built-in).
Topic: Preamp for the R-09 (Read 12461 times)