ooops, have to be careful with tab and enter keys
The selection of gear available is incredible, but it also seems hard to make a choice.
Asking around at local music shops, many people have suggested using a laptop and USB or Firewire interface. However, I would like to have the portability of battery operated gear. Can't foresee requiring 'stealth' mode stuff, but relatively smaller packages are easier to have on hand and potentially set up.
(Not unlike cameras, I still enjoy my SLR film camera with a few lenses and flash, but it is much more of a task to lug it all around than having a digital P&S)
Having fooled around with a D50 and FR2LE, I think that, for me, I would supplement a D50 with at least a phantom power with XLR inputs (or UA5 with digimod, but not sure if that would better the D50 pre and A/D). Aside from the balanced issue and the phantom, the mini inputs just seem fragile and less robust in comparison. The internal mics on the D50 are SENSITIVE and DETAILED but not accurate to my ears at least, taking phones on and off while monitoring there is a big difference in sound. They are however head and shoulders above the FR2LE internals, which it seems are there... well... I am not sure why they are there.
Will probably use this recording setup for a variety of purposes, I am learning tabla, and want to record my lessons and my practice for self review. Plus the place that I am taking classes also puts on concerts (tabla, harmonium etc.) where people are open to my taping as well.
Generally though, I just get a kick out of recording stuff, and the more realistic the reproduction, the bigger it makes me smile when I listen to it. Whether it's live music, ambient sounds, whatever, there is something really cool about being able to 'recreate' something aurally(?).
I think my budget could stretch to about $1500 for everything, and since I am already pretty much sold on the versatility and learning potential of getting the Busman BSC1 mic kit, that leaves about $1000 for a recorder, or preamp recorder combo.
If I feel that I can get 99% there with spending less, I am certainly ok with that too.
The R44 is interesting in that I could place 3rd and 4th mics in different places and experiment with mixing them into the main stereo pair afterwards. I have read very little about the quality of the R44 sound though, and don't know if the preamps would equal or better the FR2LE, which itself I think might have marginally better sound than the D50 (could be the A/D too, or the balanced ins reducing noise, dunno).
Just need to get past this first step of picking a recorder.
Thanks for creating such a great space for people like me to learn!
Topic: My first digital recorder... one foot in the water (Read 5840 times)