Ral-Clan

Sorry, I have no idea how your quote got in my message. I was, of course, talking to the original poster.

One more suggestion, since you said you are mainly recording loops played on a synthesizer, drum machine & other electronic instruments (which I assume means you have a small home studio setup): Do you really need a portable recording device? You do know that the PC you already own can act as a full-fledged digital audio recorder, don't you? As someone above said, just plug your instruments (or the output of your mixer) into the line-in of your computer's sound card and record the audio to the hard drive (using a free program like Audacity). Then burn the resulting audio files to CD. Even a basic Soundblaster card or the built in soundcard on your computer's motherboard will provide you with much better audio quality than you are currently used to with cassette - if used carefully (i.e. high signal to noise ratio coming out of your mixer) you can get results that are, for most purposes, "professional".

Judging from the tone (of the initial poster's questions) it sounds like you are fairly new to digital recording technology. Things can be confusing and exciting at this stage, since you are presented with so much info. Take a deep breath, learn as much as you can, and don't do any impulse buying. An older used non-HiMD minidisc recorder can be had for about $50 and would probably do you just fine. However, there are certain quirks you'd have to deal with (like doing analogue real-time transfers to PC if you want to backup or burn the audio to a CD). Also remember, minidisc is almost an obsolete format. Now, if that doesn't bother you (it doesn't bother me) then there are some great deals to be had. Seeing as you've only worked with cassette previously, even a old MD recorder is going to seem like a big improvement for very little money. The sound quality of SP mode is really great - I have used recordings made in this mode to create commercial CDs - no one has ever complained or even suspected they were recorded in a compressed audio format. But, if you can afford to spend more more I would definitely suggest you go with one of the newer Flash memory devices (like the ones mentioned above). Just plain less of a hassle to connect to a computer and transfer audio to your PC. I think you should seriously consider looking at the BOSS MICRO-BR. First of all, it's cheaper than the two flash recorders recommended above, but offers much more: - small - records to standard flash media (1GB max) - can act as a standard 2-track stereo recorder (1/4" line-in, mic-in, or built-in stereo condensor mic) - also acts as a four track digital multitracker (a pocket recording studio) - built in effects, compression, drum-machine and guitar amp simulator. - mix down to .wav or mp3 format. - plays mp3s (just like a walkman type player) - connects to a PC via USB It's really a complete basic recording studio in a pocket sized device. You could record a whole album with it, burn it to CD and voila! ...and more. Seriously. Look it up. I think the only disadvantage is the battery life (maybe 3 or 4 hours). But it can also be operated from a standard wall outlet.

That's not entirely true. Obviously the NetMD devices CAN send track title & disc information TO the computer via the USB connection, so the USB connection is NOT an entirely one way street. If it is possible to send data to the computer, perhaps some hardware hack to the firmware of the NetMD device (accompanied by some custom 'receiving' software on the PC) can be used to send a raw bitstream of the music data to the PC (allowing real-time digital uploads). I will admit that this possibility is exceedingly slim, and would require immense skill (or access to Sony in-house documents on NetMD firmware) to implement, but the possibility in future of digital uploads from a NetMD device cannot entirely be ruled out. Probably will never happen, though, unfortunately.

Sounds like you are not planning to use a computer in any way. In this case (and since you seem to have some older MD playback equipment), are you sure you need a Hi-MD unit at all? Standard MD would be a LOT cheaper, easier to find and still provide quite good live recording capability. I would suggest something like the MZ-R50 or MZ-R700 (the latter had the LP modes). Both have microphone inputs and can be found on Ebay everyday for less than $50. Then you can buy a decent starter microphone for about $75-100 and be all set. The discs you record on these (if you use SP mode) can be popped out of these recorders and play straight away on any other MD hardware. I've used standard MD with a stereo mic to record live acoustic music in SP mode. The sound quality is very good. Others will no doubt suggest purchasing Sony's latest and last RH1 Hi-MD recorder. It's nice, but unless you have loads of cash and the time to track down this now hard to find item, I don't think it's worth it for you. You sound like you don't need the upload capability, and unless you have golden ears I don't think you'll hear a difference between standard SP mode and Hi-SP or PCM mode. Also, for the price of one RH1 with microphone you could buy several used MZ-R700s off Ebay, plus a mic or two. Plus, with the RH1 being so pricey, you will be constantly worried about having to treat it "gingerly" when doing field recordings. With a $50 standard MD recorder (or two!) you can tromp out to record live music without worrying about irreplacable hardware being jostled/stolen.

As much as I like minidisc, I think this is a totally inappropriate analogy. Linux has always been about being open-source & in the control of the users. Minidisc has always been a closely-guarded, closed source technology, controlled by one large corporation that didn't really listen to its customers. Linux has been about existing on as many types of host devices as possible (PPC, x86, Sun, Mac, etc. etc.) while Minidisc has been a proprietary format that only can work on specific hardware and nothing else. So I really think Linux and MD are almost polar opposites from a philosophical standpoint.

