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Recording Portable recorder for recording Band Practice?

JasonC

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Swadlincote, Derbyshire
Hi All, can anyone recommend a good portable recorder for recording band practice?

I was looking at the Zoom H1 but do you think this would be good enough to put in the middle of the room to record the whole band? is it sensitive enough do you think? The reason I want to record the practice sessions is because I need to practice at home to catch up with some pieces but some of my parts are difficult to practice without the other parts playing.

Any help appreciated!
 
Agree, the H2 is very good. I have OGs on loan and it's very versatile. A friend also uses one for live recordings of his rock band. You'll find several threads on his subject on here Jason if you trawl around.
Having said that, a fellow member of my sax ensemble was using her i-phone the other night to record our rehearsals. It's not hifi but it's good enough to hear how the harmony parts fit together with the lead.
YC
 
yep, I was going to suggest the H2 too. Very easy to use.
 
Thanks all! I did have a search for threads on the H1 but they seemed to be orientated to home/small room recording or very loud gigs so I wasn't sure about it. I will have a look at the H2 now though thanks :)
 
Having said that, a fellow member of my sax ensemble was using her i-phone the other night to record our rehearsals. It's not hifi but it's good enough to hear how the harmony parts fit together with the lead.
YC

I did think of this too but the mic on my phone isn't very good as I've tried it before :(
 
I went for the H1 few months ago. It does the job and it is cheap.
I guess the recording software is the same as the H4.
The only tip (common to H1 and H4) is: do not trust the auto level function. Find a correct level manually, otherwise the machine starts correcting and compressing continuously.
 
The H2 is great. It's designed for plunking down in the middle of the band, as it has front and back mics... There's an H2N as well now, could be worth checking the differences out.
 
I use a ZOOM H1 and it's easy to use and also cheap. I good way to record music is to use a DV camera and connect a good microphone like Röde M3, Röde NT3 or Röde NT4.
 
I use a Tascam DR1 that i find is very easy to use and does exactly whats wanted, also has a built in slow downer as well, anybody been able to compare the Tascam with the Zoom? as they do seem very popular.
 
Thanks again all, it looks like the H2 or H2n might be the one for me, I just need to look at the differences between the two more closely to see which is best for me. The H4n looks good but it's a little expensive for my needs.
 
I've been using the Zoom H1 for recording practise in a small room and for gigs in anything from a small pub to a ballroom and it's performed brilliantly. You need to set the level right though as it distorts badly when overloaded. Handling noise is awful, so you'll need to put it on a tripod and not even think about touching it. It's also not easy to get the levels sorted if you want to plug line level from a sound desk without putting a pad in.
That said, it's a fantastic piece of equipment for less than £80.
 
I use a Tascam DR1 that i find is very easy to use and does exactly whats wanted, also has a built in slow downer as well, anybody been able to compare the Tascam with the Zoom? as they do seem very popular.

I have the Tascam DR-07

Recording quality is very good
Battery life is excellent
Playback (e.g. during a rehearsal) requires headphones or external speakers
The slowdowner is horrible
 
Just thinking about the Zoom H2/H2n comparison, one pain on the H2 is short battery life. I believe it's been addressed on the H2n.
 
The slowdowner is horrible
Yeah it's horrible, but it does what it's there for, ie to reduce the speed by up to 50% without altering the pitch, and like you say, needs headphones or external speakers ( i fire it through a Roland cube 30x).

Does the Zoom have a built in speaker?
 
H1 has a very basic one. better with headphones
 

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