Topic: More Edirol R-09 Questions for newbie

[Boedi-taper]

Hello!
I'm a long time Dat taper who finally switched and bought an Edirol R-09.Will be using it for the first time in a week or two.I haven't seen the following questions posted in the other topic someone posted on the R-09,so here it goes:
1) On the light switch on the front,is there a hold switch or something to leave the light switch on? Also,how much does it drain the batteries.
2) Using a 8 GB Soundcard,how long do the batteries(Using Energizer or Duracell,of course) last? Also,when changing the batteries,I know to turn off the power first,but leave the soundcard in when changing batteries?Is it better to use the the longer lasting batteries(The lithium,I think) instead of the regular energizer or Duracell when using a 8 GB souncard? Will the longer lasting Lithium last,let's say 8 hours for a day festival?
3) I'm running Nakamichi 300 mics.I have to run both 1/4" cables into a dual 1/8" mini-jack which will plug into the R-09.From any experiences,do you get alot of noise(From the deck moving around,since you have to turn the deck over or to the side after getting levels straight to turn the hold switch on) when you are running mics into the mic input jack? The mic input jack actually seemd to be quite stable to me.
4) The Pyro audio Creator CD that is enclosed in the package: Is this good software to download to use when transferring a recording to your hard drive? Or is it better to use something like CD Wave Editor? Also,does the Pyro Audio creator CD have the option  to transfer the song/file as a flac file instead of a Wav file? I will eventually be uploading my shows to etree,etc and I know I will have to have the files as Flac.


Thanks for any and all help!

[SmokinJoe]

I typically set the backlight to stay on for some number of seconds.  Even when it "fades to dark" you can still read it... you just might have to stare at it for a moment.  Not a problem.

Batteries last a long time.  Good rechargables probably last 8 hours?  Alkalines a little less.  When I took this to a festival I would stop at the store and buy a 12 pack of AA alkalines.  Along with the rechargables, that will go all weekend.

Nak300's right into the R09 will work, but not great.  You will have to run mic in, high gain, with the gain cranked.  Best bet is to use a preamp.  There may be a battery moded MX100 in the yard sale cheap.  I haven't seen one lately, but go back a few pages.  If you get an MX100, set the R09 gain to about 17 and leave it there, then adjust the gain on MX100.

[fmaderjr]

Listen to SmokinJoe. The R-09 is still a great deck, but not if you have to crank the gain. You will probably hate the results unless you acquire a preamp or use it with mics that require a lot less gain the Naks. Without a pre you won't likely get pulls worthy of uploading to etree.

Since you already have a 1/8 adapter, if you can't find an MX-100 or want something smaller, you could order a ST-9000 or ST-9100 from Chris Church. Normally the ST-9100 is my first choice, but the ST-9100 does has 10 dB more gain and might actually be better in your situation.

[SmokinJoe]

Good idea, except Chris does not recommend using an ST9100 to boost signals from a Nak.  Nak's have output transformers which is a dead short across plug in power circuit on the 9100.  You might get away with it, but you might burn out the 9100.

If you like that sound you were getting but just want to get away from DAT tape, run it like you were doing before, and just patch the R09 out of the previous rig.  I've met a guy who still uses his D5 Cassette deck as a preamp leaving the D5 on "pause" all night, and patches a modern recorder out of that.

[Boedi-taper]

What about running my switches on My Nak's to "High" instead of low cut which I always ran low cut when using Dat,then having the Edirol mic gain switch on high? Will I get better levels then without distortion.I still could just use the Edirol and patch out of someone else if I don't get a preamp in the near future.How much does an MX-100 cost new?Or maybe just patch the Edirol out of my dat.But who knows how much longer I'll be buying blank Dat's.I'm just trying to figure out this stuff ahead of time,as I want to use the Edirol at the Mountain Jam next month.THANKS FOR ALL YOUR RESPONSES GUYS!

[SmokinJoe]

What about running my switches on My Nak's to "High" instead of low cut which I always ran low cut when using Dat,then having the Edirol mic gain switch on high? Will I get better levels then without distortion.I still could just use the Edirol and patch out of someone else if I don't get a preamp in the near future.How much does an MX-100 cost new?Or maybe just patch the Edirol out of my dat.But who knows how much longer I'll be buying blank Dat's.I'm just trying to figure out this stuff ahead of time,as I want to use the Edirol at the Mountain Jam next month.THANKS FOR ALL YOUR RESPONSES GUYS!

