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Gear / Technical Help => Recording Gear => Topic started by: yltfan on August 24, 2015, 12:57:31 PM
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For reasons I'm sure most folks are familiar with, I had to bring something discreet for taping this past weekend. It was kind of a medium sized festival thing, but I have a good relationship with one of the bands and got permission to plug into the board for their short set. It was a little hectic, because of the nature of the event (no sound checks, quick turnovers, uptight security, etc). I got plugged in, but there was no time to check levels. The feed was HOT, i thought for sure it was going to be too much for the R-05, as I had to dial back to 5 (I think "unity" is 40). But no, it sounds fine!
After that set, I went to see another band that I was not planning to tape. I found a good spot, and just decided to hold the R-05 at chest level, and record with the internals. I'm shocked at how good it sounds. Sure, there's a bit too much crowd noise, but the music sounds great. Nice, deep bass, clear highs--I'm amazed.
Have other people had good luck using the internal mics on this deck? I'll definitely try again if the situation is right.
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Most tapers have "never use internals" tattooed as a rule of thumb, but truth is that the internals on many (not all, of course) handheld recorders are capable of doing VERY GOOD recordings - and you just discovered it by yourself.
Check this thread for more info on some recorders' internal mics: http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=159584.0 and be amazed at the sound samples. Even experienced, respected tapers have posted in that thread to express their surprise.
Of course, I won't ever say anyone should ditch their pair of KM140s with a good preamp and a solid state 4ch recorder to start recording all shows with the internals of a $70 gizmo, BUT I'm not afraid to admit that the internals can do a very decent job, even superior to cheap external mics (CA11s, 14s, AT853s, etc) if the situation is optimal.
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Oh, and by the way: I have owned a Roland R-05 for four years now and its internals are marginally inferior (specially regarding distortion and SPL they can handle) to the Tascam DR08 and, specially, to the much-hated Zoom brand (Q3HD and H2N in my experience). Those are the best mics you can have for under $100, period.