Topic: which first recorder - field and music practice

[mrfrank]

looking for a recorder for field recording and music practice/gigs.

i have been looking at the new Roland R05 (around £170 in the UK)

i am interested in experimenting with piezo contact mics, hydrophones, harmonica mic’s and bi-aural mics - all will be home made! so a mic in socket is required.

I have been put off the Zoom h2 as the mic in is apparently not too great and line in sockets have problems?

I have many great reviews about the sony recorders however in the UK these are so much more expensive than in the US (SONY PCM-M10 is around £300 and the SONY PCM-D50 is £500). hence looking at the roland.

is the roland the best way to go? budget is upto £200


This website shows most of what is available in the UK
http://www.solidstatesound.co.uk/

i also need a pair of headphones for monitoring - I have the following:
Sony MDR-V300, senheiser HD202‘s and Koss Porta Pro’s (realise these are not closed backs) - will one of these be good enough as monitors or should i upgrade?

[rastasean]

you may have better luck in the recording gear forum:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?board=11.0

In America the 05 is $250 and the m10 is $200. Too bad the price difference is so much for you because I would recommend the m10 for a new recorder.

Do you have any microphones or pre-amps? Are you just looking for a recorder and nothing more?

[mrfrank]

thanks rastasean
yeah the sony prices suck - £300 in the uk is $467  - its more than double your price (D50 is $779)

I dont have any external mics or pre amps (will prob build a pre amp if required) at the moment  -  is it worth looking into external mics at this kind of budget?

really i'm looking for a good recorder, with the option to play around with some home brew mics

[listener2]

Yes, too bad the price of the Sony units are so much more in the UK. 
I would also recommend the Sony PCM-M10 but since it is too expensive, I can tell you that the Roland R-05 is for all intents and purposes will be just as good as the Sony M10 except for the battery life.  Sony M10 battery life is far superior to any other that I have come across so far.  But don't get me wrong, the Roland R-05 is not bad with battery life neither.  I am still on my 1st set of AA batteries on my Sony M10 (its down to 1 bar but still going strong)... whereas I just had to replace the 2 AA bateries in the Roland R05 already and I've been using the Sony M10 about a month longer than before I got the Roland R05! I don't know how Sony engineers do it, but they are the best at battery life savings techniques.

Anyway, if you can get the Roland R-05 for a low price over there, by all means get it.  I recommend it and can tell you it records just fine.  Has good low noise preamps too.  But if you can snatch up a Sony M10 at a good acceptable price, then get the Sony (no baloney).   

If you by chance can spend more money for a recorder with GREAT bang for the buck and has better preamps and sound than the Sony's... I recommend the Tascam DR-680 8 channel recorder.
I took a chance and bought this at a great price (here in the USA from soundprofessionals.com special deal) and wow, was I surprised to find out how nice this unit records and sounds!  But it only has XLR and TRS mic/line input connectors... so may not be for you if you are just looking to use regular 3.5mm stereo plug type mics.  Anyway, just thought I'd mention it... it is such a great buy even for its current non-sale going price.

Cheers!

[rastasean]

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=137360.0
someone sent him a PM for the 09HR but I think you should also try to contact him. this is a great recorder.

if that one is sold, try this one
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=136939.0


http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=137548.0
that will get you started in the game for a low price.

These are all people in america so I don't know if they are interested in selling overseas but those are good prices on quality equipment.

For microphones, look at church audio in the retail section.

your headphones work for now so don't blow any money on them for awhile.