Guest Anonymous Posted January 31, 2004 Report Share Posted January 31, 2004 Hi, i have been reading the postings in here for some time now without finding and answer to my question. Which MD recorder gives me the capability to record without using any mics (that is wthout buying a mic and connecting it)? What i would like to do is during a gig, place it on a table and let it do its thing, without any extra mics or accessories. What would you suggest? THANKS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 Take a look at the Sony's B (for Business) models. B-100 has a stereo mic, B10 has a mono mic. http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-B100.html http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-B10.html Have never tried them (or even seen them!) but they have built-in mics. They're bigger than current recorders, and it's it's unlikely a built-in mic will be as good as an outboard. They're likely to pick up motor noise and vibration, for one thing. And if they're made for dictation, they're probably going to have mics with a narrower frequency range than mics made for music. But if you're planning to tape lectures or business meetings, maybe you can investigate them further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 Thanks for the info. I took a look at those models, really not what i was looking for. If i am forced to go with the regular MDs, which one would you suggest? I found SHARP and SONY as the better ones. Any suggestions on which models? I'm looking mostly for versatility in recording and interfacing with a PC, but nothing too fancy nor too crazy. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 Nothing's perfect--yet. If you're going to want to upload recordings to your PC, wait until April, save your money and check out the Hi-MD machines coming out then, which look like they'll allow quick uploading to your computer. At the moment, the only way to upload is by recording in real time. It's a sad fact of life. If you're impatient, you're going to have to compromise a little or spend a bundle. They make this stuff real confusing, so brace yourself. Me, I've only owned Sonys, and have had good luck with live recording with MZ-N707. Many live recordists love Sharps, which have always allowed you to change recording level as you record. The DR-420 has a lot of fans--check around this site. I've never had a Sharp, but I've read here that it causes a momentary gap as you change levels at a certain volume, which doesn't sound good to me. With the Sonys I've used you either go for automatic gain control (which has worked fine for me) or set a manual level and hope for the best, since you have to pause to set the level. (Newest $onys do allow level control as you record--look at MZ-N10 and MZ-N910 in the Equipment Browser). If you're recording loud music, you need either a Mic Sensitivity setting, which the MZ-N707 doesn't have, or you need to run the mic through an attenuator cord (a plug-in volume control, under $10) or a battery box (about $50) to keep it from distorting. I use the attenuator with the MZ-N707 and get very satisfying recordings. With MZ-N1, MZ-N10 and MZ-9xx models, you get the Mic Sensitivity switch. About your PC: The MZ-N707, like all MZ-N** recorders, has NetMD. That's transfer software that allows quick downloading via USB from computer to MD but NOT digital uploading of recordings to computer. Copyright paranoia. All recent models of Sharp and Sony have NetMD, basically the same software package. MZ-R** models don't have NetMD--the only way to transfer from or to PC is recording in real time. On the other hand, they're really cheap now on Ebay. I've used an MZ-R700, which doesn't have Mic Sensitivity but records live music well via attenuator cord, and an MZ-R900, which has a Mic Sensitivity switch and records well but has two bad features for live recording, a battery latch that can come open too easily (I had to tape mine shut) and an expensive internal gumstick battery. (MZ-R900 also accepts one AA battery in an external pod, but that takes all the fun out of the tiny size.) MZ-N707 and MZ-R700 stick the AA in a bulge on the back, much better. The battery life on all MDs is amazing, but when the battery does run out, you can just pop in another Energizer. Oh, and don't get anything billed as a European model--they have a feeble headphone output. (I guess European subways are quieter.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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