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A Moment with the Tascam DR-1

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Ok, great !

I was afraid it could be weak, without any separate preamp.

My purpose : voice recording, as cleanly as possible.

I'll sell you the mic if I happen to get desappointed ... I promise !

Thanks !

Dob

Tell you what , if your interested , I will trade you a nice mic , and one of my Mic preamps for it ( My mic pre , is a 9 volt battery powered , mono 26 db gain with an 88 db S/N ratio, unbalanced in and out ). It works great with the DR1 , adds a LOT of flexibility to the Mic 2 input

I really could use the 23

Edited by Guitarfxr
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Tell you what , if your interested , I will trade you a nice mic , and one of my Mic preamps for it ( My mic pre , is a 9 volt battery powered , mono 26 db gain with an 88 db S/N ratio, unbalanced in and out ). It works great with the DR1 , adds a LOT of flexibility to the Mic 2 input

I really could use the 23

Sounds interesting but ... the 23 is actually so hard to find ?

Which kind of mic and preamp would you precisely trade ?

Dob

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Sounds interesting but ... the 23 is actually so hard to find ?

Which kind of mic and preamp would you precisely trade ?

Dob

This is a preamp that I build myself , PM me with your email . and I will send some pix and sound samples of the mic W/Preamp

I built these to go with Multi Track recorders because the inputs of MTR's are notoriously weak and noisy

So they are usefull in a great variety of situations , I can plug my Acoustic Guitar directly in to the preamp , so that I can drive a Rack type effects processor instead of stompbox type effects

Yes the 23 is hard to find , It was replaced with the ECM 23 F5 and I dont like the look of the 5 specs are not all that different , but the 23 is the best mic I have used for Acoustic guitar and Hand percussion .

Edited by Guitarfxr
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Hi, Could I use a splitter into mic one and go directly from a mixing console to the DR-1 at a live show? Would there be any adverse effects?

I bought a New 4 GB SD card for the DR1 , Class 6 high speed , Low power consumption ,............... and I have noticed a couple things , immediately.

#1 The Startup was way Faster

#2 when recording With Phones and Monitoring , there was still noise , BUT when NOT Monitoring and NO PHONES connected the Noise levels dropped substantially.

Leaves me to think it is Partially a Power Management issue ......

Anyway , it was a NICE upgrade , I am liking this .......... let us see what the next update brings

Which brand/model?

I did a live show recently. I checked the battery level before arriving and was at 2 bars. When the show started I was at 1 bar, but I still managed to capture all 50 minutes of the set. Cheers.

Edited by bennyp
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Hi, Could I use a splitter into mic one and go directly from a mixing console to the DR-1 at a live show? Would there be any adverse effects?

Which brand/model?

I did a live show recently. I checked the battery level before arriving and was at 2 bars. When the show started I was at 1 bar, but I still managed to capture all 50 minutes of the set. Cheers.

go into the line input , or use an attenuator to go into mic1 . then you would have Level control

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Hello Everybody,

I just received my DR-1, and immediately did a first test. Despite plastic, the thing seems built reasonably well. Headphones and the 1/8" mic input connectors both seem to be solid.

The battery was charged by the USB connection from the keyboard of my Mac. I got the opportunity of updating from System 1.02 to 1.10. File exchange is easy and immediate.

I only checked how the DR-1 works with environmental sounds. At 24 bit, the internal mics are extremely noisy with High gain and volume at 8, but are still keeping bird singing very well with volume at 4, when noise is under control. Mid gain and a volume of 7 does very well, with low self-noise and a clear sound.

As other say, I wouldn't want to make critical environmental recordings with this basic setup, despite its good performance compared to the cost (this is a podcaster's dream machine). It might work very well, however, for soundscapes involving louder sounds, like crowded places, interviews or dialogues. To be tried soon. It should be clear that recording low volume ambience sounds is always a very demanding task, requiring for very sophisticate gears.

