Topic: Anyone fool enough to accept this challenge?

[splumer]

Again,thanks to everyone who has commented on this thread. You are most informative and a valuable source of information. I'm starting to think I'll be able to do this eventually.

The Tascam arrived the other day,but aside from charging the battery I haven't had a chance to use it. I did read all 17 pages of Tonedeaf's amazing review, and I hope Tascam is giving him a kickback for his promotional efforts. One question I saw raised there but not answered that I am curious about.  Can anyone who's used one of these (DR100MKII) recommend a brand of SD card that's reliable and compatible?

Also,as I am new to the computer-related recording,can anyone mention a little about the care and feeding of SD cards? I see they have exposed contacts. Are they succeptable to loss of data or damage if those contacts accidentally get shorted? Is static electricity lethal to the cards? What is reasonable care - can I carry one around in my pocket with no concern or is that foolish?

Thanks for the contInuing education!

SD cards are pretty tough. Static might be an issue, just like with any electronic device, as well as magnetic fields, but you don't need to treat them all that special. SanDisk makes good ones, and they're a fairly common brand. I bought an 8GB one at Big Lots for my son's camera for maybe $12 last Xmas. Having a spare would be a good idea, too, just in case.

Having a computer is pretty important, too. Not just for recording but for doing all that computer stuff, too. What's great is that all the programs you'll need to process your recordings are free: CDWav, Audacity, Trader's Little Helper, etc.

Making the jump to a solid-state recorder was the best thing that ever happened to me, taping-wise.

[rocksuitcase]

The Tascam arrived the other day,but aside from charging the battery I haven't had a chance to use it. I did read all 17 pages of Tonedeaf's amazing review, and I hope Tascam is giving him a kickback for his promotional efforts. One question I saw raised there but not answered that I am curious about.  Can anyone who's used one of these (DR100MKII) recommend a brand of SD card that's reliable and compatible?

Thanks for the contInuing education!

When I bought my PMD 661 from Oade Brothers, Doug told me that he recommends SD cards with class 6 or higher. I found a 16GB class 10 Transcend online and have had great results with it. I hear the Sandisk Extremes are excellent especially for HD video. Basically it is the transfer rate (noted in MB/s) that is important with the types of recording we do. According to Doug we want at least 10 MB/s transfer rates for live audio.

[Brian Skalinder]

all the programs you'll need to process your recordings are free: CDWav, Audacity, Trader's Little Helper, etc.

CD-Wave is not freeware; it's shareware.  A license costs a mere $15, which, if you use the s/w a lot, is well worth the price.

[Songcatcher]

I'm pleased to report an initial success with the DR100MKII. I went to a show last night in an odd venue for taping. It's an old house converted into a bar. When shows are indoors,the band sets up in a small alcove opposite the bar area. Due to the layout,getting good mic placement would be difficult. The areas where a stand could be set up are limited,and of those preferred areas, most have ceiling fans directly overhead,and ceilings are moderately low. I was pleased to find that while the opening act played indoors,the headliner (Hayes Carll) was playing outdoors in the back porch / back yard area. Mic placement opportunities were many,but I instead opted for a soundboard feed,as I wasn't sure I'd have time to set up prior to the start of Hayes' set. The Tascam proved to be as easy to use as I had hoped. The soundboard was located immediately next to the stage,and my presence there would have been a distraction for the band,soundman and audience, so I had to adopt a "set it and forget it" plan. My guesswork on the moderate level settings proved to be accurate,although probably a little more conservative than I would have ran if I had been there babysitting the unit. I was a little disappointed with the AA battery life. The show was about two hours,but the Tascam had seemlessly (as far as I know) transitioned to the li-on internal at some point. I was running Panasonic alkaline batteries,based on the 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours of run time I would get from them with my DAT. I was running the Tascam with no internal mics, no phantom ,and no backlight so I guess I was expecting more. I would have guessed that transferring energy to motion (as with the DAT) would have been the greater strain on the batteries.

I only listened to a brief snippet of the show when I got home,due to having only 4 hours (and counting) of sleep available to me before work this morning. I picked up some kind of noise,like a low level hiss or buzz. It may have been the guitarist's amplifier's hum coming throuh the PA, or maybe interference from the lighting. I was listening on headphones,which made it seem more pronounced,but it was really only evident between songs or during dialog. The quality of the music was very nice indeed. Looking forward to a listen tomorrow.

Thanks again for the help and support from all of you here who lent a hand. I felt fairly confident going in due to the support I found here. I will take the analog out and burn the show to cd before I attempt to do anything with the file, thereby securing the recording in some form. I still need to buy a computer and learn the next steps.

Hayes Carll played a new song about one of his fantasies called "One bed,two girls and three bottles of wine" that was quite amusing,as you might guess.

[trustthex]

Been following this thread...

Congrats on your success.

[F.O.Bean]

Congrats buddy Welcome aboard. It only gets more and more addictive

[Songcatcher]

Congrats buddy Welcome aboard. It only gets more and more addictive

Thanks for the welcome. I've been taping long enough to well understand it's addictive nature. That addiction had been waning in recent years as I have been afflicted with LAS (leaded ass syndrome) which makes it difficult to get my ass up off the couch to go to shows. A new recorder definitely reverses that trend. I'm eyeing some new mics from Church Audio after reading about them here (CAFS or CA-11, hmmm) which should provide a great deal more incentive.

I scour garage sales for vinyl LP's to feed one of my other music addictions. I had to stop prematurely last week as there was literally no room in my car's trunk for more albums. I'd write a book about music addiction except it would take away from the time I spend listening to music.

[rocksuitcase]

songcatcher,
it is quite common to have some hum or hiss on a SBD recording. Sometimes it comes from the SBD itself, more often it is from a musicians rig which has poor grounding or shielding. Especially guitarists (all kinds) where they often have multiple effects boxes ganged together. one poorly soldered cable or low 9V battery is usually the culprit here. Of course, if it is a guitar rig, it would also be present on an audience recording, but less prominent than on a SBD. Final thought from me, usually when the hum is most pronounced between songs, it is a guitar cable or bad ground on the pickups; when the musicians hands are on the guitar, it gets grounded by the human body, and when (s)he takes hands off the guitar the ground is broken, and the hum commences.

[capnhook]

With a spectrum analyzer, look for peaks at 60, 90, 120, and 180 Hz when you hear hum.  Make a tight little hi-q notch filter and suck them out if you find any.

[Songcatcher]

When I had the opportunity to sit back and listen to the show on my home speakers,the hiss I encountered was only on the initial tuning before the show started. Once the music began,even in the lapses in between songs,there wasn't any noise I could hear. I noticed immediately the improved clarity and definition that's a benefit of 24 bit recording. Nice!

[F.O.Bean]

When I had the opportunity to sit back and listen to the show on my home speakers,the hiss I encountered was only on the initial tuning before the show started. Once the music began,even in the lapses in between songs,there wasn't any noise I could hear. I noticed immediately the improved clarity and definition that's a benefit of 24 bit recording. Nice!

Congrats! I LOVE 24bit recording! I still run my levels kinda high at times, but not pushing 0db by any means