Topic: JB3 or wait for Hi-MD ?

[skua]

Been looking to replace my dead (but formerly trusty) WM-D3 and jump into the digital world.  

Thinking JB3 or wait for the new Hi-MD units...
once the recording unit is selected then add SP-SPSB1S and a set of SP-CMC2's.

The JB3 seems a little large for Stealth-ability... I want to record shows at small to medium sized venues... mostly hard-rock and metal type stuff.

Would these suggested setups make for decent (although fairly low-budget) recording rigs?

How hard is the JB3 to operate under 'stealth' conditions? Is the remote unit worth the extra $50.00 ?  Been reading the forums here and at nomadness but can't tell how hard the JB3 is to operate under live fire conditions!

And can someone clarify the new 'seamless' track feature? Is that just to get around the 3GB file size limitation of the JB3?

Thanks for your input. You folks have been real helpful on my other questions!

[cpclark]

cant answer all your questions, but here goes.  the hi-md recorders when they first come out will be a lot more expensive and you will  have very expensive media taboot, 8 dollars a piece.  althlough the jb3 is about the size of a discman, it can be stealthed and at the price for a refurbed one, 179, i would see if it is feasible to stealth with.  the seamless track feature(which has a thread in one of the forums) would give you a very short gap between creating a new track on the fly.  i have run md and really dont think it is a very good platform for live recordings, it is small, but atrac is messy, but with hi-md you will be able to record wav, but it will be very expensive and you still have to do a tape flip, just have a little more time than just 80min.  i'd read around in the forums and use the search feature to get a lot more info before you decide to go MD.

[Karl]

Though Hi-MD is tempting, I wouldn't do it.  With the JB3, you never have a tape flip, and you never have to pay for blank media.  Batteries (with 2 of 'em) will last you 4+ hrs.  Stealthability really isn't an issue-though it's not as small as MD, it's really easy to pass it off as a discman, and no one is going to confiscate a discman.

Though, JB3 doesn't provide plug-in power for mics, and that might be an issue if you are used to the way MD works, and even the WM-D3 (I used to run one of those).  Though I would still recommend running the JB3 and running a batt box (you should be doing that anyway) and/or a preamp.

[zowie]

JB3 - because after the next big thing comes out for recording, you'll still have a fanstastic MP3 player to use.

[F.O.Bean]

plus, these jb3's(if run behind the right stuff), proves to be bit accurate, and on top of that, is like having nothing but 90 meter tapes around ;)which isnt a bad thing, plus, if running out of a pre/ad, like i am outta the v3, its about saving money on blank media, plus quick transfers, and many other pro's, and for the money, cant go wrong(i spent about 400 bux once i was done(jb3, extra batt, hosa aes>coax(optical) converter, aes cable, and batt charger for the hosa, is about 400 dollars, which youll end up saving more in not buying media)

so those are a few reasons why ill be running a jb3 instead of a d-8, which i will fix one of these days, but for never buying media again, to me, its worth it for that alone ;)think im happy about not buying media anymore

[BC]

plus, these jb3's(if run behind the right stuff), proves to be bit accurate, and on top of that, is like having nothing but 90 meter tapes around ;)which isnt a bad thing, plus, if running out of a pre/ad, like i am outta the v3, its about saving money on blank media, plus quick transfers, and many other pro's, and for the money, cant go wrong(i spent about 400 bux once i was done(jb3, extra batt, hosa aes>coax(optical) converter, aes cable, and batt charger for the hosa, is about 400 dollars, which youll end up saving more in not buying media)

so those are a few reasons why ill be running a jb3 instead of a d-8, which i will fix one of these days, but for never buying media again, to me, its worth it for that alone ;)think im happy about not buying media anymore

Agreed, some things I love about recording to hard drive are

1) No more worrying about running out of tape during the show (how many times at the 1:45 mark have you guys started saying, "shit, maybe I should have put in that damn 3 hour tape!"). You can start recording way before the show starts and go take a leak near showtime with no worries.

2) no more buying expensive blank media (optical disc archiving is pretty cheap these days)

Oh yeah,

3) I have never had a dropout since I started recording to HD, with my D8 I was always worrying about drops and digi-noise. They were pretty rare, but I can't say that it never happened.

Take care,
Ben


PS: I will say that the bad side is that archiving stuff from HD can be a pain, not simply label-and-throw-it-in-the-rack like with removable media. But to me the above benefits make it worth it. Although I suppose if I was really lazy and had the money I could just dump everything via firewire to a big-ass HD and store the HD's, this would make archiving really painless.  

[porphyry]

i'm also faced with a JB3 vs. Hi-MD dilemma.

probably the only reason for why i haven't definitely decided on JB3 is that people have said on this forum that it has a lousy AD converter, and if you are stealthing shows (like me) and an external converter isn't practical, then this is a problem. i've never had a problem with the AD converter on my Sony MZ-N10 because i think my recordings sound great considering the cheap equipment (SP batt box and mics) used so presumably the new Hi-MDs will also have good AD converters.

still have no scientific way of tasting these converters.

anyway that's my AU$0.03

[Chapper]

I'd venture to say that the AD in the JB3 is as good as any of the AD's in the MD recorders.  I've been running mine as a backup, analog in from my MP2, and wouldn't say the A/D is horrible.

[Sean Gallemore]

and if you are stealthing shows (like me) and an external converter isn't practical, then this is a problem.

I'll be the prick that disagrees.  There are 2 easy solutions

1) get a recorder with a good a/d (M1, D100, etc.)
2) get an external adc like you mentioned which IS very practical.  Many a tapir use the denecke AD-20 and the sony sbm-1 for this with great results.

[F.O.Bean]

a setup i really like after only hearing one recording is the audix-hc>ps-2>ad/20>jb3 recording, its pretty damn impressive, to say the least(hint, hint, schwill)

[porphyry]

AD-20? nah too big.

actually the really fucked up thing about Hi-MD is that it won't let you upload digital recordings to your PC (only those made via analogue). so for anyone with an external AD then Hi-MD is out of the question and JB3 wins this battle.

plus: since the JB3 is about 2-3 times the size of what the top-of-the-range Hi-MD recorder will be just makes the added size of the AD-20 even less reasonable.

i restrict myself to what i can fit down my pants (and no, before someone else says it, there isn't lots of spare room down there).

[Sean Gallemore]

AD-20? nah too big.

actually the really fucked up thing about Hi-MD is that it won't let you upload digital recordings to your PC (only those made via analogue). so for anyone with an external AD then Hi-MD is out of the question and JB3 wins this battle.

plus: since the JB3 is about 2-3 times the size of what the top-of-the-range Hi-MD recorder will be just makes the added size of the AD-20 even less reasonable.

i restrict myself to what i can fit down my pants (and no, before someone else says it, there isn't lots of spare room down there).

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I'm speechless and don't care anymore so I'll shut up

[F.O.Bean]

go jb3

[skua]

Thanks to all for their input. I still haven't made my decision... but your advice is greatly appreciated.  My biggest problem with the JB3 is that it's too damn big... why the hell did they have to make it look like a CD player!? ... but I'm still considering it.  

I'm also looking at the Archos Gmini 120 as a possible solution. While it seems to have some digital input recording problems... I really want it to record analog input from a mic. The unit is a little smaller than my old cassette rig and looks to be easy to hide.  

Hi-MD only looks appealing in that the recorders are extremely small and would be easy to get  in to nearly any venue I normally go to.

Damn... looks like I'm going to miss the chance to record Opeth this coming Thursday. ;-)

[Sean Gallemore]

why miss?