Taperssection.com
Gear / Technical Help => Recording Gear => Topic started by: jfrasan on August 04, 2009, 09:18:54 AM
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I was a pretty advanced DAT taper during the 90s and I am ready to get back into the hobby.
Can someone give me some recommendations on portable recorders? What are the formats? Do they need preamps and D/A still.
I guess I'm an educated newbie.
Thanks,
jfrasan
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I was a pretty advanced DAT taper during the 90s and I am ready to get back into the hobby.
Can someone give me some recommendations on portable recorders? What are the formats? Do they need preamps and D/A still.
I guess I'm an educated newbie.
Thanks,
jfrasan
This forum is a wealth of info. I would suggest that you start by going to a retailer site like B&H Photo, Full Compass, or Sweetwater, and poke around the portable audio recorder section just to get a feel of all the file based tapeless recorders available.
For any that peak your interest, you can use the search function here and read a long thread about each one of them. Also, you should check into the modified units by Doug Oade if you are thinking about units made by Fostex, Marantz, Edirol, or Tascam.
Good Luck!!!
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you may also figure out how much you care to spend
and what type of taping (stealth or open or both) you will be doing
and also how much gear you really want to drag to shows
there are so many variables that you need to consider before asking your question
you should also check the forums here before buying a modded unit from Oade
some folks here have not had the best experience with the Oades
Busman will also do mods, but does not to my knowledge sell those units
although he does have a line of microphones which many here do like
welcome back to taping!
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you may also figure out how much you care to spend
and what type of taping (stealth or open or both) you will be doing
and also how much gear you really want to drag to shows
there are so many variables that you need to consider before asking your question
you should also check the forums here before buying a modded unit from Oade
some folks here have not had the best experience with the Oades
Busman will also do mods, but does not to my knowledge sell those units
although he does have a line of microphones which many here do like
welcome back to taping!
I would suggest taking the forum posts regarding Oade with a grain of salt. I know Doug personally and have bought a ton of gear from the Oades since 1993 and I never had a single issue. I have also referred numerous friends to Doug over the years that reported having flawless transactions with him as well.
There are a few folks on here that have had some difficult interactions with Doug where they feel they were not treated right and take every opportunity to recount their side of these experiences in any thread they get wind of that mentions Doug's name, so just take that into consideration as you read their remarks.
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This person just wants to get their feet wet in the sold-state recorder market. I doubt that he's chompin' at the bit about mods at this point.
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This person just wants to get their feet wet in the sold-state recorder market. I doubt that he's chompin' at the bit about mods at this point.
You may be right, but since this guy is an old DAT taper from the '90s, he already has his taping feet wet, all he needs is a new recorder. Unless he is going to get a Sound Devices, he should at least consider the mods done by Doug and Busman that can make semi-pro gear like the Marantz/Edirol/Tascam units perform like high end pro gear.
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you may also figure out how much you care to spend
and what type of taping (stealth or open or both) you will be doing
and also how much gear you really want to drag to shows
there are so many variables that you need to consider before asking your question
you should also check the forums here before buying a modded unit from Oade
some folks here have not had the best experience with the Oades
Busman will also do mods, but does not to my knowledge sell those units
although he does have a line of microphones which many here do like
welcome back to taping!
I would suggest taking the forum posts regarding Oade with a grain of salt. I know Doug personally and have bought a ton of gear from the Oades since 1993 and I never had a single issue. I have also referred numerous friends to Doug over the years that reported having flawless transactions with him as well.
There are a few folks on here that have had some difficult interactions with Doug where they feel they were not treated right and take every opportunity to recount their side of these experiences in any thread they get wind of that mentions Doug's name, so just take that into consideration as you read their remarks.
I feel that a person should have the right to form THEIR own opinion
just because you are friends with him doesn't change what happened to others
I personally could give a SHIT one way or another
just trying to make the OP aware that there are other options
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Doug is very polar here. Seems if you have done business with him either you love him and have had no problem or you hate him from some problem you have had with him. Not a whole lot of neutral ground.
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I feel that a person should have the right to form THEIR own opinion
just because you are friends with him doesn't change what happened to others
No one has suggested otherwise.
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I know Brian,
every time the name OADE comes up around here everyone starts choosing sides
and then we get into a 36 page argument about it
that was not my intention to start anything about OADE
but when I'm quoted and then followed by a comment about
I know him personally... YADA YADA YADA
I felt that once again HERE WE GO
and I don't care to get into a pissing contest
maybe I shouldn't have even posted about it in the first place
but I still feel that the OP should be able to make an informed decision
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I know Brian,
every time the name OADE comes up around here everyone starts choosing sides
and then we get into a 36 page argument about it
that was not my intention to start anything about OADE
but when I'm quoted and then followed by a comment about
I know him personally... YADA YADA YADA
I felt that once again HERE WE GO
and I don't care to get into a pissing contest
maybe I shouldn't have even posted about it in the first place
but I still feel that the OP should be able to make an informed decision
Dude, you were the one that broke the ground, so don't whine about the replys you prompted with your effort to make sure the OP makes and informed decision. He is so lucky to have you looking out for him. God forbid he make his own contacts and forms his own decsions without your sage advise that he "watch out for Doug".
