Topic: Roland R-26 - initial review

[ashevillain]

Nice. Seems like a pint-sized alternative to the R-44 in many respects. 

After running the R-26 a number of times now, I feel like the R-26 sounds better than the R-44. I know Roland says the mic pre is the same so IDK...maybe it's the A/D that sounds better? I've not done any scientific tests so take this statement with a grain of salt.

[F.O.Bean]

Sounds very promising for when I go 4 chan schoeps

[sacchini]

I see just little interest in Roland R-26; I mean, a few reviews and it got no vote about favorite recorder.
Is it not worth the price?
Or just left in shop 'cause too big (compared to Sony PCM-M10) or too weak (compared to Marantz, Sound Devices, Fostex and so on)?
In a few months time I need to buy a recorder and I like R-26 features: more than 2 tracks (true, not the same at different levels or one locked to internal mics), XLR 48V powered, long battery life...
I'd like to know if preamp is ok for rock shows (not quiet at all) and what are main cons.

[runonce]

I see just little interest in Roland R-26; I mean, a few reviews and it got no vote about favorite recorder.
Is it not worth the price?
Or just left in shop 'cause too big (compared to Sony PCM-M10) or too weak (compared to Marantz, Sound Devices, Fostex and so on)?
In a few months time I need to buy a recorder and I like R-26 features: more than 2 tracks (true, not the same at different levels or one locked to internal mics), XLR 48V powered, long battery life...
I'd like to know if preamp is ok for rock shows (not quiet at all) and what are main cons.

I have to wonder if folks interested in multi-channel recorders are opting to spend a few more bucks for the TASCAM DR-680 - seems only about 50 bucks more if you shop around...

And if they arent needing multi-track - the TASCAM DR100mkII and Sonys M10 are cheaper.

That would be my thinking...

[sacchini]

I have to wonder if folks interested in multi-channel recorders are opting to spend a few more bucks for the TASCAM DR-680 - seems only about 50 bucks more if you shop around...
And if they arent needing multi-track - the TASCAM DR100mkII and Sonys M10 are cheaper.
That would be my thinking...

I see your thoughts... but DR-680 is not only more expensive (in Italy I would pay it the double of R-26) but also far bigger and heavier.
R-26 is on the edge of "wearable" (or even stealth...) size and weight; DR-680 is intended for differente usage, I think.

[runonce]

I have to wonder if folks interested in multi-channel recorders are opting to spend a few more bucks for the TASCAM DR-680 - seems only about 50 bucks more if you shop around...
And if they arent needing multi-track - the TASCAM DR100mkII and Sonys M10 are cheaper.
That would be my thinking...

I see your thoughts... but DR-680 is not only more expensive (in Italy I would pay it the double of R-26) but also far bigger and heavier.
R-26 is on the edge of "wearable" (or even stealth...) size and weight; DR-680 is intended for differente usage, I think.

Lots of guys here running the 680...only about 50 bucks price difference in USA.

Perhaps the R-26 will be a hit in Italy...

[sacchini]

Lots of guys here running the 680...only about 50 bucks price difference in USA.
Perhaps the R-26 will a hit in Italy...

Seen the price of DR680 on BH Photo Video; unbelieveble gap compared to Europe!!!

[acidjack]

Just got an R-26 for a smaller-lighter all-in-one 4ch setup.  Haven't run it in the field, but it's not as small as I thought and definitely the more "plasticky" feel of the Tascam DR-40.  Still, I'd probably opt for this over the 680 unless I needed the extra channels...

[Todd R]

Just got an R-26 for a smaller-lighter all-in-one 4ch setup.  Haven't run it in the field, but it's not as small as I thought and definitely the more "plasticky" feel of the Tascam DR-40.  Still, I'd probably opt for this over the 680 unless I needed the extra channels...

Damn, I'm envious.  I've debated and debated the R-26, just can't quite get there to pull the trigger.  I'm really getting more and more into a smaller rig (ok, that's been happening for almost 10 years).  I don't need 6 or 8 channels, and I really liked my R44 when I had it.

For 4ch recording, I'd be all over the R-26 -- just can't quite decide whether I feel the need for 4ch recording. I really don't do much in the way of soundboard or soundboard+aud mixes lately, and can't quite convince myself I ever need to run 4ch of mics (to be mixed together that is).  But if I were to get a 4ch recorder, the R-26 would be it -- especially if it really sounds up to par to the R44.  To me, the much smaller size compared to the R44, DR680, and the 744 is a big plus.

So does the R-26 seem more flimsy than the R44?  The R44 is made of plastic, but to me it was a pretty thick plastic and didn't feel "plasticky".  Is the R26 less robust than the R44?

[rastasean]

acidjack, are you able to take pictures of the r26 next to/by/on top of the R-44 to better understand how much smaller it is?

[acidjack]

Just got an R-26 for a smaller-lighter all-in-one 4ch setup.  Haven't run it in the field, but it's not as small as I thought and definitely the more "plasticky" feel of the Tascam DR-40.  Still, I'd probably opt for this over the 680 unless I needed the extra channels...

Damn, I'm envious.  I've debated and debated the R-26, just can't quite get there to pull the trigger.  I'm really getting more and more into a smaller rig (ok, that's been happening for almost 10 years).  I don't need 6 or 8 channels, and I really liked my R44 when I had it.

