Need good cheap recorder for live music and instrument practice

[oreillyjazz]

I'm a musician looking for a good cheap way to record myself and others playing live gigs. I also want it to be able to record myself practicing double bass and bass guitar. So I would need a mic and a recorder with a line in? I also want to be able to transfer the audio to my computer quickly, although I would put up with realtime transfers if the price difference was great. The price is probably the biggest deciding factor.

[A440]

If you can afford $250 plus shipping and tax, here's my suggested combo:

The MZ-NH700 Hi-MD Recorder

http://www.minidiscaccess.com/item.html?PRID=1553220

It's a Hi-MD unit, so it records in CD-quality PCM (or very good quality Hi-SP to put six times as much on a disc) and uploads to a PC (not a Mac!).

You can find NetMD recorders like MZ-N707 or even pre-MD recorders like the MZ-R700 or MZ-R900 cheaper on Ebay, and they are decent recorders. But they have not been made for years, and at this date they will be old and used, whether a little or a lot. They also only record in compressed formats (maximum 80 minutes per disc for very good SP, or 160 minutes per disc for tolerable LP2) and further quality is lost because you have to do a realtime transfer (unless a friend has spent $330 for the MZ-RH1, the only unit that will transfer SP and LP2 recordings).

For the upgrade in recording quality and ease of use, it's really worth the price difference.

Sound Professionals BMC-2 mics:

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-BMC-2

Tiny binaural mics with startlingly good fidelity. Look for them on Ebay too--sometimes, Sound Professionals sells them there at a discount.

Microphone Madness Miniature Classic Battery Module:

http://www.microphonemadness.com/products/mmcbmminminc.htm

This gives the mic enough power to go through Line-in, better for loud music recording.

When your band has a Top 10 hit, you can upgrade to fancier mics and the MZ-RH1. In the meantime, this will do it for you. Listen to some recordings in the Gallery (button at top left of this page).

I just posted a new recording of jazz made with this setup there.

Edited August 22, 2006 by A440

[oreillyjazz]

Thanks for the info and the speedy response. You seem to be getting great quality out of this set up.

Would this mic be as good?

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/...&type=store

I am a real newbie when it comes to recording, mics, and stuff like that. From the little I've read, it seems that these mics could be pointed towards the subject and would filter out the background noise. But I know absolutely NOTHING, so please tell me if I'm wrong and the other mics would be better.

[A440]

The mics you're looking at are cardioid. They are directional, picking up the sound in front of them in a heart-shaped (hence cardioid) pattern. They won't filter out background noise, which no mic can do--how can a mic figure out what's music and what's noise? However, they don't pick up sound from behind them.

There is endless contention about whether cardioid or omnidirectional (also known as binaural) mics are better for live recording. It really depends on the situation. If you expect only to be recording in places where there will be a lot of people talking behind you, and music in front of you, then cardioids could be just the thing.

I think Sound Professionals says in its FAQs that if you get one set of mics, get cardioids. I disagree.

I like omnis rather than cardioids for a few reasons.

One is that when you're playing back cardioid recordings through headphones--and possibly through speakers too--you hear what sounds like a silent void behind you, and to me that's unnatural. Binaurals that are placed like your ears will pick up like your ears: 360 degrees of sound, with the subtle cues that make you feel like you're in an acoustic space.

Also, inexpensive cardioids skimp on bass response. Look at the frequency response specifications on the two mics. The lowest note on a piano is 27.5 hz, and those cardioids only go down to 80 Hz--more than 1 1/2 octaves above it. The BMC-2 go all the way down to 20 Hz, like your ears.

Cardioids also have to stay relatively still, or you'll get a little seasick on playback.

Take a look at the second page of my album, with Onmis vs. Cards. and Power Serj. You'll hear the difference--and why I sold the cardioids and kept the omnis.

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?autom...bum=56&st=9

And if you're a jazz fan, try Giant Steps too.

Cardioids have lots of uses in recording studios and onstage (like a vocal mic, which could feed back if it picked up all the sound from the monitors). But for a realistic live gig recording, I prefer binaurals.

Edited August 23, 2006 by A440