Since I also bought a pair of SP-CMC-8 (AT943) lavalier mics, I tried them with plugin power supplied from the DR-1. The sound immediately opened-up and became more natural, with way less noise and a more pleasant timbral quality. High sensitivity is still too hissy, but the Mid gain at volume 7 works extremely well with these mics.

I can think to use the bundle DR-1 / SP-CMC-8 for critical recording tasks. I must still try the external 12V power supply for the microphones, but I expect an even improved sound (this seshould lower the self-noise of some 9-15dB, that is really a lot starting from an already good situation).

I will post some samples later, after I will have been doing more tests.

Paolo

Edited by ptram
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi guys!

Thanx for your knowledge-sharing! (Especially Guitarfrx!)

Sitting here in Stockholm, Sweden with my recently purchased DR1.

Gonna use it for sketching (Vox+acoustic guitar) and live/rehearsal with the band. Been reading the whole thread so I´m pretty solid in belief that I will succeed with my recordings.

One thing I need to do thou (and I couldn´t find anything about it in the thread) is that I want to transfer/record numberous of recorded songs which I have on my MD (MZ-R30) to the DR1. I put it in LINE with mini-tele cables. I record it & everything looks fine. But when I playback, there´s FX (Reverb) on it...

I don´t have FX when recording, or when playback.

Anyone know what it can be?

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Hi guys!

Thanx for your knowledge-sharing! (Especially Guitarfrx!)

Sitting here in Stockholm, Sweden with my recently purchased DR1.

Gonna use it for sketching (Vox+acoustic guitar) and live/rehearsal with the band. Been reading the whole thread so I´m pretty solid in belief that I will succeed with my recordings.

One thing I need to do thou (and I couldn´t find anything about it in the thread) is that I want to transfer/record numberous of recorded songs which I have on my MD (MZ-R30) to the DR1. I put it in LINE with mini-tele cables. I record it & everything looks fine. But when I playback, there´s FX (Reverb) on it...

I don´t have FX when recording, or when playback.

Anyone know what it can be?

Look at the face of the DR1 , there is an "FX" button at the lower part of the DR1 , Press and hold it , you will se the effects menu , you can choose from a great many . or None

a quick push turns it on or off , push and hold goes to effects menu .

Edited by Guitarfxr
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Look at the face of the DR1 , there is an "FX" button at the lower part of the DR1 , Press and hold it , you will se the effects menu , you can choose from a great many . or None

a quick push turns it on or off , push and hold goes to effects menu .

Thanks for the quick response Guitarfxr!

I get all that (no that much of a newbee :rolleyes: )

Tried (it seems like) everything. When I listen to the headphones during recording there´s no FX. I tried with FX off & on). I tried with altering the FX level, but that just results in a total loss of volume (FX stays).

But it doesn´t make any difference in what I do - there is FX during playback.

Guitarfxr, have you tried to record with DR1 from a MiniDisc-player (or equal)?

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Thanks for the quick response Guitarfxr!

I get all that (no that much of a newbee :rolleyes: )

Tried (it seems like) everything. When I listen to the headphones during recording there´s no FX. I tried with FX off & on). I tried with altering the FX level, but that just results in a total loss of volume (FX stays).

But it doesn´t make any difference in what I do - there is FX during playback.

Guitarfxr, have you tried to record with DR1 from a MiniDisc-player (or equal)?

sounds like you might have had the effects on when recording , I record from Md , Line out from my Computer , From a Mixing board ( In the studio) , what version software is on yours ?

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sounds like you might have had the effects on when recording , I record from Md , Line out from my Computer , From a Mixing board ( In the studio) , what version software is on yours ?

It´s the 1:02. I go straight from MiniDisc line out to DR1 line in, All levels set correctly & FX off.

Have tried it so many times now with different settings, but getting the same result...

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It´s the 1:02. I go straight from MiniDisc line out to DR1 line in, All levels set correctly & FX off.

