All in one digi' recorders- any good?

[Mark66]

I've been reading some threads on home recording, and it seems mics, audio interface etc can be complicated/a real
pain. Not sure I can be bothered due to lack of time. I thought a Tascam DR-1 or similar might be easier, but are
they any good? Heard some clips from Hunter & they sound pretty good.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Yes, they can be very good. The weak link with most stand alone DAWs is in their D/A converters. I have a Yamaha AW16G, which I will use till it dies, even tho it's only 16 bit. It's bulletproof and works really well.

However, when I mix on it, my mixes always sound muddy. Therefore, I export the tracks and mix in SONAR on my PC. Sounds 100x better that way.

[gwEm]

i have a zoom mrs-8 which i use similarly to TO. it takes alot of the hassel out of getting stuff down. like ben i do a rough mix and export it to PC. though its a cool box it seems a bit flimsy, but i'll use it until it breaks anyway.

[hunter]

I recommend the DR-1, especially at the killer prices it goes for now (I still paid 299 EUR).

[Ian Price]

Cheers Mark - this could be a really good subject for me. I've been trying to decide between a DAW or an all in one. Sounds like digi recorders are the favourite at the moment! I was considering one of the Boss BR range - anyone got/used one? Also taking notice of the Tascam due to Hunters clips.

[gwEm]

Cheers Mark - this could be a really good subject for me. I've been trying to decide between a DAW or an all in one. Sounds like digi recorders are the favourite at the moment! I was considering one of the Boss BR range - anyone got/used one? Also taking notice of the Tascam due to Hunters clips.

don't get me wrong, i use a DAW as well, but i find these recorders are very complimentry to that and take alot of the effort out of the recording. i like things to be fast and easy

[Antag]

Yes - I had a BR482 BR532 (actually I still have it, just don't use it any more).  It was my first foray into home recording & I found it childishly simple to use.  The built in drums were pretty good too - nice sound albeit a bit limiting in that you could only make parts out of the built-in patterns rather than totally build your own drum part.

Currently I use a Fostex MR16HD & I like it.  Like the Boss, it's also easy to use (though I always keep the manual to hand) with a ton of useful features.  You can listen to any of my clips in Players & decide for yourself whether it sounds good :)

The only things I dislike about it are that I can't get the MIDI synch with a Drum Machine to work & the manual has all sorts of dire warnings about importing WAV files into it.  So if I want drums, I need to export the tracks to PC & do the mixing there (like Twilight does).

EDIT: Got the model number wrong (above)

[Elliot]

I have a Zoom H4 and love it - the mics aren't that good (none on these thingys are) - but I have an SM57 and a Audio Technica Condensor pair, so it don't bother me.

[Ian Price]

Cheers Mark - this could be a really good subject for me. I've been trying to decide between a DAW or an all in one. Sounds like digi recorders are the favourite at the moment! I was considering one of the Boss BR range - anyone got/used one? Also taking notice of the Tascam due to Hunters clips.

don't get me wrong, i use a DAW as well, but i find these recorders are very complimentry to that and take alot of the effort out of the recording. i like things to be fast and easy

What are the mic inputs like on the Zoom gWem? Do you use them or just link up to something like a POD for recording?

[gwEm]

Cheers Mark - this could be a really good subject for me. I've been trying to decide between a DAW or an all in one. Sounds like digi recorders are the favourite at the moment! I was considering one of the Boss BR range - anyone got/used one? Also taking notice of the Tascam due to Hunters clips.

don't get me wrong, i use a DAW as well, but i find these recorders are very complimentry to that and take alot of the effort out of the recording. i like things to be fast and easy

What are the mic inputs like on the Zoom gWem? Do you use them or just link up to something like a POD for recording?

i don't find an issue with the XLR on my Zoom MRS-8, I suppose its not uber-quality, but its perfectly ok for semi-pro use (at least in my opinion). all my recent players forum clips have used the zoom mrs-8 as a recorder, so you can listen and judge for yourself. i use a shure sm57 on those clips. the amp models/fx on the mrs-8 are a bit mickey mouse - more for fun/song writing use.

[Ian Price]

Cheers gWem - I have an SM-57 in my possession also.

The Zoom MRS4 doesn't seem to have an XLR. Does this make much of a difference to the recording quality?

[gwEm]

Cheers gWem - I have an SM-57 in my possession also.

The Zoom MRS4 doesn't seem to have an XLR. Does this make much of a difference to the recording quality?

YES! :) you'll have much less hum and noise with the XLR.

watch out too on the MRS4 - it just records at 32khz. the MRS8 is 44.1khz. thats why i got this model, and also the smartcard stuff is easier to use. checkout the sampling frequency of these recorders in the specs to be sure.

its quite cool, i can run it off batteries, take it to my mates house and stuff

[Ian Price]

^ Cheers again. Will make sure I get my capitalisation right next time!