Topic: Crash course??

[jaemes]

I recently got a tascam dr-05 and tried recording with it this pass weekend. I had no idea have it worked so I just got record and go. I have sound professional mics) battery box that I used with minidisk with I know how to work. Could someone please explain to to adjust the levels so my recording doesn't sound like ass.
Thanks

[Scooter123]

Read the manual.  There should be VU meter indicators on the screen which will show levels.  -12db is usually considered the highest level.  Record at 16 bit minimum, perhaps 24 bit. 

[DavidPuddy]

Go to a show you don’t care about and practice. Like scooter said, you want levels to peak around -12 so you have plenty of headroom for audience applause, harsh vocals, etc. Location matters more than anything - try to make an equilateral triangle between yourself and the two speaker stacks.

[Grandmeaulne]

I recently got a tascam dr-05 and tried recording with it this pass weekend. I had no idea have it worked so I just got record and go. I have sound professional mics) battery box that I used with minidisk with I know how to work. Could someone please explain to to adjust the levels so my recording doesn't sound like ass.
Thanks

The Edirol is a great device but the manual is useless.  There are on-line step by step and videos on Youtube.  Best bet is to practice in your living room with a loud album playing, then you toy around. 

[commongrounder]

The recorder the OP has is a Tascam DR-05, not Edirol. Something to to consider with the DR-05 is the gain on the external input does not go all the way down to minus(infinity)db. I find that with line and hot mic signals it isn’t always possible to reduce the gain enough to prevent peaking above 0dbfs (i.e. clipping). The only solution is an external attenuator (assuming also the external battery box). The DR-05 input sensitivity at minimum gain is 500mv (0.5v) for 0dbfs, so any input signal has to peak at less than that to stay below digital clipping.