Topic: Edirol R44 Concert Mod

[vegeta_ban]

Thinking to upgrade from an edirol ua5>jb3 rig to a Edirol R44 Hard Disc Recorder...

Does anyone use this, if so I have a few questions.

This records to SD cards right, can the separate tracks be saved to different files, for example if i used my dad's mics and mine to record a concert could i record my mics and my dad's to separate tracks and a mix to its own. Or would i have to mix while editing, or does it only record a single mixed track?

Next can it be powered by something other than the 4 AA batteries?

Thanks
Jeremy

[rastasean]

start here and go backwards:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=123284.0

[cybergaloot]

Follow the link already posted for more info. But here's some quick answers: I can't speak about the mods, mine is unmodded, but yes, it records to SD or SDHC cards and yes, you can hook up two pairs of mics and run it like it was two recorders who just happen to share the same box.

Yes, it can be powered by the provided AC adapter, AA batteries or external battery packs. External battery packs intended for use with portable DVD players work great but you will have to make a power cable or use one the adapt-a-plug kits from Radio Shack. Pay close attention to the polarity of the plugs.

[rastasean]

Yes, it can be powered by the provided AC adapter, AA batteries or external battery packs. External battery packs intended for use with portable DVD players work great but you will have to make a power cable or use one the adapt-a-plug kits from Radio Shack. Pay close attention to the polarity of the plugs.

i forgot to post this link too
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=129935.0

[cybergaloot]

I should mention that you should always keep good AA's in it because if any of the external power supplies has a problem, it will fail-over to the AA's seamlessly.

[printguy]

And for the sake of clarity the R-44 is not a hard disc recorder. The R-4 has an internal hard drive; the R-44 does not.

[cybergaloot]

Which for most of us is a good thing. Hard disks mean higher power usage, increased weight and an increased chance of failure. With an easily affordable 16GB SDHC card you can run all day at reasonable recording rates. And you can just replace it if you need to run longer.

[stevetoney]

Jeremy:

Reading through pages of comments in the team R-44 forum can take alot of time.  Here are some quick answers to your questions...

-  YES, the R-44 writes to an SD card, but there's no hard disk drive inside of the R-44.

-  YES, the R-44 can write to four separate tracks if that's how you want to do it.  Most people write to two sets of two tracks though.  I think that if you write to four separate tracks in a four by one manner, you might need a real high quality and fast SD card.  Seems like I've read that there can be write issues in the four by one mode (or perhaps that's the R-4 that I'm thinking of).  Best check the forum for this detail if you want to know more.

When people are using all 4 tracks they're usually running two pairs of mics...four mics total...to the tracks.  The most popular use of the 4 tracks though is having two mics to capture the ambient sound at a show and two mics capturing the SBD feed.

The R-44 isn't a mixer, so you have to use a software program, such as Audition, Audacity, or Soundforge, to mixdown each of the track pairs to combine them however you decide you want the two-track master to sound.

In my case, I'd like to have an R-44 so I can run two sets of mics and perhaps different mic pickup patterns to decide after the show which sounds better so that I can use the one that sounds best.  I'd also love to have an R-44 for situations where I want to mic up the vocal monitor separate from the music because if I run a pair of mics stage lip, you often don't get much vocal at that location because vocals are usually routed through the PA speakers, which aren't heard very well at stage lip.

-  YES, the R-44 can be powered from a battery that supplies DC power to the jack.  Most people use 9V li-ion DVD battery's connected to the R-44 with a cable that's equipped with the proper tips.  These batteries are fondly referred around here as Wally World's because there was a time when these batteries were available at Wal-Mart.  Nowadays, you can't find them at Wal-Mart, but they're available on the web at reasonable prices ($20 or so each excluding shipping).  Your run time needs to be calculated based on the MaH rating of the battery and the current draw of the R-44, but I wouldn't be suprised if you'd get 5 to 8 hours out of one of these batteries. 

Another popular powering option that costs alot more, but had much longer run-times are Tekkeon batteries.  Do a websearch on 'tekkeon' and you'll find the product.

Hope this helps.

Thinking to upgrade from an edirol ua5>jb3 rig to a Edirol R44 Hard Disc Recorder...

Does anyone use this, if so I have a few questions.

This records to SD cards right, can the separate tracks be saved to different files, for example if i used my dad's mics and mine to record a concert could i record my mics and my dad's to separate tracks and a mix to its own. Or would i have to mix while editing, or does it only record a single mixed track?

Next can it be powered by something other than the 4 AA batteries?

