Topic: Got the mic and battery module, need the digital recorder.

[meursault]

I am not a musician and I only want to record rock concerts. I already own
in-ear mics microphone madness MM-BSM-8   http://www.microphonemadness.com/products/mmtrunathook.htm
a simple battery module microphone madness MM-CBM-Mini http://microphonemadness.com/products/mmcbmminminc.htm
I pluged them in line-in of my minidiscs MZ-RH10 or RH1 and I was very happy with the results.
Now I wanna try a another digital recorder and upload my recordings with ease. I am a mac user and I hope the wav recordings are uploaded with a simple drag and drop.
So do you have any recommendations? I dont want to spend a fortune here as long as the recording quality is equal to my minidics. I know many will propose PCM-M10 but I think that it has so may features that I dont need, like the speaker and the wired remote.
My main issue is the recording quality. Then the price. I want to manually adjust the recording volume. Divide tracks. Recharge batteries or accept rechargable batteries. Mac compatibility. I dont care for built-in mics and speakers and musician features.
Anyone? Please?

[willndmb]

<shameless plug>
i have a microtrack 24/96 for sale
that would fit the budget, mac friendly, battery, adjust sound level

i also have a m10 that i have not run outside the house but its sweet too, like you said however its a lot of overkill for what you want

[fmaderjr]

I think your MZ-RH1 is a better recorder than the MT 24/96 if you can deal with Sonic Stage, despite being limited to 16 bit. It will make better recordings for most people in the real world. It has a much better preamp and fewer bugs.

For the least expensive recorder than might be considered a step up due to ease of use and 24 bit, I would go with the Tascam DR-07 which many here love. The Sony M10 is a great recorder, though. I love mine.

[stevetoney]

Microtracker = Keep Using Your Mini Disc

Microtracker =    (main issue is powering with the internal battery and issues that result when you start fucking with the unit when battery power starts to go like lost recordings, but secondary issue is lousy gain range control)

Otherwise, the M10, R09HR, PMD-620 or a couple other handhelds in the $200 to $350.  Just make sure you buy something that records in 24bit so that you can take advantage of everything that 24bit has to offer.

[meursault]

So you guys are saying that m10 or the dr07 I will have the same recording results using the same mics? No difference?
Dr07 is much less expensive and I cant find any important reason to go to the m10... the only thing that puzzles me is the overall quality and the Tascam seems inferior to Sony.
Also do you have any comments for my mics and the battery box? I am happy with them but I am not as experienced as most of you here. I remind that I only record live rock gigs from audience, so please take it in your consideration for your commends and possible product recommendations.
Thank you

[fmaderjr]

I don't have the Tascam. The Sony is better, I am sure,  but there's a fair chance there won't be an audible difference to you.

One decent battery box is pretty much the same as another.

Mics are a different story. You have good low cost mics, but you might well hear an improvement with more expensive SP mics or Church Audio mics. On the other hand they might sound fine to you unless you try to record something too loud for them to handle. Your mics are only rated to 120 dB with a battery box. Very loud rock concerts could exceed that. I would go with Church Audio or SP mics with the low sensitivity option to make sure that never happens.

Church Audio is by far the best bang for the buck.

[Popmarter]

Take an Iriver with rockbox and it's remote for checking levels. I have one for sale if you like. just PM.

grts,
bas

Edit (in response to Tonedeaf his post, which was right).
I like the I-river mainly because it is steady, easy to use and it has a remote that gives the ability to check levels during recording very easy. To me it was also an upgrade from MD. You don't mention it, but if stealthing is an issue, see if this is the recorder for you. 16b/24b, i did not care for for a long time.....maybe i should do that as i was not aware of the difference sofar, as mentioned by Tonedeaf.

[stevetoney]

Fmaderjr said pretty much what my response was gonna be.  Remember that the recorder part of a digital recorder makes no difference...it's simply writing 1's and 0's.  Where there could be a difference is upstream of the recording function...in the internal preamp and ADC of the machine.  On the other hand, as already mentioned, for these devices there tend to be differences when you use electronic gear to analyze down to the gnats ass, but sonically I'm not so sure you'd hear much of a difference between the two recorders you're considering.  The predominant influence on that aspect of your recording will be the stuff that you've already purchased.

EDIT:  Sorry to be blunt, but the previous post is just a little self serving, without providing any reasons or justification why the iriver is a good alternative for this noob.  I'd pass on the iriver personally.  I've heard they're nice machines, but 16bit is old technology and since you're just starting, start with 24bit.  24bit provides better resolution, which in itself isn't all about better sound as much as greater dynamic range and most importantly greater headroom so that you don't have to run really hot to get the best sounding recording.  Running with alot of headroom enables you to avoid clipping during the show because you can set the levels with lots of spare headroom without having to worry about checking levels every 5 minutes.  So, on top of everything else, running with added headroom (say between -10db and -5db) has an intrinsic benefit of enabling you to enjoy the show more because recording becomes more of a 'set it and forget it' exercise in 24bit.

[fmaderjr]

I like the I-river mainly because it is steady, easy to use and it has a remote that gives the ability to check levels during recording very easy. To me it was also an upgrade from MD. You don't mention it, but if stealthing is an issue, see if this is the recorder for you. 16b/24b, i did not care for for a long time.....maybe i should do that as i was not aware of the difference sofar, as mentioned by Tonedeaf.

I like the iRiver too. Don't like the remote when recording since it can add audible noise and you don't really need to check levels much if you use the safety clip feature. The iRiver is an upgrade over standard Mini-Disc but not over Hi-MD. The MZ-RH1 that the original poster already has, has a much better preamp (the iRiver needs an external pre for quiet stuff) and probably has a better ADC (though I doubt that difference would be audible to me).

I should add, though, that the much longer record time of the iRiver is a huge advantage for some, and when used with a preamp it sounds as good as Hi-MD to me. The 94 minute Disc change with Hi-MD can be inconvenient. I use Hi-SP around 8 hours per disc) when necessary to avoid that and hear no difference, but obviously you are losing something doing that.

I do prefer to use a 24 bit recorder in most cases because of the extra headroom.

[meursault]

I forgot to say "thank you" for all the replies. I still havent decided which device to buy, pcm-m10 or dr-07. I guess that dr-07 is the voice of logic but I think that for 110$ pcm-m10 is much better constructed and better device in general. But thenpcm-m10 has so many potentials that I dont have to buy...
But I cant say "thank you" for putting me in more expenses  ! This happens everytime I join a forum. More expenses!!
Now I think of upgrading mics. The rest here http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=135450.0

[Popmarter]

I must say your thread has given me some serious doubt on upgrading too, both recorder and mic. Would like to go for more high end now.

Have you considered the Marantz 661? I keep looking at that thing as it has all the things i need. Like you, no build in mics, low noiselevel.. Bit big for stealthing maybe...

[meursault]

Pricey, dont you think? I dont think of spending that much.

[HarpDoc]

If you're considering the DR-7, you might want to also consider its replacement that just came out, the DR-8. Still inexpensive and quite a bit smaller.

[meursault]

I finally bought pcm-m10...