portable digital recorders

[Scouser]

Been looking at getting one of these http://www.dv247.com/invt/50842/ for songwriting purposes.
It doesnt have to be flash or anything, one of the main considerations would be playback quality via its own speaker. Not many seem to pay much attention to this, as it seems in the main, they are for recording and then tranferring onto something else to listen to or edit.

As i say its just for sketches with acoustic and vocal.
I had a look at this one too http://www.dv247.com/invt/46157/ but its a bit more than I wanted to spend, I was looking to spend £100 is something like that worth the extra ?

[frontandcenter]

Hello-
Don't get that, get this http://www.dv247.com/invt/49914/ or this
http://www.dv247.com/invt/50102/ or this http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PCMD50/.
Do not get the Microtrack. Seriously.

[Scouser]

Thanks for advice but they are all out of my price range, like I said just want something basic...

[Mike Stranks]

Can't advise you of a digital recorder for around £100 with a built in speaker. Couldn't you connect some powered speakers to the line/headphone out? If that's an option then the Zoom H2 might suit - as long as you only use the internal mics. I've given up using mine with any external mics or an external line source - just not up to the job.

Incidentally, there's a review of the Line6 recorder that you asked about in the latest 'Performing Musician and Live Sound World'.

[Scouser]

Yeh,

zoom looks ok, but im finding hardly any have built in speaker. It seems the bulk of them concentrate on the quality of the mics, I cant believe there is nothing decent out there for the songwriter who wants to record basic guitar and vox ideas, listen to them back in reasonable quality.

[rock and roll]

can't you use headphones?

[Scouser]

Yeh i could plug in headphones, i could also plug in speakers, or into my main hi fi, or my pc, but I just thought there might be something suitable.. Maybe I should just stick with my phone, its just not great quality..

[forumuser732935]

Well, if your priority is recording what you're playing and listening to it again whilst you're out and about, then on behalf of commuters everywhere can I please strongly suggest you consider a pair of decent closed back headphones instead of a speaker?

[Chris Charles]

+ 1 to headphones. The built in speakers I've heard have been pretty crummy and hardly worth having. There may be better ones of course, but not on the units I checked.

My H4 has no inbuilt speaker so it's always used with a good quality set of headphones, or plugged into monitors. In case space really is so tight that I can't carry even a small set of headphones, then I also keep a small single earbud into the H4's carry bag. Takes up next to no space and works fine.

[Shreddie]

+1 for the Zoom H4.

I got mine mainly for recording samples outside of the studio, the reason I chose it was because it was the only one which had phantom powered XLRs and I wanted to use better mics than what it had built in. However, I have started using it for much more... Actually using the fourtrack capability for laying down basic sketches of tunes (using guitar, bass and keys) and using it as an extra effects unit for example. Some of the effects aren't too bad (some quite acceptable amp modelling for instance) and it will accept high impeadance sources such as guitars too. Not all other pocket recorders can do all of that and none of the cheaper ones have XLRs to my knowlege. It can also be used as an audio interface but I've not done that myself yet. The only thing that lets it down for me are the slightly noisy preamps.

I know that at around £220 it's out of your price range so you say but as was mentioned in the "smart studio buys" article in the latest SOS, it's worth getting the best you can afford because you will get more out of it in the long run.

I don't have much money coming in at all but I've learned the hard way that you're better off saving for the best stuff you can afford, even if that means being patient and waiting a while. It does help if you can be fairly stict with yourself too, not drinking so much when you go out or not going out at all for a couple of weeks can make a massive difference in how quickly you can save for things.

+1 for using headphones too although the Yamaha recorders have built in speakers should you decide that you really need an internal speaker.

Another I think you ought to have a look at (if you're wanting a 4 track type thing) would be the Boss Micro BR. It has upto 32 virtual tracks, a built in mic, a tuner and effects. That's currently around £150 I think.

[Richard Graham]

Yeh,

zoom looks ok, but im finding hardly any have built in speaker. It seems the bulk of them concentrate on the quality of the mics, I cant believe there is nothing decent out there for the songwriter who wants to record basic guitar and vox ideas, listen to them back in reasonable quality.

If you are a songwriter looking to record, you don't need a built in speaker... earbuds, or headphones, and/or a cheap pair of passive or battery-powered speakers will do the job much better (as other posters have said). I have a little Ministry of Sound unit... £30, takes 4 AA batteries, and sounds way better than a mobile phone.

I also use an H4: the advantage for you is that you could do overdubs, add effects and so on, not just basic stereo recording (again, as hinted by a previous poster).

On the other hand if you are determined to have something with proper speakers, and aren't bothered about the recording quality so much, you could just buy an old ghetto-blaster and a stack of tapes.

