Whats a good Portable Recorder?

[silent-sam]

I am looking for a "Portable" Recorder for doing Location sound. What I am looking for is something I can do gorilla style recording.... lots of shoot and run.... lots of shoot first ask later haha.

I would like something with at least 2 channels... but 4 would be better. XLR inputs is a must.

I would like something with adjustable pre-amps included in the unit (however I am not sure if this is a feature pro gear would offer??)

And I would like something that sounds good obviously.

The thing is I have no idea what I am looking for as far as what its called...or what brands to look for..

All I can find is this one by Roland and it seems a bit bush league to me...http://www.synthtopia.com/content/wp...e-recorder.jpg
I don't know maybe its not?

The problem is I know what i want...but I have no idea were to start looking for it.... I have no idea what to look for.

[tsvisser]

I think this list is comprehensive for 4+ channel units...



HIGH SOUND QUALITY ($4k to $16k)

Sound Devices 744t (788t is 8 channels, supposedly better mic pres?)
The 744T: Portable, Four-Track Audio Recorder with Time Code | Sound Devices, LLC

Nagra VI (4 mic pres, 6 channels total, just started shipping a couple of days ago)
Nagra VI

Aaton Cantar-X2 (expensive, but for the sake of completeness, including)
Cantar X2

Zaxcom Fusion (larger units available via Deva or expanded Fusion)
Zaxcom

Sonsax MINIR82 (2 Mic pres 8ch, no built in monitoring facilities, limited features)
SONOSAX

Sonosax SX-R4 (shipping yet? 4 mic pres 8ch)
SONOSAX



MEDIUM SOUND QUALITY ($2k to $8k)

Fostex PD606 (not a good value compared to other cheaper / better offerings)
PD-606 DVD and HD Location Recorder

Edirol R-4 Pro
EDIROL by Roland - R-4 Pro 4-Channel Recorder with SMPTE Time Code and WAVE Editor



LOW SOUND QUALITY ($1k or less)

Zoom H4 (only 2 XLR inputs, very limited features)
Samson - Zoom - H4

Edirol R4
EDIROL by Roland - R-4 Four Channel Portable Recorder and WAVE Editor

Edirol R44
EDIROL by Roland - R-44 Compact, Solid State, 4-Channel Field Recorder



For 2 channels, of course your options increase greatly and prices drop drastically... but most of the competent 2 channel units are also made by one of the above manufacturers, excluding the two noteworthy exceptions...

Tascam HD-P2
TASCAM

Korg MR-1000 (no high pass filters)
korg.com



Are you doing this in conjunction with video acquisition? If so, your best bet might be just using a Sound Devices 302 or 442 and going direct into the camera, if the camera is a decent pro/prosumer model.

[John Willett]

Add one to the above list - the new Nagra LB - 2-channel machine should start shipping next month (at least that's what they said at AES Amsterdam).

Price - about half of the Nagra VI price and similar (if not lower) than the 2-channel Sound Dvices units.

[Shadow_7]

With an external battery powered microphone preamp like the Sonosax SX-M2 or Grace Lunatec V3, you get your XLR inputs and can then pipe that to any recorder with an input.

SONOSAX SX-M2 MIC AMPLIFIER

lunatec V3 portable mic preamplifier

I'm partial to my Korg MR-1000. But there's others out there. Sound Devices, Fostex, Sony, Marantz, Roland, Zoom, ....... Some of them have built in preamps, some of them don't.

722 Portable, High-Resolution Audio Recorder | Sound Devices, LLC

korg.com

FR-2 Field Memory Recorder

Samson - Zoom - H4

[silent-sam]

Thanks for the help.... I am looking into most of the recorder you guys have shown me.

What about older recorders? Like something that runs on dats ....or A-DATs if that even exists........ small enough to run and gun.....

[hughesmr]

Originally Posted by silent-sam

What about older recorders? Like something that runs on dats ....or A-DATs if that even exists........ small enough to run and gun.....

I have a Tascam DA-P1 portable DAT recorder that I haven't used for a few years. I'll sell it to you if interested. PM me if so.

TASCAM

[Angus]

"Sonosax MINIR82 (2 Mic pres 8ch, no built in monitoring facilities, limited features)"

What built in monitoring features are you looking for? True, it has no built in mixer, but it does have lots of monitoring options.

[tnjazz]

Originally Posted by silent-sam

I am looking for a "Portable" Recorder for doing Location sound. What I am looking for is something I can do gorilla style recording.... lots of shoot and run.... lots of shoot first ask later haha.

I would like something with at least 2 channels... but 4 would be better. XLR inputs is a must.

I would like something with adjustable pre-amps included in the unit (however I am not sure if this is a feature pro gear would offer??)

And I would like something that sounds good obviously.

The thing is I have no idea what I am looking for as far as what its called...or what brands to look for..

All I can find is this one by Roland and it seems a bit bush league to me...http://www.synthtopia.com/content/wp...e-recorder.jpg
I don't know maybe its not?

The problem is I know what i want...but I have no idea were to start looking for it.... I have no idea what to look for.

The pic you've linked to is the Edirol R-44, which is actually very compact and quite decent sounding. I don't know that there's a better bargain for a 4 preamp unit out there at the moment.

FWIW, tsvisser's listing is a fairly good assessment, although in terms of sound quality the R44 preamps are the same as those in the R4 Pro, which puts it a notch above the standard R4 unit.

I don't own one but have seen and heard it in action, and for less than $2000 (hell, less than $1000!) it's tough to beat.

[leddy]

Originally Posted by tnjazz

although in terms of sound quality the R44 preamps are the same as those in the R4 Pro, which puts it a notch above the standard R4 unit.

I have read the preamps in the R44 are not the exact same as the R4 pro.

Having said that, I have an R44 and the preamps are decent. I spent last night plugging in different mics to see what would start to get noisy. Condensers were fine, my RE20 began to reveal some hiss in the preamps. For kicks, I plugged in my Beyer ribbons and found they could be usable on louder sources, but not on anything too quiet.

It's a good little box.

[springer]

Originally Posted by silent-sam

Thanks for the help.... I am looking into most of the recorder you guys have shown me.

What about older recorders? Like something that runs on dats ....or A-DATs if that even exists........ small enough to run and gun.....

Hey Silent,
Stay away from the DATs - nothing but trouble...
Todays technologies are starting to make up ground fast on older larger equipment making truly portable solutions light and small. You need to figure out what price range you are willing to dive into. Under $1000, there are only a couple solutions if you want good sounding pres combined with features you want. Battery type, media, connection types, etc... were all a factor when I started out with my Oade mod'd PMD660. I wanted XLR with AA batteries, compact flash, and decent pres - and that is what I got. I have since gone to MR1000 with external pres - a significant climb in price. Do a google search on "Oade" and check out their systems as they really sound good. This is a great forum to read about people's experiences so do your homework and do it right the first time.
Good luck,
Patrick

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by leddy

I have read the preamps in the R44 are not the exact same as the R4 pro.

The guy from Edirol told me at a recent show thet the R-44 had the same mic. pres. as the R-04 Pro.

[leddy]

Originally Posted by John Willett

The guy from Edirol told me at a recent show thet the R-44 had the same mic. pres. as the R-04 Pro.

I read on taperssection from a guy that mods them IIRC. Perhaps they are they same but laid out different, who knows.

They do sound pretty good though. Thanks for the info.