Topic: 4-track field recorder?

[jnorman34]

what are my options for capturing 4 tracks simultanteously to HDD or flash media, in an affordable, portable package?  i think the edirol R4 is about the only thing i have seen that provides 4 built in pres with phantom power.  i would like to only have to carry my 4 mics and a single device with good pres/converters/4-track recording capability.  thanks for any recommendations.

[Shawn]

also check out the edirol r-44

[mmedley.]

also check out the edirol r-44

Yep, this is your best option given your requirements.

[flintstone]

The key word here is "affordable."  There are only two four channel recorders
that cost less than $1000:  The Zoom H2 (four internal mics, no phantom power),
$180; and the Edirol R-44, $900.  You can occasionally find the Edirol R-4 for less
than$1000, but it's usually priced around $1200.  Next stop is the Edirol R-4 Pro,
about $1900.

When you're recording with four mics, you're usually transporting a lot of other
gear (mic cables, mic stands and so on).  In that situation, you might find a
small laptop computer with multi-channel interface a cost-effective solution, too.

Flintstone

[cybergaloot]

I'd say the R-44 is the way to go. I've been reading a lot about it and got to handle one last weekend, it seems like the best bang for the buck if you want 4 channels. Of course you'll need mics, cables, etc. etc.so you'll have to factor that in if you are on a budget. I hope to get one sometime soon myself.

[Kindguy]

Another vote for the R-44. I love mine.

Scooter Has a  R4 in the YS for 600 bucks. About as good of a deal you'll find on a 4 channel recorder.

[digifish_music]

Yup R44 is the only game in town at the moment. One thing I have noticed tho, recording 4 mics seems to be 8 times more messing about with cables/stands etc when compared with two

digifish

[rowjimmytour]

The key word here is "affordable."  There are only two four channel recorders
that cost less than $1000:  The Zoom H2 (four internal mics, no phantom power),
$180; and the Edirol R-44, $900.  You can occasionally find the Edirol R-4 for less
than$1000, but it's usually priced around $1200.  Next stop is the Edirol R-4 Pro,
about $1900.

When you're recording with four mics, you're usually transporting a lot of other
gear (mic cables, mic stands and so on).  In that situation, you might find a
small laptop computer with multi-channel interface a cost-effective solution, too.

Flintstone

I got my R4 for that price but that included a Oades T-mod to cchannel 3,4 but I think you can still get a off the shelf R4 for under 1k at most places. The one nice thing about the r44 and a upgrade from the R4 is you can get 4 channels of digital input signal like the R4 pro.

[John Willett]

Forget the R-4 - go for the R-4 Pro or R-44.

For the price the R-44 is excellent value (and it has the same mic. pre's as the R-4 Pro I am told).

[nottingham]

[For the price the R-44 is excellent value /quote]

 

[rastasean]

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,109377.0.html

R-4 for $600

[John Willett]

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,109377.0.html

R-4 for $600

Personally I would not get an R-4 - the early ones had i/p 4 out of phase with the other three i/ps.

R-4 Pro or R-44, yes, but not the original R-4.

[rastasean]

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,109377.0.html

R-4 for $600

Personally I would not get an R-4 - the early ones had i/p 4 out of phase with the other three i/ps.

R-4 Pro or R-44, yes, but not the original R-4.

I will take your word and your opinion on that. You know your recorders. 

[John Willett]

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,109377.0.html

R-4 for $600

Personally I would not get an R-4 - the early ones had i/p 4 out of phase with the other three i/ps.

R-4 Pro or R-44, yes, but not the original R-4.

I will take your word and your opinion on that. You know your recorders. 

Thanks - I actually have an original R-4, don't use it at all.  But the others are much better - I think Edirol learned from the weaknesses in the original R-1 and R-4 and now make an excellent value range in the R-09HR, R-44 and R-4-Pro.

[F.O.Bean]

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,109377.0.html

R-4 for $600

Personally I would not get an R-4 - the early ones had i/p 4 out of phase with the other three i/ps.

R-4 Pro or R-44, yes, but not the original R-4.

