Topic: Looking to get started for under $ 200

[nihilistic0]

Not a fan of the ECM mics at all


core-sound makes a decent low cost mic, it costs around 75 bucks.  I used the low cost cardioid for a while, and I have gotten some pretty decent recordings from it. 

In fact, one of my best recordings is the low cost card > mic-in sony md @ lp2.  taped deftones FOB

[gevenkaven]

thanx guys for some infos

and what do you think about this mic?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9711516596&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

it looks much better for me than this Sony ECM-907 and even is easier to hide and just clip it

or maybe this one
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9711508808&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

and I think that I can get used MD in Poland for half price of it what's on eBAy but mics and other stuff are the big problem here
any more tips?

[TheWildKindness]

thanx guys for some infos

and what do you think about this mic?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9711516596&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

it looks much better for me than this Sony ECM-907 and even is easier to hide and just clip it

or maybe this one
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9711508808&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

and I think that I can get used MD in Poland for half price of it what's on eBAy but mics and other stuff are the big problem here
any more tips?

 If you can swing it, my vote would defenitly be for the CMC-4's(http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9711516596&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1) over the Sony mic, and over the Core Sound mics. You will be extremely satisfied with the CMC-4's, plus this auction includes the battery box. Go for it!

[gevenkaven]

thankyou, I followed your tip TheWildKindness and got it!!!
but it was not that easy and almost all my money spend on it, but mic is the most important as I uderstood here
it looks much more profesional than I thought at the beggining before signing here and just can't wait to get it and check it out, even before dEUS gig

I'm sure you understand what I mean...

but now need to get some used very cheap MD
so please give me one more advice about this equipment
I'm not so fluent with this specifications in english but it looks like possible for me are

SONY NF-610
SONY MZ-R37
SONY MZ-R410
SONY MZ-S1

SHARP MD-MT 20
SHARP MD-MT 90

JVC XM-R70

or maybe if found some more money (but it looks rather bad) also these ones

SONY MZ-R55
SONY MZ-N505
SONY MZ-N510

they are all used (some of them more, some of them less) priced here in Poland all below 100$ and as confirmed by sellers working fine without any problems
timie is ticking and after this mic I don't want to lose the quality on some crappy MD

any help will be very appreciated

[rdflash]

Try MZ-R70...

older version, but a goodie, I have used from my friend, they go for like 40 winning bid usually.

[TheWildKindness]

thankyou, I followed your tip TheWildKindness and got it!!!
but it was not that easy and almost all my money spend on it, but mic is the most important as I uderstood here
it looks much more profesional than I thought at the beggining before signing here and just can't wait to get it and check it out, even before dEUS gig

I'm sure you understand what I mean...

but now need to get some used very cheap MD
so please give me one more advice about this equipment
I'm not so fluent with this specifications in english but it looks like possible for me are

SONY NF-610
SONY MZ-R37
SONY MZ-R410
SONY MZ-S1

SHARP MD-MT 20
SHARP MD-MT 90

JVC XM-R70

or maybe if found some more money (but it looks rather bad) also these ones

SONY MZ-R55
SONY MZ-N505
SONY MZ-N510

they are all used (some of them more, some of them less) priced here in Poland all below 100$ and as confirmed by sellers working fine without any problems
timie is ticking and after this mic I don't want to lose the quality on some crappy MD

any help will be very appreciated

 Glad that I could help out. I checked out your winning bid...wow! great price! $100 for those mics with the battery box is a steal.
 As far as the MD...I would stay away from most of the early model Sony ones since you cannot adjust the levels on the fly with them. The Sharp ones are what I would recommend. I started out with a Sony MZ-R70...and it wasn't what I wanted..I think I used it twice and put it back on Ebay. The thing was loud. When I sold that and bought my Sharp model, it was a much nicer and easier to use, as well as allowing me to adjust my levels.

 The 2 Sharp models you have seem pretty reasonable. I'm not sure of the  MT20, but if you mean the M20, it might be worth it. That one actually has optical/line and mic in and optical, hdphn/line out, which is pretty rare..here is a link to details on the M20 (http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sharp_MD-M25.html)

 The MT90 looks like a decent unit as well : http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sharp_MD-MT80+MT90.html

 Good luck and have fun!

[gevenkaven]

Try MZ-R70...

older version, but a goodie, I have used from my friend, they go for like 40 winning bid usually.

and what is the difference between MZ R-37 and MZ R-70 cause it looks like now there are no R-70 and only R-37 is avaiable

The Sharp ones are what I would recommend. I started out with a Sony MZ-R70...and it wasn't what I wanted..I think I used it twice and put it back on Ebay. The thing was loud. When I sold that and bought my Sharp model, it was a much nicer and easier to use, as well as allowing me to adjust my levels.

