horizon Posted December 26, 2004 Report Share Posted December 26, 2004 ...recording general coversations and enviromental ambience? i'm lookin to pick up mini disc recorder and just dont know what't the most efficent in these areas i know most of what i want will be determined on the microphones but what models of what brands are proper for general field recordings? i'd basically like to incorporate conversations or background noise into some of my musical compositions and don't need any other functions that good loud and clear recording and functions specific to such tasks please any help and knowledge will be greatly appreciated thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted December 26, 2004 Report Share Posted December 26, 2004 Hi-MD is the best way to go, imho. What's your maximum budget? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horizon Posted December 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2004 no more than $300 and i'm not lookin for the best i'd just like somethin proper efficient Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted December 27, 2004 Report Share Posted December 27, 2004 Hi-MD is most certainly the efficient solution. Where abouts are you located? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horizon Posted December 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2004 located in central florida, u.s.a. well, what functions are desireable in models for what i want to accomplish i am totally ignorant and have never had experience in recording i noticed that the sharp md-dr7 has on the fly adjustable reording which sounds nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recording jones Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 I am very curious here. Does anyone have any specifc advice or suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted December 29, 2004 Report Share Posted December 29, 2004 We've made a ton of recommendations in the past, which are easily accessable via the search function. Nonetheless, I would wait until the second generation of Hi-MD to see what Sharp offers. Sony's NH900 is the best option for Hi-MD at the moment, however. I would not recommend a non Hi-MD unit for live recording. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horizon Posted December 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 We've made a ton of recommendations in the past, which are easily accessable via the search function. jeez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted December 30, 2004 Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 What? I've made hundreds of product recommendations along these lines and others, so, it's true. :rasp: Sorry if I come off harsh, but you wouldn't want to repeat yourself incessantly, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horizon Posted December 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 it wasn't about you being true or it being true and you didn't come off harsh i just thought it was silly to suggest i dig through other posts when you could just type a few little light letters reffering to a few models i think that would be more easily accesible and i have been browsin other posts/threads i thought it would be nice if someone could type directly with me on what i was lookin for i'm not at all knowledgable or experienced with md and a lot of what's discussed is over my head i can't grasp it all in a week so yeah, i'd appreciate if somone anyone could just suggest some things on the functions i mentioned and no i wouldn't mind repeating myself if it helped someone and i wouldn't view it as incessant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted December 30, 2004 Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 I understand your needs. Like I said, a Sony NH900 would be ideal if you wanted something now, if you are patient, then I recommend waiting for a Sharp Hi-MD unit that would hypothetically debut in 1Q 2005. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txgitarman Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 Sorry, I tried to reply a couple of days ago but I was having trouble accessing the forums and my post didn't get accepted. As a US user, it is sometimes confusing to read about models that aren't easily found here. For recording, there are only a few models that are being sold currently new. Even buying used on eBay, you need to be careful that that model you buy has recording capability. A lot of the units on the US market today that can be found in the big box retailers are NetMD USB only models. These won't work for analog recordings. Even some of the Hi-MD models don't have line-in or mic jacks. Of the Hi-MD models the Sony NH800 or NH900 would offer the most elegant recording solution. Not only can you record at higher compression for more recording time or with no compression at all (PCM) for highest quality, but there is also software that will allow you to upload your recordings digitally back to the PC over the USB port and convert them to wav files. Net MD allows you to download music to your MD with the USB port but doesn't permit uploading recordings back to the PC that way. You have to record your music back to your PC using the headphone out on the MD and line in on the PC in real time. Most of the new NetMD players I've seen don't have line in or mic jacks. If you can still find the Sony sports model on clearance, the MZ-S1, for about $70, it could be a neat solution because it is so inexpensive, works with NetMD, and it has a line in (no mic jack). If you can record through a mixer or sound board this might work for you. If you don't want to go Hi-MD and you need a mic jack, look for a used Sony or Sharp model on eBay. Research these thoroughly on the equipment browser section of this website to make sure the model has the features you want. Be wary of the older Sharp models that can have UTOC ERROR problems. Hope this helps! Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horizon Posted January 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 thank you so much txgitarman you know i have a mz-n505 that has a optical line in but it won't run off of batteries for some reason it works fine with with the dc in maybe i could see about gettin it fixed it should work as well as a mz-s1 in that situation i'll have to look into it's problem maybe what's the cheapest "mic in" model out there that you know of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txgitarman Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 New, the only mic-in model that I've actually seen in stores with a mic in is the Sony NH800 at around $250: http://shop2.outpost.com/product/4193463 On eBay, you should be able to find a used MD recorder with a mic-in for much less. I actually bought a Sharp MT15 for only $36. Unfortunately, it stopped working soon after I bought it. I see a lot of used MD's going between $50-$100. I recently purchased a used Sony G750 model for $50, but I haven't received it yet. What I do is search the ebay listings and then go check out the models on the equipment browser section of this website to verify that they have a mic input. One point of confusion is that some people on this site talk about a cheaper Hi-MD model called the NH600. This model apparently has a mic jack but in the US, the model that you will find is the NH600D which doesn't have a microphone or line-in jack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A440 Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 The original question was about recording conversation for use in other compositions. If you want a faster-than-realtime upload to make .wav files out of the recordings, then you need to get one of the few available Hi-MD models: NHF800, NH900 or NH1. Those are your only options. I'm very happy (except for the two-fingered Record button) with the NHF-800. If you're willing to do an analog, realtime recording into your computer from your headphone out jack, you'll do fine with a Sony MZ-N707, MZ-R700 (or G750, same thing plus radio remote), MZ-R900 or whatever else looks good on Ebay (check the equipment browser to make sure it has a mic jack: Sony 7xx, 9xx, 1 and 10, while Sharps are even more confusingly numbered. Get a pair of basic mics and you're good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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