Have tried it so many times now with different settings, but getting the same result...

ok , here is what to try first , on the DR1 , see the "Menu" button , klik it , then scroll down to "Setup" , then scroll down to "Initialize " just in case the FX is locked and not showing properly , this will reset system settings , after that , look at the Bottom right corner of the screen , and see if the "FX" icon , is Blacked out ( that would mean it is ON ) if it is then klik the FX button one time , so that FX icon is Clear not Black

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ok , here is what to try first , on the DR1 , see the "Menu" button , klik it , then scroll down to "Setup" , then scroll down to "Initialize " just in case the FX is locked and not showing properly , this will reset system settings , after that , look at the Bottom right corner of the screen , and see if the "FX" icon , is Blacked out ( that would mean it is ON ) if it is then klik the FX button one time , so that FX icon is Clear not Black

Cheers mate!

That did do the trick, now I´m up and running...

Thanks for the help, you´re a true genious. And how quick you contribute to help people is astonishing!

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Boy, I've had my recorder for a few weeks now, and I am SO thrilled with it! I've recorded the band about 4 times now, each with varying results. I'm still getting used to the machine, and figuring out where to place it, etc. But I think I have a good feel for it now. I did some tests with the built-in mics vs a stereo Sound Prof T mic into a battery pack, and they sounded pretty much the same. The T mic was perhaps a bit more squeezed sounding, and it seemed that it could have used a louder source. In other words, It was easiest getting the best sound from the built-in mic, but the Stereo T mic/Battery Pack combo wasn't bad either. It just sounded a bit more "focused", and not as ambient sounding. And for the hassle of having a little Tripod for the Tmic, a bunch of cables, etc, it didn't seem worth it. I was doing my test on a guitar amp, with both test being about 08-14" from the speaker cab, in the center.

Anyway... when I get some of my performances chopped up and ripped, I'll put them someplace for you to check them out. My recordings aren't going to make Sir George Martin smile, but they are worth their weight in gold to me, because now I can actually hear how the band sounds from a different perspective, and it also allows me to critique myself. It's been invaluable!!

Does anyone know the max size of SD this thing will take?

Oh, one thing that ended up burning me on a performance, was that I pullled off some audio from the card to my Mac. Then I deleted the audio from the card via the Mac. And apparently when I put the card back in the DR-1, even though I deleted the audio, the DR-1 still thought the info was on the card, and I ran out of recording space halfway thru a gig. It seems that no matter what, if you want to clear the card, you need to do a quick format of it after doing so. Does this seem right to you? I'm starting to wonder if maybe I didn't delete the info from the card via the computer, and left it on there accidentally. HA! If so, then that would certainly make sense. But I'm pretty sure I didn't do that. Because I remember being really shocked that my unit ran out of space. I'm looking at buying an 8gig card. Supermediastore.com has them on sale for $30! I also need to buy a back up battery. Any suggestions on where to pick on up?

Thanks!

Jason

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Ha !!! you didnt actually delete it unless you went to Finder -> Empty Trash ......... all you did was get rid of the header file , not the file itself .

You have to run the process before the file is actually gone.

That was funny ( I did it the first few days I was on my Mac , external hardrive that had all my Windows stuff on it , ->delete -> delete-> delete , hmmmm how come my drive still doesnt have any space?????))

Card Max , 32 gb HCSD

Edited by Guitarfxr
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I am a musician, so I would like to make good recordings of myself and groups I'm in playing - I also gather samples (outside, inside, on trains, in the woods, etc) to use later, so I'd like to have something that's at least adequate for that. I'm not too concerned about extra features.

Does the replacement machine still have the distortion problem when you shake it a little?

I was hoping to find this out as well. It's the only thing that is keeping me from buying it.

I want to thank everyone on this forum. I read reviews for a straight week and still couldn't decide to get the DR-1, R-09, or Zoom H2/H4 until I found this forum. Thank you all especially for your samples.

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  • 2 weeks later...