I did already try it in another location (brough it to work). No improvement. Remember, this hum only occurs when the unit is using the power adapter plugged into the wall mains. Not when battery powered. So trying it outside wouldn't really help. Last night I opened the unit up. I noticed that if I touch any part of the metal interior (i.e. the drive cage, or grounding points on the circuit board) during recording, the hum on the mic-preamp in GREATLY diminished. Not entirely, but a lot. I'm pretty sure it's a grounding problem. I think at this point only someone who services MDs would be able to advise me. It's not worth getting this old unit repaired, but if anyone knows what is causing it I would appreciate being steered in the right direction. Thanks.

Just tried using Ferrite Cores on both the power supply cord & mic cord. No improvement at all. This has got to be an internal grounding issue.

Well, I'm using some simple home-made microphones which have not given me any problem on a Sony MZ-R700 (been using them for years). They are simple piezo elements on the end of a two foot cable taken from a pair of headphones. I also have a home-made mono mic (single piezo element soldered onto a male mini-phono connector). The mono mic gives me a little less hum, but it's still there. I've tried plugging in a Shure SM-58 and another self powered condensor microphone. Again, less hum than the stereo home-made one, but it's still there. The most interesting thing is that if I touch the chassis of the minidisc recorder, or lay my hand on it completely, or even turn it around in different ways, the hum lessens or is almost gone. It's obviously some short of grounding or shielding problem. Maybe a ferrite core on the mic-cable would help? But I can't get a straight answer on whether ferrite cores are meant to prevent external interference, or prevent EM emissions.

I did think about that. The rechargeable in it already is 3.6V I believe. Soo....how many AA's would I need (three?). The thing that sucks about that, is that it makes the unit cumbersome to use, also, since this is an older unit the battery life is not that great (especially when recording). An adaptor would have been the perfect solution, if not for the hum. I just wish I understood what was causing the hum in the first place. It's really loud (and gets louder when you turn the REC level up).

Hi, I was given (for free!) a Kenwood DMC-G7R, which is actually a re-branded Sharp MD-MS200 minidisc portable. It's an older SP recorder. I am really impressed by the build quality and features (all metal casing, heavy duty, big display, etc.). http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sharp_MD-MS200.html I was hoping to use this as a portable field recorder. The odd rechargeable battery it uses will only hold a charge for about 15 minutes. Probably too expensive to replace. No problem, I thought, anywhere I was going to record I could use the AC/DC adapter. However, whenever I record using the AC adaptor, there's a TERRIBLE 60-cycle hum on the mic input (which is recorded to the MD too). Unplug the adaptor and the hum goes away entirely. Plug it back in and there's the hum again. Here's what I've tried to remedy the situation (none of these helped): - replace the adaptor with a different one - try a different outlet / different outlet in a different house. - open the unit up and re-touch all the solder points of the mic-jack with a soldering iron - try a different mic (have tried at least four microphones). - move the unit away from sources of EM/RF interference. I know the person I got the unit from treated it well and hardly ever used the mic recording feature (if at all). So, it just seems to be a problem with the mic-preamp when using power supply power. Have any other Sharp/Kenwood users noticed this problem? Is there a fix? I have other recorders, but this one seems like such a nice rough and tumble unit, I'm a little disappointed. Well I guess it still makes a good playback and line-in recorder. I realise I could use an external mic-preamp, but that means having another battery to worry about, more cables, extra hassle. Kind of takes away from the elegance of an all-in-one unit.

Okay, but what equipment do you need to do this? i.e. let's say I have a Hi-MD player, and I've formatted 10 standard minidiscs to HiMD mode (7 hours of music, etc.). Then my Hi-MD walkman breaks, so I decide to go back to Standard (Net)MDLP units (because they are easier to get). Can I use the standard MDLP walkmans to re-format the discs BACK to standard MD discs, or can the re-formatting only be done with a Hi-MD walkman? Does it require SonicStage, or can the machines do it themselves?

One question though. If you take a standard Minidisc and format it to Hi-MD mode with a Hi-MD walkman, is there any way to format it back to a standard MD again?

I refrained from getting into HiMD because of the cost at first, and now because of the relative scarcity of the media & machines (as compared with older MD/MDLP). So, I'm sticking to standard MD because it gives you a greater compatibility & wider choice of machines to play the music on. Standard MD discs are still widely available. I live in a small town and can walk over to the mall across the street and still find discs for sale. HiMD discs were never available there, as far as I know. The sound quality of MD in SP mode is pretty darned good for making live recordings / field recordings and LP2 is good enough for portable everyday music for me. LP4 is passable for stuff I don't care about as much (books on tape, spoken word & transfers of old mono recorded music or less important stuff). Lastly, the regular MD machines are almost free now. It's no problem to build up a whole reserve arsenal of decks & portables. I recently found an MZ-N505 in a Thrift store for $4.99, then I purchased an MZ-R700 off Ebay for $15, and just a couple weeks later a friend offered me his Sharp MS200 for free. I don't have to worry about breaking, losing, or treating these things gingerly. I can actually use them and put some miles on them. In comparison, HiMD stuff is much rarer and remains highly expensive on Ebay & elsewhere.