Thanks
Jeremy

[cybergaloot]

Just a few points on that comment. Most people use line-in signals for the soundboard, not mics. Nitpicky, I know.

Most post-production software will allow you to split a stereo recording into separate tracks if you need to so the only advantage I see in recording to 4 separate files is that you can record longer without it closing the file and starting a new one. Since it does that seamlessly, its not much of a problem. I like keeping my channels grouped rather than having to figure out what was left and right, etc. later. Each to their own though.

You can mix with the R-44 in a fashion but I wouldn't recommend it. It has a playback mode with a mixer but that is for the headphone out only and does not make any changes to the original files. Why do that when you can do it in post? It is handy if you are playing the recording back for the musicians or your own listening pleasure.

Also I guess in a way when you are setting levels you are mixing but its better to worry about getting acceptable levels signal-wise and then mix the various recorded channels in post for a good mix sound-wise.

[Ozpeter]

It has a playback mode with a mixer but that is for the headphone out only and does not make any changes to the original files. Why do that when you can do it in post? It is handy if you are playing the recording back for the musicians or your own listening pleasure.

The limitations on playback mixing - notably lack of pan - is IMHO the biggest limitation on the R-44, for me.  Hence my use of the excellent Naiant monitor mixer which was designed with the R-44 in mind, for when I'm doing serious stuff.

Heh, we seem to be summarising all the stuff in those pages and pages of previous threads - which is perhaps no bad thing.

[vegeta_ban]

Thanks

Jeremy:

Reading through pages of comments in the team R-44 forum can take alot of time.  Here are some quick answers to your questions...

-  YES, the R-44 writes to an SD card, but there's no hard disk drive inside of the R-44.

-  YES, the R-44 can write to four separate tracks if that's how you want to do it.  Most people write to two sets of two tracks though.  I think that if you write to four separate tracks in a four by one manner, you might need a real high quality and fast SD card.  Seems like I've read that there can be write issues in the four by one mode (or perhaps that's the R-4 that I'm thinking of).  Best check the forum for this detail if you want to know more.

When people are using all 4 tracks they're usually running two pairs of mics...four mics total...to the tracks.  The most popular use of the 4 tracks though is having two mics to capture the ambient sound at a show and two mics capturing the SBD feed.

The R-44 isn't a mixer, so you have to use a software program, such as Audition, Audacity, or Soundforge, to mixdown each of the track pairs to combine them however you decide you want the two-track master to sound.

In my case, I'd like to have an R-44 so I can run two sets of mics and perhaps different mic pickup patterns to decide after the show which sounds better so that I can use the one that sounds best.  I'd also love to have an R-44 for situations where I want to mic up the vocal monitor separate from the music because if I run a pair of mics stage lip, you often don't get much vocal at that location because vocals are usually routed through the PA speakers, which aren't heard very well at stage lip.

-  YES, the R-44 can be powered from a battery that supplies DC power to the jack.  Most people use 9V li-ion DVD battery's connected to the R-44 with a cable that's equipped with the proper tips.  These batteries are fondly referred around here as Wally World's because there was a time when these batteries were available at Wal-Mart.  Nowadays, you can't find them at Wal-Mart, but they're available on the web at reasonable prices ($20 or so each excluding shipping).  Your run time needs to be calculated based on the MaH rating of the battery and the current draw of the R-44, but I wouldn't be suprised if you'd get 5 to 8 hours out of one of these batteries. 

Another popular powering option that costs alot more, but had much longer run-times are Tekkeon batteries.  Do a websearch on 'tekkeon' and you'll find the product.

Hope this helps.

Thinking to upgrade from an edirol ua5>jb3 rig to a Edirol R44 Hard Disc Recorder...

Does anyone use this, if so I have a few questions.

This records to SD cards right, can the separate tracks be saved to different files, for example if i used my dad's mics and mine to record a concert could i record my mics and my dad's to separate tracks and a mix to its own. Or would i have to mix while editing, or does it only record a single mixed track?

Next can it be powered by something other than the 4 AA batteries?

Thanks
Jeremy

[cybergaloot]

Its a damn good recorder for the money. To get anything better you will spend quite a bit more money and many of those are coasting on older technology (CF cards instead of SDHC cards). I was recording at the Bear Creek festival last month and it looked like R-44 central, there were so many of them. I don't think you'll go wrong getting one. Are there some drawbacks? Sure, but for most folks they are minor if at all. For example, the meters could be a bit better. And I'm still wishing they'd add that psychic feature that would read my mind and press record when I forget!

[dmonkey]

The R44 is great. I'd marry my R44 if that were allowed in this state (damned Christians!).