looking for the easiest small recorder to use

patticake · #1 01-25-2015, 02:38 PM

we've owned a few multi track recorders and others, but my husband wants something REALLY simple for when he's coming up with new riffs/songs. he says he doesn't want to have to read the manual, and isn't looking for great sound quality or multiple tracks - he just wants to push a record button and record, then hit stop, take out the SD card and plug it into his computer.

all the recorders i find have more steps than that involved or don't have an SD card. anyone have any suggestions?

ChuckS · #2 01-25-2015, 03:06 PM

My son used to use a Zoom H2n. It seemed nice and simple, and uses SD cards.

Silly Moustache · #3 01-25-2015, 03:08 PM

I use an old Zoom H4. Remarkably good quality - various formats.

Woodstock School Of Music · #4 01-25-2015, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patticake

we've owned a few multi track recorders and others, but my husband wants something REALLY simple for when he's coming up with new riffs/songs. he says he doesn't want to have to read the manual, and isn't looking for great sound quality or multiple tracks - he just wants to push a record button and record, then hit stop, take out the SD card and plug it into his computer.

all the recorders i find have more steps than that involved or don't have an SD card. anyone have any suggestions?

I just use my smart phone for recording rough ideas. I send the files to Google drive (cloud) and I can access them from any device.

Fran Guidry · #5 01-25-2015, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patticake

we've owned a few multi track recorders and others, but my husband wants something REALLY simple for when he's coming up with new riffs/songs. he says he doesn't want to have to read the manual, and isn't looking for great sound quality or multiple tracks - he just wants to push a record button and record, then hit stop, take out the SD card and plug it into his computer.

all the recorders i find have more steps than that involved or don't have an SD card. anyone have any suggestions?

The H2n does exactly this, but your hubby will have to put up with fairly excellent sound quality (grin). And the form factor makes it easy to place on any nearby flat surface, which I find an advantage over recorders like the H1 or Tascam DR05.

Fran

elroyjetsn · #6 02-10-2015, 01:05 PM

I've been using a Fostex MR-8 for the past several years with good success. It's pretty easy to use and lets you bounce tracks and has usable reverb (barely) built in. The only problem is no phantom power for condensers.

Ghostpicker · #7 02-10-2015, 01:08 PM

I like my Zoom H1. It's cheap, easy to use and does a great job. You can use the SD card or plug the unit directly into the computer's USB port.

kaos · #8 02-10-2015, 01:22 PM

The Zoom H1 is okay. If you get one make sure you set it to "wav" format. It is very cheaply made.

The Sony PCM-m10 is the best buy for the money ... IMHO. And very easy to use.

Paultergeist · #9 02-10-2015, 03:40 PM

I am rather surprised by the many suggestions for the Zoom series. I know they are very popular, but I have owned two of the earlier models and returned them both -- finding them too complicated for my desired use. I finally settled on a little Sony diction recorder.

I am now wondering if -- since the time I tried them -- the Zoom products have simplified the user interface?

elroyjetsn · #10 02-10-2015, 03:54 PM

The MR-8 is pretty easy to use and can be bought for less then 100US used. Nice thing about it is the Mix Out features for an all-in-one solution. No PC needed plus 2 headphone jacks. Plus it has sliders like a real mix board. Has XLR's for using your good mics (dynamic required unless you find the Mkii version with phantom power). You can even dump your tracks via USB to a the computer as an option.

dhalbert · #11 02-10-2015, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaos

The Sony PCM-m10 is the best buy for the money ... IMHO. And very easy to use.

Are you using the built-in mics? When I compared models in the past, the PCM-M10 was faulted for having two fixed omnidirectional mics, whereas the Zoom H2n has two cardioid mics which give a good stereo image in XY mode. (Actually, the H2n has five mics total for a variety of patterns.)

On the other hand the Sony is supposed to be noticeably quieter.

Fran Guidry · #12 02-10-2015, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paultergeist

I am rather surprised by the many suggestions for the Zoom series. I know they are very popular, but I have owned two of the earlier models and returned them both -- finding them too complicated for my desired use. I finally settled on a little Sony diction recorder.

I am now wondering if -- since the time I tried them -- the Zoom products have simplified the user interface?

The H2n was the first Zoom that moved toward a simpler user interface. With that recorder it's 1. Power on 2. Hit Record.

Hard to get much simpler than that. That simplicity has carried on with later models, but of course if there's more functionality (overdubbing, phantom power, changing formats, etc.) there's more complexity.

I have an H2n, H1, and H6 and I agree that the build quality of the H1 is unimpressive. I also find micro SD cards to be a (minor, first world) pain so I prefer the H2n for its SD card. And I think the electric shaver form factor makes the recorder more convenient to use for casual recording.

Fran

FlyFast · #13 02-10-2015, 07:12 PM

I use my iPhone with the FourTrack app. I use the built-in mic for quick and dirty recording and switch to an Apogee Jam to plug in for less noise. It works for me.

Ty Ford · #14 02-11-2015, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhalbert

Are you using the built-in mics? When I compared models in the past, the PCM-M10 was faulted for having two fixed omnidirectional mics, whereas the Zoom H2n has two cardioid mics which give a good stereo image in XY mode. (Actually, the H2n has five mics total for a variety of patterns.)

On the other hand the Sony is supposed to be noticeably quieter.

The Sony M10 is VERY easy to use. Turn it on, hit record. At this level, the omni verses cardioid issue doesn't really matter. It doesn't have a removable card.

Here's my review: http://tyfordaudiovideo.blogspot.com...rder-nice.html

Regards,

Ty Ford

Paultergeist · #15 02-11-2015, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fran Guidry

The H2n was the first Zoom that moved toward a simpler user interface. With that recorder it's 1. Power on 2. Hit Record.

Hard to get much simpler than that......

Thanks for the info, Fran. Good to know that Zoom made it simpler; my (early) Zoom just had so many "nested menus" that I found the moment of inspiration gone by the time I got the recorder working. I agree that the quality of the recording, however, was very good.

As they have now made the interface much simpler, I'll have to give the newer models a fresh try.

Thanks again.