 The 2 Sharp models you have seem pretty reasonable. I'm not sure of the  MT20, but if you mean the M20, it might be worth it. That one actually has optical/line and mic in and optical, hdphn/line out, which is pretty rare..here is a link to details on the M20 (http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sharp_MD-M25.html)

 The MT90 looks like a decent unit as well :http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sharp_MD-MT80+MT90.html

 Good luck and have fun!

well this Sharp MD M20 that is avaiable to me is not the one you linked but this one
http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sharp_MD-MT15+MT16+MT20.html

is it also better than Sony's?

[SkttrWave]

My suggestion would be the Sony MZ-NH600. This is the cheapest HiMD recorder which records in LPCM mode, has line-in (all you need when you have mics + batt. box), allows you to set levels on the fly and you can upload recordings through USB. Tho, be very carefull NOT to buy the NH600D since this model is a downloading model only, so it has no line-in.
You should be able to find one on ebay for less than $100.

[gevenkaven]

My suggestion would be the Sony MZ-NH600. This is the cheapest HiMD recorder which records in LPCM mode, has line-in (all you need when you have mics + batt. box), allows you to set levels on the fly and you can upload recordings through USB. Tho, be very carefull NOT to buy the NH600D since this model is a downloading model only, so it has no line-in.
You should be able to find one on ebay for less than $100.

well in Poland it costs over 100 $ and after buying SP-CMC 4 mic my budget is really small so I think I can't afford this one

[TheWildKindness]

SHARP MD-MT 20


JVC XM-R70


SONY MZ-R55 (Stay away from this one: In manual recording level mode, unit must be paused to change the level setting)

SONY MZ-N510 (has no mic input, but you should be using line in anyway...plus this one does allow recording level change while recording)

 I think any of the above would be good choices. After looking at the JVC model...that looks like a good choice IMO.
Features: Jog-dial on side of unit for character entry and editing. LCD on main body is 10 x 2 characters. 20 bit ADC and DAC. 24 bit calculation ATRAC. Digital and analog syncho recording. Manual recording level control only, level can be adjusted during recording.
http://www.minidisc.org/part_JVC_XM-R70.html
 
 The other ones would work fine for you as well though...so just do as much research as possible and make your decision.

[gevenkaven]

 I think any of the above would be good choices. After looking at the JVC model...that looks like a good choice IMO.
Features: Jog-dial on side of unit for character entry and editing. LCD on main body is 10 x 2 characters. 20 bit ADC and DAC. 24 bit calculation ATRAC. Digital and analog syncho recording. Manual recording level control only, level can be adjusted during recording.
http://www.minidisc.org/part_JVC_XM-R70.html
 
 The other ones would work fine for you as well though...so just do as much research as possible and make your decision.

well this JVC looks nice but I think is one of the oldest models, and how it looks when I want to transfer my recording from MD to Computer to edit the tracks in Cool Edit? do I need any special program or what? (it's this part that is still most unknown for me)

and what about these Sharp MT20 and MT90, once you said that it's better than poorer Sony MD's but read somewhere that this MT90 is not compatibile with the format or something which I don't really understand

[gevenkaven]

I've contacted the seller and heard that from this JVC MD I can only transfer my recordings via mini jack cable when strat play on MD and recording on computer
it's not that big problem for me cause anyway I plan to edit these recordings in Cool Edit Pro 2 but is it really big loos to transfer data this way? not digitally

[TheWildKindness]

I've contacted the seller and heard that from this JVC MD I can only transfer my recordings via mini jack cable when strat play on MD and recording on computer
it's not that big problem for me cause anyway I plan to edit these recordings in Cool Edit Pro 2 but is it really big loos to transfer data this way? not digitally

 Unless you buy a MiniDisc deck with digital/optical out, you'll have to use the line out on the MD...I'm not sure of the new models, but pretty much all MD recorders only allow you to do analog transfers (line/headphone out). How much are you looking to spend? You could always try and find a NJB3 for a reasonable price. You would then be able to transfer your recordings via USB.

[dunebug81]

I've contacted the seller and heard that from this JVC MD I can only transfer my recordings via mini jack cable when strat play on MD and recording on computer
it's not that big problem for me cause anyway I plan to edit these recordings in Cool Edit Pro 2 but is it really big loos to transfer data this way? not digitally

Only the HIMD recorders have the ability to upload the songs to the computer.  As someone else said you can get a MD deck.  I have the JE-510 that has optical out which I used to use for any non-himd transfers.  You should be able to pick up a deck for ~$100 on ebay.  Shipping might be pretty expensive having to ship it to Europe as it will have to ship in a rather large box. 

[rdflash]

spend the money now and get jb3...after one show of switching MD's you will have had enough.