What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

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What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by DC-Choppah »

I have been using my Tascam portable recorder as a microphone in the project studio. I like what it adds. Great stereo image and very clear and bright sound. I don't have to fool with it to get a great stereo image.

Unfortunately, you have to put the recorder (Tascam DR-07 mkII) into record mode to enable the microphone outputs. Then if you don't hit record, it times out and shuts down, so you have to actually record with it to use the mic. But then it creates a huge file, and runs out of space in the middle of a song, so I end up missing stuff cause my microphone shuts down! Or, the batter runs out! It appears that recording uses up battery fast.

This is all too infuriating lately, so what I am looking for is the equivalent of this mic, but just as a regular mic I can plug into my board.

I love this little recorder too and would prefer to just use it for field recording instead as it was intended.

Is this a mod project? Is there a way to get a 2nd Tascam unit and take it apart and convert it to a regular microphone that will plug into my board and use the phantom power?
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Re: What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by Bob Bickerton »

I guess some more information would be useful. So you are after a stereo microphone? Or just mono/single. And your Board (mixer/interface) has XLRs and 48v phantom power available? - maybe give us the name and model number.

Bob
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Re: What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by DC-Choppah »

The mixing board is Yamaha MG16XU. So the mic can go into two phantom powered channels, or could go into a stereo line input.

I do have an extra stereo mic preamp that I could put to work with this too: https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=P0CCZ

I want a permanent XY stereo setup mic like the Tascam recorder mic, but I want to plug it into my board and not deal with the Tascam recorder's recorder operational features.

I want a stereo XY mic that is idiot proof just like the TASCAM. I love the stereo image the mic makes. I would really love to somehow pull the mic out and plug it into my board - somehow - or the equivalent of that.

More and more I am having very talented folks over to play and I have limited time with them. I need foolproof stuff I can count on. Lately when I set the Tascam up as a stereo mic it lets me down and shuts off in the middle of tracking. :headbang:
Last edited by DC-Choppah on Sat Jun 19, 2021 4:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by awjoe »

DC-Choppah wrote:
I want a stereo XY mic that is idiot proof just like the TASCAM. I love the stereo image the mic makes. I would really love to somehow pull the mic out and plug it into my board - somehow - or the equivalent of that.

If I was in that situation, I'd pull out two matched mics and start recording with them. That's equivalent. Somewhere or other, I've got this rig that'll hold two mics at whatever angle I want. Really simple. Try a couple of angles and find out what you like, and you're well in.

DC-Choppah wrote:More and more I am having very talented folks over to play and I have limited time with them. I need foolproof stuff I can count on. Lately when I set the Tascam up as a stereo mic it lets me down and shuts off in the middle of tracking. :headbang:

So the mic's idiotproof on the Tascam, but the shutting down in the middle of tracking thing's irritating.

I commiserate - unforgivable - you need something to record on that keeps recording until you hit the stop button, no matter how good the stereo mic sounds.

ps If I was you really, I'd be trying to figure out how to get the Tascam to keep recording reliably. That would solve all problems, right?
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Re: What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by Bob Bickerton »

As mentioned a matched pair of single mics would do the trick and ultimately give you more flexibility - but it does mean you need to either have them permanently set-up or you have to set them up each time.

If you really want the stereo configuration the Rode NT4 springs to mind. You'd get a good pair of mics which are in the correct configuration for your specification. I also believe the Audio Technica BP4025 is a decent mic, though I haven't tried it myself.

Interesting to compare the NT4 pricing of US$529 at Sweetwater with a pair of NT5s (same capsule) US$429.

If you like the sound of the mics in the Tascam, you'll love the sound of the NT4/5s :thumbup:

Bob
Last edited by Bob Bickerton on Sat Jun 19, 2021 7:03 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by Terrible.dee »

Dude....Just get a mic.

It's not rocket science.
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Re: What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by Mike Stranks »

I have my doubts about the 'stereo effect' of the mics on the DR07... two omnis about 3 cms apart... hmmm... :think:

I used an NT4 for many years for local-radio broadcast location work... good sound which 'collapsed' perfectly when heard in mono and super-quick to set-up.

Why do you want to record your voice in stereo? It's an unusual technique, but if it works for you...
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Re: What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by FrankF »

Are you using rechargeable batteries? They usually last longer than conventional cells.

By the by, the manual says you should get 7hrs! recording from a pair of AAs - if they're dying before 7hrs, surely there must be a break in recording where you can just put in fresh batteries?!

Another short-term solution would be a mains adapter for the Tascam : Ebay have them for about 20 dollars :
https://tinyurl.com/rpf5khw2
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Re: What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by Drew Stephenson »

Rode NT4 for a simple-to-mount solution. A pair of SDCs and a stereo arm according to your preferred budget for a nearly-as-simple solution.
Or just get a 5V power supply and ignore the batteries when in the studio?
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Re: What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by DC-Choppah »

Bob Bickerton wrote: If you really want the stereo configuration the Rode NT4 springs to mind. You'd get a good pair of mics which are in the correct configuration for your specification. I also believe the Audio Technica BP4025 is a decent mic, though I haven't tried it myself.