Run it the way you planned.  It won't be distorted, it just might be a little hissy.  When I had my Naks I ran that way a couple of times as a test, but that was years ago and I don't happen to have any samples.

They haven't made the Nak MX100 for years, that was really a 3 channel mixer, but it worked good as a 2 channel preamp for 2 naks.  The used price is typically around $100.

[acidjack]

4) The Pyro audio Creator CD that is enclosed in the package: Is this good software to download to use when transferring a recording to your hard drive? Or is it better to use something like CD Wave Editor? Also,does the Pyro Audio creator CD have the option  to transfer the song/file as a flac file instead of a Wav file? I will eventually be uploading my shows to etree,etc and I know I will have to have the files as Flac.

Thanks for any and all help!

On your software question, I'd get the following:

Import - Windows/Mac OS can handle this as a simple drag-and-drop
Editing - Audacity (free, stable, easy to use).  I use Audacity for tracking on my Mac as well and find it easy, but..
Tracking - if Windows, use CDWave.  If Mac, just do it in Audacity
FLAC fingerprints: Windows - Trader's Little Helper.  Mac - xAct
Convert to FLAC:  Windows - Trader's Little Helper.  Mac - xAct can do it, but I just have Audacity export straight to 16/44.1 FLAC at level 8.  As you'll note, I'm somewhat of a proponent of using Audacity (or another non-free full-featured editor like Adobe Audition, if you have windows) to do pretty much everything except make the FLAC fingerprints/MD5s

[SmokinJoe]

My suggestion is to grab this MX100 for $60.  This should work great, and that's the cheapest I've seen one.
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=135170.0

Normally an MX100 takes 1/4" inputs from the mics, which was standard cables that came with Naks.  It sounds like they started to change it over to XLRs, but didn't finish.  Assuming that's the whole story, it should be easy to finish the XLR conversion, or go back to 1/4" jacks (whichever is easier depending on what it looks like).  If you or a buddy are handy with a soldering iron you can do this, or if not, there are probably a few people (myself included) who would do it for karma and postage.

Looking at this picture below, here is what the inside of an MX100 looks like.  Those 3 things on the upper left are 1/4" phone jacks (with brown/black, gray/black, blue/black wires).  It's pretty damn spacious inside there by today's standards and not hard to work on.

[Brian G]

Dave,

I am not using my UA-5 in my current rig. If you want, you can borrow it for Mountain Jam.

Brian

[lookin4you2xist]

Great section for me, I just joined today. I have recorded a few shows mainly electronica , kmfdm...etc. not the best results, but  i have done no editing. questions  from me are This,
What is the best cheap mic ...the one i bought, was the one that edirol sells, really haven't tested it ...kinda stealth setup usually, but didn't sound ...wow
What buttons should you have set to what ? When you do the levels, should you push it to just before it hits red , or ? Please keep in mind, concerts are mainly industrial / electronic/ or live dj sets in Tampa Bay so loud and heavy bass. So cheapest way to upgrade it because  I think the regular built in stereo mics are ehhh , though I have recorded a thunderstorm that was pretty damned nice. I usually use an 8 gig card. I believe  I have the latest firmware, though I will check for an update. I have looked at the book a little. I should read it more, I guess. Would be nice to do  a video of the settings explained. I do video editing.
Anyways, I would share more if my copies measured up to some of the copies I have heard others do on the R-09. Would be very appreciative of any advice from others.

[Church-Audio]

Good idea, except Chris does not recommend using an ST9100 to boost signals from a Nak.  Nak's have output transformers which is a dead short across plug in power circuit on the 9100.  You might get away with it, but you might burn out the 9100.

If you like that sound you were getting but just want to get away from DAT tape, run it like you were doing before, and just patch the R09 out of the previous rig.  I've met a guy who still uses his D5 Cassette deck as a preamp leaving the D5 on "pause" all night, and patches a modern recorder out of that.

You can order the 9100 with no plug in power if needed. Or with switchable plug in power.