If Your a heavy step walker , you will get noise from the mic wires , if you move like a Cat , think Ninja here dude , then you can get away with it .

but then I was able to walk over halfway thru Nijo Jo castle without a sound , to the amazement of the guards there who were watching me.

For info Nijo Castle has a "Singing Floor " especially built that way to protect from intruders , and to alert the warriors guarding the inside of the castle . so walking thru it without it squeeking is no easy feat

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3918.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nijo_Castle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightingale_floors

Edited by Guitarfxr
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Right now I am recording a Thunderstorm With the DR1 , and the Furby for the Sony PCM-D50 on the DR1 covering the mics .

MP3 192kbs Limter on ,Low cut @ 40hz , Mic sens Mid , Level at 4-5 , ....... for however long I let it run .

It is sitting in a window sill that is over our sliding doors , and covered by an Awning , so It wont get rained on .

Update : Listened to it this morning ( We are going to get MORE rain , 3 days now ,practically non stop thunderstorms )

I will make a snippet or two and post them later , but the Limiter didn't do to badly , on the distant strikes the sound is quite clear , but the larger / closer strikes I was really expecting a lot of breakup . I was somewhat pleasantly disappointed . One one particularly LARGE strike the limiter catches it JUST as it starts to go over the mark , but you can hear it straining . A little breakup in that one ( But a real nice air split just before the boom )

Edited by Guitarfxr
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I notice that there is very little information on stereo imaging. I'm not an audio perfectionist, really, but I need to record instruments -- mostly violins -- and I need to be able to do stereo separation. In other words, some instruments are too quiet, some too loud. I also need to do this rather casually, i.e. without setting up much equipment. I'd prefer even to use the built-in microphones. Preferably under $400 total.

A few candidates:

DR-1

Edirol R-09HR (great recorder but virtually no stereo separation in built-in mikes -- just two omnis separated by a couple of inches)

H-2 ("sub-cardioids" -- almost omnis -- probably little separation unless you turn it around and record from the back of the microphone?)

Olympus LS-10 (probably pretty good -- unfortunate bass rolloff if I ever need bass)

Sony PCM-D50 (probably done right, but expensive)

Any comments? Info on DR-1 or stereo sound samples? (There are a few links that might show separation, but links are broken.) Thanks.

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Stereo imaging suffers a bit in the Tascam , the farther away the better the imaging , closer you get , the less space that is apparent

Most X/Y configuration suffer this problem , M/S is also that way because of proximity of the mics being so close together

A small mixer and separate mics into a recording device , is the ONLY way to get perfect balance

The Audio Technica AT 822 into my MD is way Better in the Stereo field imaging , the AT 822 , into my TC-D5m is way better ( I have actually compared this on purpose, not just an observation ) A thunderstorm in the Tascam doesnt raise the hair on the back of your neck .

Whereas the same thunderstorm in my TC-D5M ( Cassette deck ) will scare the bejeebers out of you thru a nice sound system .

Go to the Internet Archives , Live recordings section , Greatfull Dead , Little Feat , etc , along with the recordings there usually is a description of the equipment they recorded with along with post processing that is a good way to figure out what sound your really looking for , and how to get there .

Edited by Guitarfxr
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Thanks for the replies. Some things are getting clear, but there are still some questions.

Do you have a sense for the microphone pattern? Cardioid? Omni? 120 degrees or 90?

"EDIT: You have mentioned that the noise level changes with ambient noise. You wrote, "in a quiet room the noise filter algorithim just doesnt know what to look for so the unit gets noisy". ??? Is this with the limiter or AGC? What noise filter algorithm?

EDIT: You sort of answered this question:

I'm also confused about the conclusions so far. I read the first 10 pages or so carefully, then found out that much may be based on a defective unit ??? Ran out of time. Is the verdict still that M1 and internal are noisy, but M2 and line are not?