For 4ch recording, I'd be all over the R-26 -- just can't quite decide whether I feel the need for 4ch recording. I really don't do much in the way of soundboard or soundboard+aud mixes lately, and can't quite convince myself I ever need to run 4ch of mics (to be mixed together that is).  But if I were to get a 4ch recorder, the R-26 would be it -- especially if it really sounds up to par to the R44.  To me, the much smaller size compared to the R44, DR680, and the 744 is a big plus.

So does the R-26 seem more flimsy than the R44?  The R44 is made of plastic, but to me it was a pretty thick plastic and didn't feel "plasticky".  Is the R26 less robust than the R44?

I think the R-26 definitely feels more flimsy than the -44; to me the -44 is about as solid-feeling as you can get before you head to Sound Devices type pricing.  Of course, "less solid" also means "less heavy" to me.  The finish on it is nice, it has a nice big display and while it's not the size of a stealth deck, it's smaller than the other 4+ channel competition that has P48 (obviously the DR-2D is still smaller). 

Don't get me wrong, at least on initial inspection, it's not "crappy", it just has less of a "pro" feel than the R-44.  And maybe the 661, though I haven't really played with one of those much.

I think if one doesn't want to spend a bunch of money and wants something small with 4ch, it is a very nice option.  I'm sure the onboard pres are pretty similar to what's in the R-44/R-88.

[tgakidis]

Tascam DR-680
Edirol R-44
Roland R-26
Sony M10

[acidjack]

Some more thoughts from running it last night.  Setup was SBD>XLR ins of the R-26 + MBHO KA500N>Aerco>miniplug in of the R-26

Good:
- Display is the best of any of the recorders I have used.  Large, bright, clear.  Only thing I'd love in addition is the M10 -12 and clip lights
- Touch screen menus are easy to navigate; in general I find the layout and menus to be good the way I find most Roland ones, and therefore the opposite of my thoughts on Tascam.
- Ran it for 2hrs (no phantom) with engergizer lithiums; batt light still at full strength.

Not so good:
- The miniplug input that is styled as a plug in power mic input cannot really be turned into a true line-in as far as I can tell.  Even setting it to LOW and setting the Aerco to 0dB output, I still had to turn the levels pretty far down (around 30) to get a signal in the -12 to -6 range.  I have not tried running SBD into it, but based on this I would be hesitant to run SBD without an attenuator.  Yet, I may try doing so tomorrow just for kicks.  Anyone else have any thoughts here? 
- The XLR connections into it are not locking the way they are on the R-44.  Not necessarily a huge problem but definitely not good.
- In terms of orienting it in a bag, the layout is different than lot of other recorders. I ended up just setting it on top of everything in my Kata and zipping it shut.  With that huge display it made it very easy to read the levels standing up.
- I did not love setting levels using a touch screen.  The big wheels change the main analog levels, but the miniplug input has to be changed using the touch screen itself (meaning you have to unlock the deck to make changes).

I think it is a strong unit. It's smaller and lighter than the -44. Price-wise, the 680 has gotten so cheap that it makes it hard to resist the 680 given that it has such a robust feature set (8 channels, digital input, etc.).  However, the R-26 is simpler to use, and smaller. If you do not need the other features of the 680, I'd recommend this over that.

I think the ideal user is the person who wants a solid all-in-one with P48 who'd like to do matrixes from time to time.  I won't definitively say that the miniplug in can't be used for SBD without an attenuator until I try it a few more times.  This is a better feature set than the DR-2D which is the other machine people use for this same purpose.  Of course, it also costs more.  I'd like to see it come down a touch in price; at $350 or $400 I'd recommend it unreservedly. 

Tomorrow I will try running the deck's pres and (hopefully) get an SBD feed into the miniplug input.

[Todd R]

Thanks for the additional report, AJ!

Overall, it sounds like a nice recorder.  I agree with your assessment too -- at $350-400, this seems like it would be a great recorder.  At $500 or so, I think it then gets hard to ignore the competition of the DR100 mkii or PMD-661 if you want 2ch mainly or the DR680 if you want multi-channel.

On the 3.5mm input -- Roland reports a max input of +4dbu.  This is the nominal output level of professional gear, and since actual output might go above the nominal rating, I'd agree that it might present problems using this input for a soundboard feed.

OTOH, with a +4dbu max input, I think that in most cases one should be able to use this input connected to an external mic preamp for your aud mics, as long as you can set the preamp to provide no more than about 10db gain.  Depends then on you minimum gain from your preamp -- an Oade m148 or PSP2 might be problematic, but I think most other preamps we tend to use in the field have lower minimum gain settings.

[acidjack]

OTOH, with a +4dbu max input, I think that in most cases one should be able to use this input connected to an external mic preamp for your aud mics, as long as you can set the preamp to provide no more than about 10db gain.  Depends then on you minimum gain from your preamp -- an Oade m148 or PSP2 might be problematic, but I think most other preamps we tend to use in the field have lower minimum gain settings.

Thanks for confirming some of my suspicions on that, Todd. The Aerco outputs pretty hot as well, but anecdotally, I could have gone to +10 gain and still kept the levels in range, I think. 

Attenuators are cheap, at least, if someone wants to go that route.   I do own a couple, so I may try that.