Recording an acoustic...

KSHillTopper · #1 10-20-2010, 11:22 PM

Hey all, been thinking about investing in some sort of portable recorder.

Mainly for songwriting and practicing melodies. I'm not gonna worry too

much on the sound quality, as i won't be publishing anything with this

device. If i could find something that will record an acoustic without having

to plug-in (and not sounding like im playing with distortion) would be ideal.

However, i'm not getting my hopes up. So, if anyone has a personal

recorder they'd like to suggest, i'm open to opinions. I've looked

around on MF a bit, but it quite hard to differentiate so many similar

models..so i'm here looking to narrow my search a bit. Thanks for reading. -Jeff

Turp · #2 10-20-2010, 11:39 PM

I have a an earlier version of the H4. It has great sound reproduction and core components, such as the phono/mic inputs and phantom power. The user interface/controls and tripod mount are pretty bad. The H4 has multitracking and I've never used it. I bought my father a H2 and it is very good and seems to be a much better thoughtout whith better controls and use.

RussMason · #3 10-20-2010, 11:46 PM

I don't have one, but I have seen picture of it. It's small and has two opposing microphones. Just set it on the desk and sit in front of it. It should be perfect for recording your guitar and maybe vocals also.

Sony PCM-D1

Just checked the price - it's expensive. But maybe there are others a bit more reasonably priced.

seannx · #4 10-20-2010, 11:59 PM

+1 for Zoom H4n

tdq · #5 10-21-2010, 12:03 AM

Now this is very lo-fi: But I've been using my iphone - I bought the multitrack DAW app, but there are others. For a mic I just dropped the iphone ear bud into the sound hole. A bit of tape to stop it flopping around. Voila.
Here's an example.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d553zfxspE

In a pinch you can even use the built-in mic. Obviously pretty bad quality but if you're just jotting down ideas it works.

Loki · #6 10-21-2010, 02:02 AM

The high end Zooms are very good, but quite expensive.

At the other end of their range though the fairly newly introduced Zoom H1 is very good value.

It doesn't have all the bells & whistles, but is smaller, has the same stereo mike pairing and the sound quality of the basic recording is outstanding.

They retail for less than £100 in UK so probably round the $100 in the US.

Hope this is helpful.

ocarolan · #7 10-21-2010, 02:08 AM

Zoom H2.
Stand it on the kitchen table, sit 18 inches away, press the button -

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...songID=9357513

This recording has been converted to mp3 and has had the beginning and end trimmed on my PC, but no added effects. ie it is a true representation of what the recorder can do quickly and simply.The original wav. files are very good quality indeed.

Guitar/vocal simultaneously? Sit a little further away -

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...songID=8809534

- again an unadulterated recording.

For "notepad" price you get decent recording quality. No mulititrack facility, but is considerably cheaper and easier to use than the H4n as has been said.
I have not heard any results from the even cheaper Zoom H1 and so cannot comment meaningfully on that.

Good luck in your search.

Keith

jmccain · #8 10-21-2010, 03:41 AM

I agree with the Zoom H2 suggestions. I've had mine for over a year, use it often and I'm really pleased with it.

rpg51 · #9 10-21-2010, 06:55 AM

Hey TDQ - that system sounds terrific (youtube video) and it will meet all my current needs. I've sold all my digital recorders and an 8 track recorder (Tascam dp-008) and I'm going 100% iPHone. I love my iPhone. It does so much so well and very inexpensively and simply.

Could you explain how the ear bud works as a mic in a little more detail, what app you are using for multitracking and generally how you make that happen?
That is definitely the route I am going.

ChuckS · #10 10-21-2010, 07:59 AM

I've got an older Zoom H4. As others have said, the user interface is not so great. It has some quirks/compromises in setting recording levels and the VU presentation of these levels, but it does a lot for the money and convenience. It works really well for practice, lessons, quick recording, etc using the internal mics. I also use external mic(s)/preamp on occasion and it works well for that as well.

tdq · #11 10-22-2010, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rpg51

Hey TDQ - that system sounds terrific (youtube video) and it will meet all my current needs. I've sold all my digital recorders and an 8 track recorder (Tascam dp-008) and I'm going 100% iPHone. I love my iPhone. It does so much so well and very inexpensively and simply.

Could you explain how the ear bud works as a mic in a little more detail, what app you are using for multitracking and generally how you make that happen?
That is definitely the route I am going.

Hi Rpg - sorry I just noticed the question (my email notifications don't seem to be working) -
Yes, I'm using Harmonic dogs Mutlitrack DAW App. I just stuck the headphones in, and dropped the mic part into the sound hole. I used a bit of gaffa tape to tape the cord down above the sound hole so it didn't slide around or touch the strings. The main drawback is that if you want to listen to the playback (for multitracks) I had to bend my head down as the cable is kinda short. I'm thinking of getting the AmpRig link so I can plug the guitar directly into the phone using a standard lead.
With the lap acoustic I ended up taping the earphone bud to the body of the guitar so it acts like a peizo pickup. I experimented with positions and adding cloth under it to stop the ultra hig frequencies you get. That's it.
For the video I downloaded the audio files to my computer and lined up the audio to the video in Premiere, but any video software would do. I added a tiny bit of reverb to the slide in sound editing software - obviously you could go to town with effects and stuff if you wanted to.
I've even used the Multitrack app to record rehearsal sessions with the bunch I'm playing with, using the inbuilt iphone mic (without the earbud mic), although my guitar got kinda drowned out by the trumpet! but good enough as a reference for the pieces we are doing.

rpg51 · #12 10-23-2010, 01:55 PM

Lord I've be poking around the internet looking at all the iphone and ipad recording apps and devices. It is really starting to take off. I have a Belkin Tune Talk mic for my iPod that works on the iphone. It has a mini line in jack and it looks like I can take the output from my mic pre amp and go right into the iphone. So I can use a good studio quality mic. This is going to be fun.

Here is one example of the sort of thing folks are now doing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKITW...layer_embedded

RoseAdi · #13 11-06-2010, 09:14 AM

I use the Zoom H4n. The interface on the 'n' models is great. Since I don't have any exteranl mics, if I purchased again, I would go for the H2. Same mics, great sound, and cheaper. Zoom does say that the H4n has improved preamps though.

If you want to use multi track and need the capability of using external mics, the H4n might be for you.