AGREED John I havent used ANY of Edirols products PERSONALLY, but after seeing the R-44 in use, most recently at moedown w/ Rob Clarke running one, I would DEFINITELY get the R-44. Its also a good bit SMALLER than the R-4/R-4 Pro as well. And it can handle BOTH Analog AND Digital inputs simultaneously, just like the R-4 Pro's can, except its $1k cheaper than the R-4 Pro Personally, I see NO NEED to EVER get ANYTHING BUT THE R-44. The R-4 Pro is just a more expensive R-44 IMO(w/ some special time code or something? What exactly is the difference between the R-4 and the R-4 Pro besides be3ing able to handle digital/analog inputs simultaneously?), and the R-4/R-4 Pro has an INHDD vs. the R-44 JUST writing to CF Cards(which I see as a HUGE BENEFIT/BONUS over any INHDD these days! Hell, if the 702's were around when I got my 722 back in May 2006, and CF cards were as cheap as they are now, I wouldnt even hesitate getting a 702 these days, but alas, when I got my 722, ONLY the 722 and 744T were available, and cf cards were WAY MORE EXPENSIVE than they are now.). The R-44's are strictly compact flash driven, and like I said, are smaller than the R-4's, and can handle digital/analog inputs simultaneously Sounds like a WINNER to me And since the R-44's are CF Driven ONLY, they HAVE TO get ALOT better battery runtimes vs. the R-4/R-4 Pro's, right fellas

I LOVED using the SD 744T, dont get me wrong, Im a DEDICATED SD 7xx USER/FLUFFER and will NEVER get rid of my 722 as long as I can help it, but if I were going to use 4 channels alot, I would get the R-44 IN A SECOND over the 744T, simply because it has (4) mic inputs w/ phantom(compared to (2) mic inputs w/ phantom on the 744T), and to be quite honest, the stock preamps on the R-4/R-44's are DAMN GOOD ON THEIR OWN. IMO they dont have NEAR the SQ the 7xx series does, but that still says that the r44's stock preamps sound DAMN GOOD. I am just IN LOVE w/ the 7xx series preamps, and having run ALOT of different preamps, from the MANY different preamps Ive run, I have ALWAYS liked the 7xx series preamps the best(compared to the preamps Ive PERSONALLY RUN) and as always, YMMV.

But yeah, I dont think you could go wrong getting an R-44 and an A-Data 32gb CF Card(if those even work w/ the R-44's ) for a VERY REASONABLE PRICE. The R-44's are basically an R-4 Pro w/ most of the same feature sets, and in a smaller package. And I also bet the R-44's get ALOT better battery runtimes since they are ONLY writing to cf cards

That brings to question: Has ANYONE run BOTH an R-4/R-4 Pro AND the R-44 Can you attest if there is a huge difference between the two units and how much better battery runtimes the R-44's get compared to the good ole R-4/R-4 Pro's

I'll put it this way(and Im a TRIED and TRUE DEDICATED and HARDCORE 7xx series PHAN) but if I were to get a 4-channel recorder, I would DEFINITELY GET the R-44 Does Oade/Busman MODIFY the R-44's yet? If Busman mod's the R-44, then you DEFINITELY CANNOT GO WRONG IMO But even stock, they sound damn fine. I only heard Rob Clarke's from this past moedown w/ a Lunatec V2 in front tho. And if you already had (2) 2 channel preamps you liked and planned on running, then once again, the R-44 simply CANNOT BE BEAT IMO

So, does Oade/Busman mod the R-44's yet? Since its a good bit smaller than the R-4/R-4 Pro(where is that picture floating around ts.com that compares the R-4/R-4 Pro vs. the R-44 That will DEFINITELY sway you towards the R-44 if all of our advice doesnt ) maybe there simply isnt enough room to modify them Can ANYONE give more info on the R-44 mods, if there even are any?

