Robert Francis

Ladies and gentlemen,

Having just helped me talk my wife out of a Bose Waveradio and into a Cambridge Soundworks CD-Radio (it's fantastic, by the way), I come to you yet again with only the faintest idea of what I need.

I'm a musician and am looking for a digital recording device to record myself for playback during my practice sessions. A friend made a rehearsal recording of our brass quintet using one of these Sony devices and it was remarkably good. When I started looking, I noticed that there are about 45 Gazillion different makes and models out there.

Does anyone have a suggestion as to what is out there in the $150.00 or so price range. I just need it to record through a mic and playback. I don't care if it is a minidisc or one of those new fangled i-pod like things.

Thanks for your help.

Bob

Philip Hamm

An older MiniDisc recorder is what you're looking for. Modern recorders like this one are very nice! If you can find an older simpler machine that would be nice. I have an old MZR-30 which is just a plain vanilla MD recorder that I absolutely LOVE!

Pretty much anything with a mic input and you're golden.

Philip Hamm
Moderator Emeritus

Robert Francis

Thanks, Philip. I'll check 'em out.

Andy_Hamric

A few years ago I got a MD player to record my practice sessions on cello. Of course you know that the quality of the microphone is going to be a big factor in sound quality.

Let me make just a couple observations: 1)My Sharp player has a feature that will automatically put track stops in at various specified intervals, which is handy. 2) I can adjust the input levels 3) if you get a mic that is just a little thing that sticks into the jack and is only a couple inches long, be careful because a mic that close to the player might pick up mechanism noise from the player depending on how loud the player is.

Robert Francis

Andy,

Thanks, I'll check out the Sharp MD players too. That track stops feature would be great.

Bob

Seth--L

How about buying a used DAT recorder instead?

Well - There it is.
My Music Collection

Philip Hamm

DAT is too fragile. I'm a musician and I assume the reason for these recordings is to listen after practicing, see where there's room for improvement, and then record the next practice. Repeat and rinse. You'll be recording over the same material over and over again. DAT can not handle this. MD can, beautifully.

SHARP MD recorders are nice!

Philip Hamm
Moderator Emeritus

PaulDA

My first generation Sharp portable is built like a tank compared to the flimsy models I've seen over at Sony lately. I've not seen a new Sharp but if it resembles mine, it should withstand whatever abuse (within reason) you throw at it.

Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes time, and it annoys the pig.