I mean, what do you expect? Say you were a personal friend of mine, and some fucktard started a thread about you and something you did that I either know you did not do, or know your character well enough to highly doubt the truth of the story, and the integrity of the person making the claims. I would jump all over that person for smearing your good name. So, I do the same for Doug, just like I would for Jim, and countless other tapers on this forum that I personally have gotten to know over the last couple decades and know their character.
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why is it, about that name that people get so upset
at the mere mention that not all have been happy? :hmmm:
I respect your relationship with them
mine is fair at best about their service
maybe I didn't spend enough time over the last 25+ years
and of course money, to develop a better relationship
I still feel that there are many different opinions
and the OP should have all sides to hear about
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why is it, about that name that people get so upset
at the mere mention that not all have been happy? :hmmm:
I respect your relationship with them
mine is fair at best about their service
maybe I didn't spend enough time over the last 25+ years
and of course money, to develop a better relationship
I still feel that there are many different opinions
and the OP should have all sides to hear about
It's simple. If an honest poll was taken about the largest retailers like B&H, Full Compass, and Sweetwater regarding service quality, I am certain that there would be numerous testimonials here about interactions that for one reason or another, did not go the way of the customer and those individuals would'nt buy a stick of gum from whatever large retailer was involved today. Also, said individuals would certainly feel it their duty to relay what they experienced, and the odds are that at least half of them have some personal responsibility for the situation they, like most human beings, cannot accept, particularly in a public forum.
And you know what, I doubt there would be anything more than a few passing replies to such a thread, either echoing a similar problem, or recounting a flawless transaction with said retailer. But, since these retailers are giant firms where 99% of their customer base is not tapers like us, no one, especially the retailers, give a flying shit what a handful of taper nerds think about them. Their finance department would not even see a blip on the ledger as a result of any smearing here even with a few lost sales to tapers, not one single blip.
However, Oade, just like Busman, are in a niche market where most of their sales are from word of mouth and referals, not marketing and slick looking catalogs. And, as a bonus, these guys are applying performance upgrades to make gear primarily designed to record court proceedings or other ENG uses suitable for music recording, or foley and ambient/nature recording. So, when someone tries to tell a person that their negative experience should translate into stopping future sales with their "warnings", I call it sour grapes and a naked attempt at revenge, pure and simple. I don't think posts that have revenge intentions seeping out of every word, and anyone that claims they are not has a reading comprehension problem, are of much value to someone trying to make an unemotional, sound, and mature decision.
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I guess my point was to not make it a point about Oade
EDIT:
I would like to forget about it
and return to the subject of gear instead of specific vendors
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I guess my point was to not make it a point about Oade
And a good point it is and you should have followed your own advice. With your first post in this thread, you yourself made it a point about Oade when you "cautioned" the OP about checking other posts about Doug, knowing what they contain. His name probably would not have come up again if it was left alone.
But, I am sure if the OP was an advanced DAT taper in the '90s as he stated, he already has many friends that bought gear from the Oades (most tapers almost had to back then) and he can check with them, people he actually knows.
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Doug is very polar here. Seems if you have done business with him either you love him and have had no problem or you hate him from some problem you have had with him. Not a whole lot of neutral ground.
I'd guess that it is more that people who are neutral don't want to wade into this quagmire. I'm pretty neutral on Doug -- I don't find him some sort of god, I think that he is a vendor and as such he has his own biases and I consider them when I'm weighing his opinion, etc; at the same time, I've purchased gear from him and don't see any reason not to, and I've got Oade performance modded equipment and may well get more in the future.
Thought I'd just stick that in there -- there are those of us occupying the middle ground in this whole debate. That said, I'm kind of cringing inside if this turns into one of those lengthy Oade debates and I keep getting notifications to this thread. Guess I'll have to learn about those notification options....
As to the OP's query: I think that in the past you didn't really need a separate preamp or A/D, people just sometimes/often wanted them for that extra bit of quality. Same goes now. Lots of options if you don't want to have separate outboard stuff, lots of options if you do.
Actually, lots and lots and lots of options now as compared to before. Probably 10 or more entries in the very small handheld recorders (which will need an external preamp or phantom supply if you want to use condensor mics), another half dozen or more of all in one 2ch recorders, then 4ch recorders, options for performance modded gear, etc. Choice is great, but I'd imagine somewhat overwhelming if you'r ejust getting started or getting back into the game. I'd guess best to try to figure out a budget, figure out if you lean towards an all-in-one solution or if you want separates, figure out if you want open gear and/or stealth gear, and then start reading through ts.com and asking your friends for their opinions.