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Old 11-20-2017, 04:02 AM
janmulder janmulder is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2013
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Hi AlohaChris, Doug,

Thanks for your comments. I agree that for 'serious' recording it is possibly 'better' to go the Computer/DAW route. I already have various computer/laptop/DAW based setups ... some of them even quite mobile and I'm happy with the results I can get with them ... however ... I've started a journey away from this to smaller, simpler, quicker to setup and neater solutions and I am trying to look ahead to see where this might go and what options are out there. This is especially for the recording process. The mixing and final processing would still be with the computer/DAW.

<short preamble - skip to end if you prefer not to read>

A few years back I got a Zoom R16 but never used it. Then, about a year and a half ago, I started taking it along instead of the computer/laptop/DAW based setups and, as Doug said, there was something liberating about not having a computer/DAW based system. The on-board mics are not that great but used with external mics it was a lot better than I expected.

So this got me thinking about what I like about this setup even though the sound wasn't quite as good ... and I think it is down to the much reduced setup time, space taken up and endless cabling and the mess it brings ... and (dare I say it) the lack of computer itself (my day job is computers - so it's not because I'm computer shy).

In the last few weeks I've pulled out my trusty hand held Olympus LS14 ... either on a small desk tripod or proper mic stand ... what a revelation. NO setup time, NO cabling, almost NO space taken and NO mess. And the internal mics record much better to my ears than the Zoom R16. The big plus is the ability to record wherever (and whenever) I happen to be playing ... especially in my living room, where I often play (but any computer/DAW based setup needs to be tidied away). I think it's even made me become more creative. Only downsides are one track recording only and no external mics.

<end of short preamble>

So the long and short of it is that I like the lack of setup time, cabling, space taken and mess that a small handheld gives and I am trying to see if I can get something that will get me as close as possible to the preamp quality, ability to attach own mics and basic overdubbing/multitracking abilities as I can from a computer/DAW setup ... but all in a small package. Hence my Zoom questions.

I must stress that this is mainly for the recording process ... not the post production/mixing which would almost certainly remain a computer/DAW job.
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