Interesting to compare the NT4 pricing of US$529 at Sweetwater with a pair of NT5s (same capsule) US$429.

If you like the sound of the mics in the Tascam, you'll love the sound of the NT4/5s :thumbup:

Bob

Rode NT4 looks perfect for me. Thank you kindly.
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Re: What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by DC-Choppah »

blinddrew wrote:Rode NT4 for a simple-to-mount solution. A pair of SDCs and a stereo arm according to your preferred budget for a nearly-as-simple solution.
Or just get a 5V power supply and ignore the batteries when in the studio?

Even with external power the darn portable recorder will shut off on its own unless you hit record. And once recording, it will shut off when it runs out of memory and then it stops recording.

I need to get away from the kludge of using the recorder as my stereo mic.
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Re: What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by Drew Stephenson »

DC-Choppah wrote:
blinddrew wrote:Rode NT4 for a simple-to-mount solution. A pair of SDCs and a stereo arm according to your preferred budget for a nearly-as-simple solution.
Or just get a 5V power supply and ignore the batteries when in the studio?

Even with external power the darn portable recorder will shut off on its own unless you hit record. And once recording, it will shut off when it runs out of memory and then it stops recording.

I need to get away from the kludge of using the recorder as my stereo mic.

Ah right, i think my zoom bypasses the automatic shutdown if it's running on the mains.
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Re: What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by DC-Choppah »

Mike Stranks wrote: Why do you want to record your voice in stereo? It's an unusual technique, but if it works for you...

Not voice. I am recording my stereo guitar setup with multiple amps that sounds very lush in stereo.

I also use the XY mic on real instruments like violin, saxophones, flutes, etc..

I find that the proper XY mic setup allows me to place these stereo instruments on the stage very nicely using the Waves S1 plugin. Sounds better to me than recording in mono and just panning.

I like when you can isolate the instrument by location. It allows the mix to be less cluttered since the instruments are split up by their location. Sounds more real too.
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Re: What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by Hugh Robjohns »

DC-Choppah wrote:Is this a mod project? Is there a way to get a 2nd Tascam unit and take it apart and convert it to a regular microphone that will plug into my board and use the phantom power?

You could... but you'd need to buy or build a couple of phantom-to-plug-in-power converters.

It would be a lot less complicated just to buy a Rode NT4 stereo XY mic

http://www.rode.com/microphones/nt4

EDIT: Sorry... just read the rest of the thread and I see Bob has already recommended it!
Last edited by Hugh Robjohns on Mon Jun 21, 2021 9:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by Hugh Robjohns »

Mike Stranks wrote:I have my doubts about the 'stereo effect' of the mics on the DR07... two omnis about 3 cms apart... hmmm... :think:

They aren't omni capsules in the Tascam, they are 'undirectional' mics. Cardioids. So the options are XY cardioids or near-spaced cardioids to introduce some small interchannel timing differences.
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Re: What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by ConcertinaChap »

Another +1 on the Rode NT4. One of the first decent mics I ever bought and still has a place in my collection. One facility it has which may appeal is it is phantom powered in the studio but can be battery powered which makes it very effective for field recording.

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Re: What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by Mike Stranks »

Hugh Robjohns wrote:
Mike Stranks wrote:I have my doubts about the 'stereo effect' of the mics on the DR07... two omnis about 3 cms apart... hmmm... :think:

They aren't omni capsules in the Tascam, they are 'undirectional' mics. Cardioids. So the options are XY cardioids or near-spaced cardioids to introduce some small interchannel timing differences.

My mistake... :oops: ... I was looking at the Mk1...
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Re: What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by Hugh Robjohns »

I thought the original DR 07 had fixed back-to-back cardioids... but it was a long time ago and I can't be bothered to google it...

Omni capsules would be largely pointless on a small handheld recorder since their inherently ultra-close spacing wouldn't generate enough inter-channel time difference to produce any meaningful stereo image.

You need around 1.5ms difference to move a signal fully over into one loudspeaker, and you're not going to get that with only an inch or two of separation.
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Re: What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by DC-Choppah »

Image

From the Tascam website: https://tascam.com/us/product/dr-07mk2/top

'Adjustable directional microphones'

I just use it in the coincident XY mode and I think it sounds terrific. When I record something real and bring it into the DAW, I get a stereo image that responds very well to the S1 plugin to place it in the 'scene'.

I am getting the Rode NT4, and I hope it will have that same idiot proof stereo recording ease. I assure you that when I have a room full of musicians and I have to play engineer and musician, and therapist at the same time that I need all the idiot proofing I can get!
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Re: What's a good substitute for my Tascam portable recorder mic for the studio?

Post by ConcertinaChap »

You'll find the NT4 comes with a cable that will allow you to plug it directly into your Tascam as an alternative to the recorder's own mics. I've done that with my Olympus LS10 when I wanted quality beyond its own mics and the results have been very good.

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