I tell you what, I wish I did run 4 channel just so I could get one of those bad lil boys I NEVER get a SBD patch, and I dont EVEr plan on running 2 pairs of mics. 2 channel is PLENTY FINE for me, especially since I can setup/teardown my MBHO Actives>603A>722 setup in under 2 minutes, I will NEVER get into 4 channel mic recordings. Ive always looked at it this way: If you cant pull a SMOKING recording w/ 1 pair of mics, then dont try to save your ass w/ a 2nd pair of mics But for real tho, if I EVER got a good amount of SBD patches, or was archiving for a good band, Id drop the dime on an R-44 IN A HEARTBEAT. It would DEFINITELY be my VERY FIRST CHOICE going 4 channel However, if the 744T did have (4) mic inputs w/ phantom, id actually drop the LARGE AMOUNT of extra cash on one of those because I LOVE their sound, and their feature set is SECOND TO NONE. And when I ran Ned Struzziero's for RAQ NYE last 12/30/2007(1st and ONLY time I ever ran a 744T) I ran my 483's into channels 1/2, and the SBD into 3/4, but a preamp WASNT NEEDED since the SBD was PLENTY HOT, and I actually LUCKED OUT and didnt have to mess w/ the line level on the inputs AT ALL If I KNEW the SBD would always be THAT SMOOTH, then Id get a 744T, but how often is that going to happen? NOT VERY OFTEN

So yeah, just get the damn R-44 and thank us later, OK?

And is a mod on the R-44 possible at all for the 10th time in this post?

[John Willett]

Don't go too overboard on the R-44, I have just spent £4.000 on the new Nagra VI.   

[cybergaloot]

And since the R-44's are CF Driven ONLY

Not CF cards, SDHC cards. Nitpicky I know but there is a difference. Same basic function, different format. Personally I'd much rather deal with SDHC cards than CF.

[F.O.Bean]

And since the R-44's are CF Driven ONLY

Not CF cards, SDHC cards. Nitpicky I know but there is a difference. Same basic function, different format. Personally I'd much rather deal with SDHC cards than CF.

Oh, didnt realize that, thanks for teh clarification So, why would you rather deal w/ SDHC cards vs. CF cards I have been suing CF cards in my 722 for over 2 years and have had nothing but great success SO FAR (*knocks On wood*)

[cybergaloot]

And since the R-44's are CF Driven ONLY

Not CF cards, SDHC cards. Nitpicky I know but there is a difference. Same basic function, different format. Personally I'd much rather deal with SDHC cards than CF.

Oh, didnt realize that, thanks for teh clarification So, why would you rather deal w/ SDHC cards vs. CF cards I have been suing CF cards in my 722 for over 2 years and have had nothing but great success SO FAR (*knocks On wood*)

They are the way things are going. You can buy a SDHC card at most department stores, they probably either don't or soon wont stock CF cards. If you travel to a festival and leave your media at home, somebody nearby will have SDHC cards for sale. If I'm not mistaken, SDHC cards are much cheaper too. I saw a 4GB SDHC card on sale for $5 in a recent advertisement.  SDHC cards are smaller and lighter. If you are going to a festival you can carry all you need in your pocket and wont know they are there.  Any device that can take SDHC cards can also use the older SD cards in a pinch.

The SDHC cards have fewer and more robust contacts. Less to go wrong in that dept. You can get cheap thumb sized USB SDHC card readers so you don't have to use your recorder or a special drive bay in your computer to transfer files and you can easily use the cards as a thumb drive when needed. That means that if I record a band and they want a copy and have a laptop (Mac or PC), I can just pop the SDHC card into the reader and plug it into their USB slot and give them a copy.

And last but not least, SDHC cards fit my recorder and my digital camera and soon my video camera.  SD and SDHC micro cards fit my MP3 player and with a cheap adapter can be used in my other devices.

I don't know about speed comparisons though and with CF you can get small hard drives that will fit in the socket. I don't know the max capacity of CF cards but SDHC can theoretically go to at least 64GB, 32 GB are readily available (the device you use it in may have its own limit). I also don't know if there is a file size limitation with CF, with SDHC it depends on the device and how the card is formatted.

Also I have seen people have problems getting whatever device they were using to recognize a CF card on several occasions. I watched a panic stricken taper have fits trying to get his recorder to recognize a CF card so that he could grab an encore. I've seen another taper have his CF card loose contact several times during a show. To be fair, I have heard of some devices having some problems with SDHC cards too, but I've never actually witnessed it.

I also don't know how recorders that use CF cards handle their file organization. I do know I can take an SDHC card out of my camera with pictures on it and pop it into my recorder and record audio with no problems.

[Kindguy]

Bean, Oade & Busman will mod the r-44. Just sent busman a email about modding mine.