Topic: Microtracker vs Edirol R-1

[Evil Taper]

"We now offer the Edirol R1 with line input upgrade installed for 525.00. An optional +6dB to +12dB of gain is available with this MOD. This enables the concert taper to use high output microphones line in, bypassing the R1's microphone input. This results in a vast improvement in signal quality for state of the art 24 bit recordings in a tiny package."---Oade site blip

All that I'm seeing that doesn't look desirable is the battery life, 2.5 hours....I like to record openers too, does it run on AA or dry cells or what?  Also the info on the Oade site states that this unit only accepts up to 2gb CF cards.  What is so nice about the JB3 is the long battery life and the ability to record as much as you can in a night without worrying about running out of space/time.  Also it doesn't look like there's a button lock on this unit so recording with the unit in the pocket might not be a good idea...something to consider for stealthing.  Taping a band who plays almost exactly 2 hours like Black Label Society might be impossible with this recorder.  Any other ideas...?

[Evil Taper]

I'm probably jumping the gun here but I have ALOT of upcomming shows for the fall concert season and this looks like a solve all unit for me.  I don't see any real dissadvantages here for stealthing since I've been recording to pseudo 16 bit via the JB3 until now.  The only thing that may pose a problem is the lack of a lock to not accidentally stop the recording, but you can jam up to 3 hours on the 2gb cards in 16 bit mode and an extra set of batteries is not a problem to sneak in.  Should be ordering tommorow and I'll be the guinea pig.  Should be a MAJOR upgrade from the rig I'm running now at least.

[hyperplane]

Evil Taper -

FWIW, a buddy of mine uses the R-1 for taping. he said there IS a Hold switch on the R-1, and i just took a gander at the Edirol R-1 manual (.pdf file), and it does have the Hold switch to help prevent any accidents while recording.

also, my friend uses regular alkaline AA batteries, and he never has a problem taping 2.5 hrs. having said that, i would imagine if you used Lithium Ion AA batteries, you'd have well over 3 hours worth of recording power.

oh, and he also told me that 4 GB CF cards work. although, there is the 2 GB limit (right at 2 hours and 5 minutes at 24/44.1) for recording, which someone in the "Microtrack"real world experiences" thread said Edirol was working on a fix for in a future firmware release.

hope this is of some help. happy taping.

[Evil Taper]

Badass.  I sure won't mind pulling a crystal clear 16 bit for shows I know will run over the 2 hour mark.  As good as the JB3 works, it definately has some ADC issues.  This looks like a sweet solution and I don't think I'll be any less than satisfied.  Hooray for taping metal with nice rigs

[zowie]

All that I'm seeing that doesn't look desirable is the battery life, 2.5 hours....I like to record openers too, does it run on AA or dry cells or what?  Also the info on the Oade site states that this unit only accepts up to 2gb CF cards.  What is so nice about the JB3 is the long battery life and the ability to record as much as you can in a night without worrying about running out of space/time.  Also it doesn't look like there's a button lock on this unit so recording with the unit in the pocket might not be a good idea...something to consider for stealthing.  Taping a band who plays almost exactly 2 hours like Black Label Society might be impossible with this recorder.  Any other ideas...?

No digital input.

[nickgregory]

No digital input.

the A/D on this unit sounds remarkable...

[gewwang]

All that I'm seeing that doesn't look desirable is the battery life, 2.5 hours....I like to record openers too, does it run on AA or dry cells or what?

That might be on alkalines. I run mine with 2600 mAh nimhs and a pair runs at least 4.5 hrs recording plus at least 2 hrs of playback running line in. I haven't run the full pair down all the way yet because I haven't had a need to tape more than 4 hours for a show with it yet.

Also the info on the Oade site states that this unit only accepts up to 2gb CF cards.

It takes 4GB CF cards. The remaining time on the display will only show as much as 2 hrs 12 mins left max when taping 24/44, but the space is there. I've had two 2 hr 11 min files on one 4GB before.

Also it doesn't look like there's a button lock on this unit so recording with the unit in the pocket might not be a good idea...something to consider for stealthing.  Taping a band who plays almost exactly 2 hours like Black Label Society might be impossible with this recorder.  Any other ideas...?

There's a hold button, I stealth it in my pocket.

Search the archives, most of this info has been posted before.

[zowie]

No digital input.

the A/D on this unit sounds remarkable...

And that's terrific.  But for "official" recording situations, like friends' bands and ensembles, I'd want to be able to have the option of using any of the fine 120v front ends.

[silentmark]

No digital input.

the A/D on this unit sounds remarkable...

How about compared to say, ummm, a modSBM1 ? 

[nickgregory]

No digital input.

the A/D on this unit sounds remarkable...

How about compared to say, ummm, a modSBM1 ? 

I actually thought it sounded very comparable to the t-mod SBM....not as warm and bloated as the w-mod sbm that most have, but very smooth and transparent sounding....george can probably chime in here as well as the tapes I heard were his...

[gewwang]

No digital input.

the A/D on this unit sounds remarkable...

And that's terrific, especially for stealthing.  But for "official" recording situations, like friends' bands and ensembles, I'd want to be able to have the option of using any of the fine 120v front ends.

Edirol makes an R4 which has a digital input

http://edirol.com/products/info/r4.html

[gewwang]

No digital input.

the A/D on this unit sounds remarkable...

How about compared to say, ummm, a modSBM1 ? 

I actually thought it sounded very comparable to the t-mod SBM....not as warm and bloated as the w-mod sbm that most have, but very smooth and transparent sounding....george can probably chime in here as well as the tapes I heard were his...

The first show I rolled with the R1 was sax>R1 vs sax>tmodsbm>dat and I thought the R1 sounded better so I sold the tmodsbm.

[zowie]

No digital input.

the A/D on this unit sounds remarkable...

And that's terrific, especially for stealthing.  But for "official" recording situations, like friends' bands and ensembles, I'd want to be able to have the option of using any of the fine 120v front ends.

Edirol makes an R4 which has a digital input

http://edirol.com/products/info/r4.html

I love everything about the R4 except the price. LOL

[WiFiJeff]

All that I'm seeing that doesn't look desirable is the battery life, 2.5 hours....I like to record openers too, does it run on AA or dry cells or what?  Also the info on the Oade site states that this unit only accepts up to 2gb CF cards.  What is so nice about the JB3 is the long battery life and the ability to record as much as you can in a night without worrying about running out of space/time.  Also it doesn't look like there's a button lock on this unit so recording with the unit in the pocket might not be a good idea...something to consider for stealthing.  Taping a band who plays almost exactly 2 hours like Black Label Society might be impossible with this recorder.  Any other ideas...?

I use lithium AAs in the R1, they last over 8 hours.

I have run 2, 4, and 8 GB CF cards in it.  The only problem is manually starting a new file every 2 GB (3 hours 18 minutes at 16/44, 2 hours 12 minutes at 24/44), and someone on the MT thread says that Edirol has a firmware upgrade in the works which will start a new file automatically (hope this is coming soon).

Jeff

[silentmark]

Thanks gents +T's, but it is making my life difficult, heh decisions, decisions, I think it is time to give Doug a call and chat about the R1 mods ...

WiFi, you said you can get 8 hours with lithiums, ever try an external power source ?