Topic: 4-track field recorder?

[jnorman34]

what are my options for capturing 4 tracks simultanteously to HDD or flash media, in an affordable, portable package?  i think the edirol R4 is about the only thing i have seen that provides 4 built in pres with phantom power.  i would like to only have to carry my 4 mics and a single device with good pres/converters/4-track recording capability.  thanks for any recommendations.

[Shawn]

also check out the edirol r-44

[mmedley.]

also check out the edirol r-44

Yep, this is your best option given your requirements.

[flintstone]

The key word here is "affordable."  There are only two four channel recorders
that cost less than $1000:  The Zoom H2 (four internal mics, no phantom power),
$180; and the Edirol R-44, $900.  You can occasionally find the Edirol R-4 for less
than$1000, but it's usually priced around $1200.  Next stop is the Edirol R-4 Pro,
about $1900.

When you're recording with four mics, you're usually transporting a lot of other
gear (mic cables, mic stands and so on).  In that situation, you might find a
small laptop computer with multi-channel interface a cost-effective solution, too.

Flintstone

[cybergaloot]

I'd say the R-44 is the way to go. I've been reading a lot about it and got to handle one last weekend, it seems like the best bang for the buck if you want 4 channels. Of course you'll need mics, cables, etc. etc.so you'll have to factor that in if you are on a budget. I hope to get one sometime soon myself.

[Kindguy]

Another vote for the R-44. I love mine.

Scooter Has a  R4 in the YS for 600 bucks. About as good of a deal you'll find on a 4 channel recorder.

[digifish_music]

Yup R44 is the only game in town at the moment. One thing I have noticed tho, recording 4 mics seems to be 8 times more messing about with cables/stands etc when compared with two

digifish

[rowjimmytour]

The key word here is "affordable."  There are only two four channel recorders
that cost less than $1000:  The Zoom H2 (four internal mics, no phantom power),
$180; and the Edirol R-44, $900.  You can occasionally find the Edirol R-4 for less
than$1000, but it's usually priced around $1200.  Next stop is the Edirol R-4 Pro,
about $1900.

When you're recording with four mics, you're usually transporting a lot of other
gear (mic cables, mic stands and so on).  In that situation, you might find a
small laptop computer with multi-channel interface a cost-effective solution, too.

Flintstone

I got my R4 for that price but that included a Oades T-mod to cchannel 3,4 but I think you can still get a off the shelf R4 for under 1k at most places. The one nice thing about the r44 and a upgrade from the R4 is you can get 4 channels of digital input signal like the R4 pro.

[John Willett]

Forget the R-4 - go for the R-4 Pro or R-44.

For the price the R-44 is excellent value (and it has the same mic. pre's as the R-4 Pro I am told).

[nottingham]

[For the price the R-44 is excellent value /quote]

 

[rastasean]

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,109377.0.html

R-4 for $600

[John Willett]

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,109377.0.html

R-4 for $600

Personally I would not get an R-4 - the early ones had i/p 4 out of phase with the other three i/ps.

R-4 Pro or R-44, yes, but not the original R-4.

[rastasean]

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,109377.0.html

R-4 for $600

Personally I would not get an R-4 - the early ones had i/p 4 out of phase with the other three i/ps.

R-4 Pro or R-44, yes, but not the original R-4.

I will take your word and your opinion on that. You know your recorders. 

[John Willett]

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,109377.0.html

R-4 for $600

Personally I would not get an R-4 - the early ones had i/p 4 out of phase with the other three i/ps.

R-4 Pro or R-44, yes, but not the original R-4.

I will take your word and your opinion on that. You know your recorders. 

Thanks - I actually have an original R-4, don't use it at all.  But the others are much better - I think Edirol learned from the weaknesses in the original R-1 and R-4 and now make an excellent value range in the R-09HR, R-44 and R-4-Pro.

[F.O.Bean]

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,109377.0.html

R-4 for $600

Personally I would not get an R-4 - the early ones had i/p 4 out of phase with the other three i/ps.

R-4 Pro or R-44, yes, but not the original R-4.