Trying to get a feel for how this would work in practice. I accept that external microphone(s) is probably needed for stereo (but still evaluating H2). Separate microphone pair can be used sometimes, but often not an option, so will need stereo mike. Multiple mikes and mixer definitely not an option. Would AT822 or cheaper AT likely work for distances around 5 feet, with reasonably low noise? Our music is not particularly quiet or particularly loud. (Still, I know with a dynamic mike I don't like to record at too great a distance with other recorders either.) Hopefully an AT822 or cheaper AT25, etc. would work better than EV RE-15 dynamic?

Ozpeter and others: Still evaluating H2. Interesting sound samples, not bad sound at all from internal mikes. I'm analyzing waveforms as time permits. Stay tuned.

Edited by LaFolia
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OK, there's not a lot of objective information out there, but I did find a little.

1. O'Reilly H2 review

With a little refinement, a a test like this should be done with all recording devices. I thought at first this was really convincing. Mark Nelson walked around an H2 while strumming a ukelele, and you can clearly hear it move all around the recorder. That's as wide a stereo source as we can get. If the test could be repeated over a narrower angle, say 120 degrees, that would tell us what we need to know. I could be wrong, but could it be that the ukelele doesn't seem to move much until he gets way out to the side?

One thing is sure, though: the tone quality is rather uniform at various angles, and that's important. I must say it sounds good.

2. Ozpeter's H2 review

You can clearly hear the the helicopter and train pass by. Was that recorded with the internal microphones? (Alas, because the train is not a point source, I'm still not sure how much stereo separation there is in the middle of the stage.)

3. There's one review on the DR-1 that includes some distinctly stereo sound.

Paul's review

At 32 minutes, 45 seconds you can hear a truck move from left to right. Convincing. Unfortunately, at 24 minutes, you can hear the tone change a little as he moves it from side to side. It changes a lot if he rotates the microphones up 90 degrees away from the mouth, but that's not a fair test because both both microphones are rotating off axis, whereas normally if a source moves toward the axis on one mike it moves away on the other.

Summary

So I think the DR-1 does a decent stereo image, although a truck driving by may not be as good a test as Guitarfxr's ear. I'm less sure about the H2. Finally, note that I'm interpreting someone else's recordings. Someone else may want to try this with actual recorders in hand! Remember, no fair using limiters or AGC.

Edited by LaFolia
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Do you have a sense for the microphone pattern?

They are spaced cardiods. My guess is that they are in ORTF (110°) configuration, or a similar one.

Is the verdict still that M1 and internal are noisy, but M2 and line are not?

Judging from the tests I did in real use during the latest month or so, I'd say that noise performances are very good for such a device.

- Internal mics recorded a live soundscape, during a DJ-set, with no apparent background noise, even when the performer was playing typically soft lounge records. Environmental noise (people attending the performance) where caught with good detail. There was a strong sense of "being there". Wind noise was also very evident, asking for a pad.

- External mics (SP-CMC8, based on AT 943 lavalier cardioid capsules), connected to the Mic1 input with sensitivity set at Mid, resulted in a very clean nature sounds recording. Switching the sensitivity to High increased noise too much. I think this can be a setting useful for saving some important and difficult recording, but not to be chosen for normal use, where Mid should be preferred.

- An external CAD90 handheld dynamic mic, connected to the Mic2 input, was strong and clear.

I wouldn't compare the above results to my Sytek's, but it wouldn't be the scope of these small portable devices either. The pairing of the Tascam DR-1 + AT 943 seems to provide a deeper sound than a Zoom H4 + AKG C414TLII, but I never did a test side by side. Since one of my friends owns a H4, I could do it sooner or later.

Would AT822 or cheaper AT likely work for distances around 5 feet, with reasonably low noise?

Never tried with the Tascam, but the AT822 is a preferred of videomakers shooting at the distance you are describing. It should work. I wouldn't go for cheaper mics, since this AT is a bargain when you consider the price/performance ratio.

