digital recording device for bass instruments

Priya_s · Post by **Priya_s** » 17 Jan 2009, 13:29

My relative in Trichy needs to record his performances so that he can review them and iron out his mistakes....I think this topic has been already discussed in several threads.. ..But I still have a sense of ambiguity in deciding for him which digital recording device to buy(Ipod or a nano or sony digital recorder or olympus or any other mp3 player????) The reason is because even the better known recording devices are known not to record instruments with pronounced bass effect well....especially in the lower octaves... Take for eg the carnatic guitar or carnatic mandolin or carnatic keyboard with bass tones etc...

Could anyone of you suggest a way out of this and a really good device that could record all sorts of instruments well be it bass or a high pitched instrument... and the recording should be such that the concert (main instrument+percussion) should only be predominantly detected and recorded and the noise should be rejected near-perfectly...

He's ready to shell out the necessary money for the device but just needs some guidance regarding this before investing the money...Hence this post...Awaiting suggestions....

mri_fan · Post by **mri_fan** » 17 Jan 2009, 18:54

zoom h2 200 us bucks..

best bang for your buck

picks up mridangam great, as well as other situations.

Priya_s · Post by **Priya_s** » 17 Jan 2009, 20:59

thanks mri_fan for that suggestion but what about transcend recorder which I believe most artists use to record their performances? Is that good? Which is the best bet?

Priya_s · Post by **Priya_s** » 18 Jan 2009, 10:17

I'd be happy if more ppl take notice of this post and send in a few suggestions... Perhaps an opinion about the transcend recorder (or any other pretty decent recording device)...Just need some quick help to sort this out.. Once done the moderator can delete this post... (a bit skeptical about zoom h2 because the cost seems to be on the bit of the higher side)

Sathej · Post by **Sathej** » 18 Jan 2009, 11:41

Transcend does a wonderful job most times. Should serve the purposes of recording concerts for reviewing them. It picks up high pitched instruments too quite well in my experience. Noise control is also achieved pretty decently.
Sathej

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 18 Jan 2009, 12:08

Really necessary to decide what sort of quality is required.

It is quite possible to make very nice recordings with a decent device and a good microphone. I used to use a Sony stereo mic and a mini-disc recorder: technology has moved on since then, with solid-state memory common in most people's pockets, at least for listening.

I recorded a couple of rehearsals on my phone recently. It was fine for a few days of learning the stuff, but, whilst not being at all awful, was not exactly hifi. It was still better than a cheap cassette recorder, that standby of music students for the last few decades!

Many musicians seem to be content with the bare bones in terms of sound quality: their experience, feeling and knowledge just seems to fill in the rest

vainika · Post by **vainika** » 18 Jan 2009, 12:25

I've listened to good quality recordings made with Transcend, Creative, and IRiver, but haven't done a price comparison. Of these, I suspect Transcend is most easily available.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 18 Jan 2009, 16:18

The selling point for me, if I was looking now, would be the possibility of connecting an external stereo mic.

If the built-in mic performance is acceptable, then a decent external mic should give very good results.

Priya_s · Post by **Priya_s** » 18 Jan 2009, 20:44

thanks guys for the replies..got a very good insight now regarding this after seeing the replies.. I think Transcend probably fits the bill the best and apparently within the stipulated budget...and just one more clarification...does transcend have an in-built speaker? If not, are small miniature sized external speakers available in the market which are compatible with Transcend and allied mp3 players..? If so specify the brand name and model no (and price if possible)

mri_fan · Post by **mri_fan** » 19 Jan 2009, 09:07

although the zoom h2 is on the higher end, it takes care of every possible recording situation,and for that reason, I prefer it. It has 4 built in speakers that offer a surround sound option, as well as external mic options, and line-in recordings.

money · Post by **money** » 19 Jan 2009, 21:36

The ultimate for professional quality portable audio recording are the Edirol make voice recorders which come in a range of models. Its mics are really good and give comparatively the best quality.
However these are only portable recorders with built in mics and do not have the capability of ideal mic placing to give the classy studio quality sound.The concert hall reverberation will be there unless the recording is done with the recorder near the source of sound. However the price rises exponentially to the improvement in the audio quality and so what one gets depends on what you can shell out. Bang for the buck!
Anyway most of these are today used for the stealthy concert recordings from the audience.For such a purpose the cheapest one will do as there will not be any noticeable difference in quality even if the best is used.

ShrutiLaya · Post by **ShrutiLaya** » 19 Jan 2009, 22:22

Sorry if this sounds obvious/dumb/patronizing but the best sound would come from the sound system at the hall. The microphones are usually reasonable, and more importantly, they're placed in optimal positions. For an artist to record his own performance, the best bet should be to either get a line output from the mixing board, or place an mp3 recorder right up against a speaker. However good a handheld recorder is, it is physically impossible to pick up the sound without room artefacts (echos, people noises etc) or sound degradation unless you have the microphone(s) in the right place.

- Sreenadh