AGREED John I havent used ANY of Edirols products PERSONALLY, but after seeing the R-44 in use, most recently at moedown w/ Rob Clarke running one, I would DEFINITELY get the R-44. Its also a good bit SMALLER than the R-4/R-4 Pro as well. And it can handle BOTH Analog AND Digital inputs simultaneously, just like the R-4 Pro's can, except its $1k cheaper than the R-4 Pro Personally, I see NO NEED to EVER get ANYTHING BUT THE R-44. The R-4 Pro is just a more expensive R-44 IMO(w/ some special time code or something? What exactly is the difference between the R-4 and the R-4 Pro besides be3ing able to handle digital/analog inputs simultaneously?), and the R-4/R-4 Pro has an INHDD vs. the R-44 JUST writing to CF Cards(which I see as a HUGE BENEFIT/BONUS over any INHDD these days! Hell, if the 702's were around when I got my 722 back in May 2006, and CF cards were as cheap as they are now, I wouldnt even hesitate getting a 702 these days, but alas, when I got my 722, ONLY the 722 and 744T were available, and cf cards were WAY MORE EXPENSIVE than they are now.). The R-44's are strictly compact flash driven, and like I said, are smaller than the R-4's, and can handle digital/analog inputs simultaneously Sounds like a WINNER to me And since the R-44's are CF Driven ONLY, they HAVE TO get ALOT better battery runtimes vs. the R-4/R-4 Pro's, right fellas

I LOVED using the SD 744T, dont get me wrong, Im a DEDICATED SD 7xx USER/FLUFFER and will NEVER get rid of my 722 as long as I can help it, but if I were going to use 4 channels alot, I would get the R-44 IN A SECOND over the 744T, simply because it has (4) mic inputs w/ phantom(compared to (2) mic inputs w/ phantom on the 744T), and to be quite honest, the stock preamps on the R-4/R-44's are DAMN GOOD ON THEIR OWN. IMO they dont have NEAR the SQ the 7xx series does, but that still says that the r44's stock preamps sound DAMN GOOD. I am just IN LOVE w/ the 7xx series preamps, and having run ALOT of different preamps, from the MANY different preamps Ive run, I have ALWAYS liked the 7xx series preamps the best(compared to the preamps Ive PERSONALLY RUN) and as always, YMMV.

But yeah, I dont think you could go wrong getting an R-44 and an A-Data 32gb CF Card(if those even work w/ the R-44's ) for a VERY REASONABLE PRICE. The R-44's are basically an R-4 Pro w/ most of the same feature sets, and in a smaller package. And I also bet the R-44's get ALOT better battery runtimes since they are ONLY writing to cf cards

That brings to question: Has ANYONE run BOTH an R-4/R-4 Pro AND the R-44 Can you attest if there is a huge difference between the two units and how much better battery runtimes the R-44's get compared to the good ole R-4/R-4 Pro's

I'll put it this way(and Im a TRIED and TRUE DEDICATED and HARDCORE 7xx series PHAN) but if I were to get a 4-channel recorder, I would DEFINITELY GET the R-44 Does Oade/Busman MODIFY the R-44's yet? If Busman mod's the R-44, then you DEFINITELY CANNOT GO WRONG IMO But even stock, they sound damn fine. I only heard Rob Clarke's from this past moedown w/ a Lunatec V2 in front tho. And if you already had (2) 2 channel preamps you liked and planned on running, then once again, the R-44 simply CANNOT BE BEAT IMO

So, does Oade/Busman mod the R-44's yet? Since its a good bit smaller than the R-4/R-4 Pro(where is that picture floating around ts.com that compares the R-4/R-4 Pro vs. the R-44 That will DEFINITELY sway you towards the R-44 if all of our advice doesnt ) maybe there simply isnt enough room to modify them Can ANYONE give more info on the R-44 mods, if there even are any?

I tell you what, I wish I did run 4 channel just so I could get one of those bad lil boys I NEVER get a SBD patch, and I dont EVEr plan on running 2 pairs of mics. 2 channel is PLENTY FINE for me, especially since I can setup/teardown my MBHO Actives>603A>722 setup in under 2 minutes, I will NEVER get into 4 channel mic recordings. Ive always looked at it this way: If you cant pull a SMOKING recording w/ 1 pair of mics, then dont try to save your ass w/ a 2nd pair of mics But for real tho, if I EVER got a good amount of SBD patches, or was archiving for a good band, Id drop the dime on an R-44 IN A HEARTBEAT. It would DEFINITELY be my VERY FIRST CHOICE going 4 channel However, if the 744T did have (4) mic inputs w/ phantom, id actually drop the LARGE AMOUNT of extra cash on one of those because I LOVE their sound, and their feature set is SECOND TO NONE. And when I ran Ned Struzziero's for RAQ NYE last 12/30/2007(1st and ONLY time I ever ran a 744T) I ran my 483's into channels 1/2, and the SBD into 3/4, but a preamp WASNT NEEDED since the SBD was PLENTY HOT, and I actually LUCKED OUT and didnt have to mess w/ the line level on the inputs AT ALL If I KNEW the SBD would always be THAT SMOOTH, then Id get a 744T, but how often is that going to happen? NOT VERY OFTEN

So yeah, just get the damn R-44 and thank us later, OK?

And is a mod on the R-44 possible at all for the 10th time in this post?