Best,

Paolo

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I was wondering mainly about the Tascam, not the mike. I meant, can the Tascam work with the AT822 or similar condenser mike at distances around 5-10 feet, without excessive noise?

I have the AT822 , and have tried it with the DR1 , it will depend entirely on the Sound Level your recording and How picky you are about noise .

I am probably a lot more picky than others , so take what I say with a grain of salt , but

#1 , Loud concert , Taiko drums , outdoor festival with lots of sound = Yes , I would use the 822

#2 , Very soft , solo instrumental , Classical guitar recital etc. = No I would not

When I need more finite control , I use a special cable that has attenuation built in , to come from a Small mixer or preamp that will do justice to a GOOD set of mics, into MIC1 input , and thereby gain the effects processing .

I did this recently at a studio where I was recording an Irish band , Main mix from the Mixer into the Multitracker for Song separation ,and main effects processing . The Tape outs of the mixer thru the special cable to Mic 1 input ,Limiter =ON , Low Cut filter =40hz , Mic gain= mid , Rec level =6 , MP3 = 192kbs

Dr1 for recording the entire set for archival purposes , the Multitracker for production purposes .

The louder the sound the less Gain you have to use , which means Less Noise as well , it is a Balancing act , lose one gain the other and vice versa, So you have to play with it , in Ambient environments there is less "Apparent noise " because the White noise you would be hearing gets masked by Ambient noise . Same mic setup in a Quiet room , will be very noisy , but in an Ambient area , will perform much better .

The very first post of this tread describes my going into a MUSIC store , which is Busy and a fair amount of sound , The AT 822 worked very well . at Home though , in a quiet room , I got a different impression .

It depends ENTIRELY , on what your recording ................. For PRISTINE recording get a SONY PCM- D50 connect the 822 to that and be Happy .

for Getting Fairly Good , but not perfect , save the Money and get The Tascam ( The Mics in the Tascam actually sound pretty good , again it is the QUIET ROOM , that is the issue .)..............

Tascam= Effects for both Recrding and Playback ( selectable)

Zoom = you dont have those effects , plus the loss of high frequencies in the Zoom were not to my liking ( I owned it as well)

Sony = You get what you pay for ............ ( it is expensive , and sounds like it)

Edited by Guitarfxr
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Is there anything like this for the Tascam?

H2 microphone specs

you can see the high freq dropoff of the Zoom in the diagram , follow the 0 db line across , and look between the 10 k - 20 k region , that at about 15khz it drops almost 10 db , this is in agreement with what I heard from my H2 . The Tascam mics are MUCH broader and crispy ,the 18khz region is EASILY heard , I think the upper limit is about 19khz on the DR1

ZOOM freqs

h2_18.gif

http://www.tascam.de/en/docs/DR-1_Flyer_EN.pdf

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you can see the high freq dropoff of the Zoom in the diagram , follow the 0 db line across , and look between the 10 k - 20 k region , that at about 15khz it drops almost 10 db...

It starts rolling off a little under 13K. There's a broad rolloff in the bass too. This was not easy to find. Is there any such information for the Tascam?

Edited by LaFolia
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This is not what I would call a scientific test, but anyhow. I've put my DR-1 in front (ab. 25cm away) of a speaker playing a 20Hz-20kHz sine sweep, and here is the resulting graph with Audacity:

What kind of Speakers , Two way , Three way , at only 25 cm , you are not going to hear a proper spread it will be all low freqs and no highs ( just exactly what your graph shows .

also the Audio quality of Audacity isnt that great , I have Audacity , and Bias Peak Pro , ...... You can REALLLLLLY hear the difference

Try it at 1 meter , 2 meters , and 5 meters ( if you have the room ) , and look at the graphs of each , and you will see the difference .

Something called "Proximity Effect " will become visible to you .

Something that the DR1 does suffer from is Proximity Effect. The closer to a sound source , the frequency shift becomes obvious.

But at 1 meter , and 2 meters , you should see the 18 khz region still showing strong

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