[Scouser]

Guys thanks for all your replies...

Well so far its looking like a. I stick with my mobile phone, b. I get an old tape player, c. I get the line 6 as mentioned above.

And from them i think I can rule out b. tape player as its not portable, a. quality on phone is not great, not that I want anything superb, just want vox to be intelligible. c. well there is no speaker, but I guess I could use phones..

I fully appreciate all the suggestions but a lot of the devices mentioned do far more than I want to do.

If I want to record something seriosly I go in my studio.

Thanks

[John Willett]

Hello-
Don't get that, get this http://www.dv247.com/invt/49914/ or this
http://www.dv247.com/invt/50102/ or this http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PCMD50/.
Do not get the Microtrack. Seriously.

These three were the only units that made it to my short-list.

All good - I ended up getting the middle one (Olympus LS-10).

If you end up going cheaper you will probably end up spending all over again a few months down the line.

[Chris Charles]

Hi again,

If the main requirement is that it be cheap and portable, another option is to look at some of the small recorders that are made for office use. I have one that's quite a lot smaller than a mobile phone. It's made for dictating notes, etc but also has the range to pick up the conversation in a room - for recording meetings. It has a built in speaker, but also came with an earbud. As mentioned before, the built in speakers are unnecessary and the earbuds/phones do a better job.

Mine fits easily in my pocket and is handy for jotting down ideas on the move. I use it mostly for lyrics, but it will do music too. Obviously it's not brilliant at music, but as it's purely used an ideas notepad it does the job fine - I can hear what I played, and that's all I need. I don't need transferrable tracks, as I have other solutions for that task.

Chris

[Scouser]

Chris,

Thank you ! Now im getting close...

So are they the kind of things you can pick up at argos and places like that ?

This was my original thought, like yourself, im not bothered about transfering things to pc..

[Scouser]

This is what im talking about

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Browse/ID71/12108781/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice,+PCs+and+phones%7C12108629/c_2/2%7Ccat_12108629%7CDictation+machines%7C12108781.htm

[grab]

Beware with dictaphones that their idea of a reasonable SPL (and frequency response) is a single speaking voice. If your songwriting only involves you and an acoustic guitar, then you're OK. Recording a jam with your band, or even a single electric guitar, and you're quite likely to push the preamp into clipping. Even loud singing close to the mic used to push mine over the edge.

[Scouser]

If your songwriting only involves you and an acoustic guitar

thats all I need

[oggyb]

Hello-
Don't get that, get this http://www.dv247.com/invt/49914/ or this
http://www.dv247.com/invt/50102/ or this http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PCMD50/.
Do not get the Microtrack. Seriously.

Don't listen. The Microtrack is fine. I have one and it's never ballsed up.

Mind you that's kind of OT now that you decided on a dictaphone!

[Chris Charles]

So are they the kind of things you can pick up at argos and places like that ?

Sorry, but I've no idea who sells that stuff in your country.

As mentioned above, the sound is NOT good. It's BAD. The advantages are only that they are small, and may be cheap. I wouldn't recommend buying one unless you can have some sort of demonstration of what you'll hear back on a particular unit. On mine the sound is bad through the earbud and appalling through the built in speaker. But as I mainly use it for jotting ideas for lyrics or humming a scrap of melody before I forget them, it's OK for what I need. It's no good at all for any sort of usable song recording - only for jotting down 'notes' as it were.

Small and light - for sure. Cheap - mine definitely was. Nasty - unquestionably. Useful - yes (if only because it's so easy to carry that it's more likely to actually be in the pocket, not back home in the drawer). One might well do the job, but definitely don't buy without trying first.

[Leon Tricker]

Sounds like you want a good, old fashioned dictaphone. As someone else has already said, Argos do a range of fancy new digital ones. What's wrong with those old 'micro' tapes, eh?

I've got the Zoom H2 and have to say I don't know where I'd be without it. I find the line-in perfectly acceptable for recording stuff, and if you play and instrument there's a built in tuner.

It can also be used as a USB audio interface, USB microphone, or the line out can just be plugged into your PC soundcard and again be used as a mic.

It makes great field recordings (my main use for it) and recordings of singer/songwriters with just voice and guitar.

It's also one of the cheaper of the digital recorders. Picked up mine for about £130.00.

[Scouser]

So far this is the best one I have found for my needs:

http://www.digital-fusion.co.uk/INU_Products/INU_ProdDetailsL9.ASP?ref=5320C534&pnb=ICDUX71B.CE7&des=Digital-Voice-Recorder-Icd-ux71b-1gb-Black

Although I cant find anyone who has them in stock at good price ?