Ground Level Bearings-in-a-Nutshell Would You...

[bluelabel]

Hey There

I'm looking to

1)record some early '60's bluegrass vinyl

2)record acoustic non-amplified instruments + vocals

3)playback through conventional home stereo equipment

4)on a used portable sony

Need a all around suggestion on a unit between 150+300 sams

including microphone...

thank you mighty fine people of md.c

[Ral-Clan]

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.

Edited April 28, 2008 by Ral-Clan

[Richard]

* Moved to Find Your Minidisc section

[A440]

The only downside of the older MD solution is that the old units may be very very used. Buying on Ebay, look for a sharp photo and look for wear around the buttons, which would give you some idea if the unit has been used heavily.

Along with the units mentioned, I was also very fond of my MZ-N707. That also has the LP modes, LP2 and LP4, but with those (especially LP4) you do hear a degradation of the music. Many people also like the MZ-R900, though you have to tape it shut to keep the battery latch from opening in your pocket.

For the Hi-MD route, which would allow you to upload your new recordings (but not play them back on older MD equipment) you could also get the MZ-NH700, which shows up on Ebay. It won't upload older MD recordings, just its own, and only to PC.

Also, beyond MD, look at little flash recorders with built-in mics. Edirol R09, Zoom H2, Tascam DR-1, Olympus LS-10. I know it's confusing, but you can start with this:

http://www.wingfieldaudio.com/portable-recorder-reviews.html

You are looking to play back through conventional equipment. For MD playback, you'll have to connect headphone out to Aux In. Same with the flash recorders, but they also give you the option of uploading to computer and burning to CD. Old MD won't do that; Hi-MD will do that with its own recordings.