Topic: Old stealth DAT Taper looking to step in to "modern age"

[IceMan]

Been taping since 97, running a D8 stealth.  Have a “does the trick” Sony mic and a set of Core Sounds.  Happy/pleased with everything I've taped, but the D8 is showing its age, hard to transfer etc.  I am curious to hear thoughts on the Tascam (DR-08, DR-2d, DR-1..they were all on one site I went to).  Not really looking to break the bank, I just like taping the stuff I get to (which has slowed down some due to kids activities).  I have no brand allegiance, just starting to test the waters. One touch recording/level adjustment is always great.  Any help/advice is appreciated. Thank you for your time.

[noahbickart]

Sony m10.

[acidjack]

The M10 will probably be the most "familiar" seeming.   It has very long battery life and 4GB of internal memory, which is probably enough for most shows.

Otherwise, the Roland R-05 is about equally good.  It has some advantages over the M10, particularly if you want to be able to lock the level controls and want to expand the memory more easily (the Roland uses full-size SD cards; the Sony takes mini-SD cards).  Between the two I'd buy whichever is cheaper.

Welcome back!

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

Very common question with a very common answer.

The Sony M10 is the equivalent of a D8 from back in the day as far as popularity goes and for good reason. Good build. Affordable price. Easy to use.

Haven't used the Roland, but I've heard good things about it.

Not sure how good the battery life is in the Roland...but I'd factor that into the cost. The M10's battery life is unreal. You'll never have to worry about finding your recorder with dead batteries at that last minute show.

[IceMan]

awesome...thanks for the tips so far.

Yeah I think the catalyst for this is I ran tape for Alan Evans Trio the other night..and it was my last DAT in the box...wanted to go order up
some more...and not as easy to find...so..figured maybe it was time.

[colinw]

Lots of love for the Sony machine here.

I have used the TASCAM Dr-07mkii and TASCAM dr2d as well which are both great little recorders and significantly cheaper than the M10. A couple of other options for you. Both record up to 24/96 and do pretty much everything the Sony does, although seems to have a bit more battery hungry. You can record 4 channels with the Dr-2d if you ever have the requirement for that.

[kcmule]

awesome...thanks for the tips so far.

Yeah I think the catalyst for this is I ran tape for Alan Evans Trio the other night..and it was my last DAT in the box...wanted to go order up
some more...and not as easy to find...so..figured maybe it was time.

Pretty sure I have a few blanks, still wrapped in plastic.  Forget what brand/length they
are, I can look if you're interested.  I have no use for them anymore.

[F.O.Bean]

Sony M10 hands down. Most of us have 2 or 3 of them for a reason. Cheap/reliable/easy to use and transfer

[yltfan]

I'm very happy with my R-05, and prefer SD to mini-SD (which the Sony uses)

And ditto to the suggestion to check out the 4-channel DR2D, which can be found for less than the M10.

Me, I'd go for whatever comes up for a good deal, of any of the above.

[IceMan]

pulled the trigger on the M10.  Was able to use some credit card points as well as free shipping..paying just 140.00 out of pocket.  Looking forward to trying it out!
Thank you to those that posted.  This is a great forum, glad to be part of it.

[tim in jersey]

pulled the trigger on the M10.  Was able to use some credit card points as well as free shipping..paying just 140.00 out of pocket.  Looking forward to trying it out!
Thank you to those that posted.  This is a great forum, glad to be part of it.

Methinks you chose wisely.

[F.O.Bean]

pulled the trigger on the M10.  Was able to use some credit card points as well as free shipping..paying just 140.00 out of pocket.  Looking forward to trying it out!
Thank you to those that posted.  This is a great forum, glad to be part of it.

Methinks you chose wisely.

Yes, yes you did

[mloewen]

Now if

you want to improve your quality check  out Church Audio products best bang for the buck ask around.

[IceMan]

I have a set of Core Sounds that I like..but I'll poke in to Church Audio as well..for the heck of it.

One quick question on the M10 so far.  I tried it out during my daughters musical production this past weekend (more to get used to button feel vs a real great capture).
I had the mic plugged in to the mic jack and had it set to "manual" to so I needed to adjust.  Pretty sure I had sensitivity set to High (probably would go to low for a rock show) but 2 quick things.
1. is sensitivity even an issue when using external mics?
2. the lights on the deck under each mic would glow green/red from time to time.  Was the unit some how pulling both from the mic clipped to my shirt as well as the mic on the unit?  Upon playback I didn't hear anything that would lead me to belive it did/was.  I think maybe its just a visual reference? 

The playback was really far better than I expected.  Pleased for sure.

I can move this question to another forum..overall though the ease in use (as well as it being about 10x lighter than the DAT) are huge!!!  So far so great!

[earmonger]

Green means you are in the sweetest spot for recording. Red means you are overloading--but if you have gone into settings and engaged the Limiter, you are probably OK.

Sensitivity is relevant if you are going through Mic-in. It is overridden if you are going through Line-In.

I believe that with the PCM-M10 that Line-In overrides Mic-In overrides built-in mics. If something is plugged in then the built-ins are out of the picture.