Topic: New Rig or Salvage Masters or Both?

[lefty]

I need some advice... I'm stuck LOL

ok, i've got a bunch of MD and DAT shows i need to digitally transfer to my PC, BUT i'm thinking of buying more gear soley to do this.

Here's my old rig (stealth):
Sound Pros sp-bmc cards (worn in my hat)
old school sound pros bass roll off (looks like it was made in shop class... bout the size of the 9v battery)
Sony MZ-N1 minidisc (netMD)
Sony PCM-M1 (got this towards the end of my taping peak)

Here's what I'm thinking of getting to transfer masters to PC, but i don't think i really want this stuff:
Sony MZ-RH1 (Hi-MD) just to do the digital transfer of my old LP2 MD shows
7-pin cable just to get the DAT shows


what i'd really like to do is replace my rig and sell my old stuff to someone starting out.  for a recorder i want to get something that records at least 3 hours of uncompressed audio in high quality... and be able to easily get digital transfers to/from the PC.  that RH1 could fit the bill, but for some reason i crave HD/flash/new technology.  definately want to upgrade my mics to something in the $300 range (ES933/43 maybe).  however, i'd also like to get some nice mics that i could use for stealth or to record my own music at home.  which makes me think about going all out and getting shoeps/nauman or that caliber


sorry if this is hard to follow.. i've edited it about 3423 times and i'm pretty confused as i analyze the hell out of my situation lol

plus its late :p



first post 
ps - i wish i'd known about this place when i built my rig back in 2002

[Oysterhead00]

I'd recommend a CJB3 for your next recorder.  They can be had new for under $200 (if you can find one) and between $75 - $150 used with one battery.  It's a simple HD recorder and doesn't require any CF cards or other removeable media.  It has a built in 20GB HD (40 and 60GB models are available but are harder to come across), optical in, line in, and mic in options.  You can connect to your PC via USB or Firewire and simply drag and drop over your files.  You can also record for 3 hours straight on one track. 

In the past, I've actually used it to transfer over old MD recordings and stuff after my Optical Out MD player died.  Just hook it up to an A/D and use the optical in on the CJB (or hook it up analog and use Line In) and re-record.  Then just hook up the CJB3 to your PC and drag and drop it over.  Not the ideal way for transfering over shows, but it works. 

It's a bit big for stealthing...can be easily done, but it's about the size of a portable CD player and a bit thicker so it's not the easiest thing in the world to crotch and walk around with.  Some of the other options, R-01, R-09, iRiver, etc require add on pieces and/or flash cards.  There's a hell of a deal on an R-01 and 4GB Flash Card for $300 in the Yard Sale section right now.  A 4GB flash card will allow for 3 hours in any setting so long as the firmware allows it.

I'm certainly not much of an expert and don't have any experience with any non CJB3 HD/FLASH recorders so take my advice with a grain of salt

[lefty]

 from minidisc.org ... just found the recording times by record-setting for the 1 GB Hi-MD format:

PCM: best-quality recording, 94 minutes per 1GB disc or 28 minutes on an 80-minute regular MD.
Hi-SP: very good quality recording. 7:55 on 1GB, 2:20 on 80-minute MD
Hi-LP: decent quality recording (not recommended for live music). 34 hours on 1GB, 10:10 hours/minutes on 80-minute MD

If they would make a 2GB disck I think the RH1 MD would be very attractive even though I despise MD technology after using the old generation recorders.