As others have stated above, no MP3 mode is "CD-quality" no matter what it says. Only uncompressed WAV/PCM at 44.1KHz and 16bits is CD-quality. Choose WAV. Saying "CD quality MP3" is a contradiction in terms.

I've given this some thought and I think there is a fairly easy solution - as long as your students can bring a USB memory stick with them (I just picked up a 512MB one for $10 at my grocery store!). It requires that you have a laptop with a USB port, of course, and a mic-in jack. Use a recording program (like the free Audacity) to record in MP3 format straight to the student's USB stick. Mono, 128Kbps or even 98Kbps should be fine if all this is for is a reference recording. At the end of the practice you close the recording, he/she pulls out the USB stick, and you're done. No transferring required. Just make sure they have enough space on their USB drive before you start the practice. If you use the settings I mentioned above, you should be able to get quite a few practices on the average memory stick.

I'm not sure why there's this emphasis on recording to your laptop *through* the MD-recorder? What would be the advantage of that? Just to use the MD's pre-amp? Seems a little clunky to me. Why not just use the laptop's MIC-IN? For recording simple vocal practices for references only, the quality should be fine. There are also stand-alone mic preamps if you want to connect a microphone to a LINE-IN on an MP3 player or laptop that doesn't have MIC-IN.

All these replies just exemplify how much a pain in the arse recording has become since cassette was abandoned. Dragging, dropping, uploading, burning, transferring, connecting, bringing flash cards, transferring to a PC first, requiring students to bring along their own USB sticks....ALL things the original poster wanted to avoid (i.e. use up practice time, drag extra equipment around or use up "home time" getting the audio to the students). Holy crap. We've actually gone BACKWARDS from the days when you could just record on a one dollar 90 minute tape, pop it out and instantly hand it to someone to take away. So much for progress and so much for the digital media revolution.

I agree that there is a big hole existing for instantly usable, portable, transferrable & CHEAP recording media that cassette (and MD to a smaller extent) used to fill. The only thing I can suggest is recording your practice live to a laptop's hard drive as an MP3, then at the end of the practice e-mail that MP3 to the student's address, or have them all bring USB memory sticks to take away the MP3. I agree this is a pain in the arse over cassette, but that's the state of things right now. The MP3 wave might have made listening more convenient, but RECORDING has only become harder. There's no way to record with a stand-alone portable device, then instantly hand that recording to someone else to take away. MD was supposed to fill this void, but it didn't quite catch on. There might be flash card based recorders with removable media, but I don't think you want to be handing flash cards out at the end of every practice like you did cassettes.

The symptoms sound like what happens when you put at LP disc into an older SP-only MD player.

I find myself with two of those PC-LINK XITEL MD-PORT DG2 devices that Sony used to bundle with the pre NetMD portables. These were the things that you plug into a computer's USB port and it will output the computer's audio as optical digital. This can be connected to the optical input of your Minidisc recorder so that you can transfer any audio your computer plays digitally to the MD (or any other device wth optical input). http://www.dansdata.com/xitel.htm Since I have an extra, I am thinking about selling it for $17 US plus shipping. Comes WITH TOSlink cable and USB cable. These also make a great way of adding an optical out to a computer for any application, even if you don't have an MD recorder.

Well, if anyone here wanted to buy it for $15 (plus postage) I would sell it for that. It comes with the TOSlink and USB cables.

I find myself with two of those PC-LINK XITEL MD-PORT DG2 devices that Sony used to bundle with the pre NetMD portables. These were the things that you plug into a computer's USB port and it will output the computer's audio as optical digital. http://www.dansdata.com/xitel.htm Since I have an extra, I am thinking about selling it. Is it even worth it, or should I just keep it for another computer. These also make a great way of adding an optical out to a computer for any application.

Here's a link to an article that is somewhat relevant to this discussion topic: http://www.metropulse.com/articles/2008/18...al_hackery.html

I am under no illusion about the end of Minidisc. Its time is over. You're absolutely correct; the sky HAS fallen. But instead of bemoaning it, let's all play in the puddles and enjoy the great heaps of cheap MD hardware and media everyone else is dumping on the used market ! Enjoy your minidiscs. I'm glad you do. Sure, blank media has disappeared from the high street shops. That's no surprise. But it will be available to purchase online to some extent for a long time. Either of us could be correct, of course. Based on the evidence seen through investigating other orphaned media formats (reel-to-reel, Beta, DCC, 8-track, etc.) I feel there is a lot to support my theory that we'll be able to buy blanks without too much trouble (online of course) in 10 or even 20 years. But, I guess only time will tell! Have fun!