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Looper's Delight
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Great! Thanx for all the advice and feedback on the various products. Will look into them in some depth. Byron On 10/15/08, Zak Kramer <crazyquilt@gmail.com> wrote: > I have the first version of the Edirol R-09. It's a good unit, but not > great. Sound can be harsh and the ergonomics are poor if you aren't >holding > the unit. For example, if I'm recording while performing, I need to be >able > to check the levels and adjust them easily, while having the mics in the > ideal position. With the Edirol, to get the cardioid mics pointed how I >want > them, I frequently can't see the clip warning while playing/recording. >Then > there's the battery/card/mini-USB port with its flimsy, annoying door. >(Note > that the new version has supposedly corrected at least this latter >problem, > and I think it even has a remote, which is a great feature.) > > When I feared I'd lost my trusty Edirol (despite its warts, it's a >fantastic > scratch pad) I went on a hunt for a replacement, knowing full well that >I'd > find the Edirol as soon as I bought a new recorder. > > After much research, I settled on the Sony D50. Frankly, I couldn't be > happier. Nearly all of the important functions have buttons, all of which > are different not only in position, but in shape or size or color, >making it > very, very easy to operate the device without even looking at it. And >when > you do look at it, it's got a larger, more legible display than the >Edirol > (or any of the other mini-recorders, as I recall.) For example, it's >really > nice, while recording a long improvisation, or a longer stream of found > sound, to hit the Sony's 'divide' button, which immediately and >seamlessly > starts a new file. This makes going through lots of recorded data easier. > The Sony is larger than most of the recorders, but, for this purpose, I'd > rather (to put it in Star Trek terms) have a tricorder than a tiny, >fiddly > communicator. > > Finally, the Sony has a brilliant feature that I think no other mini > recorder possesses: its built in limiter. This isn't a brick wall, it's a > system whereby the Sony records the signal both at 0dB and at -20dB. If >you > go over 0dB, the clipped signal is replaced with the signal recorded at > -20db. Particularly in field recordings, with huge and often >unpredictable > dynamic shifts, this feature is fantastic and does, indeed, work as > advertised. > > The D50 has an external miniUSB port and simply mounts on a computer as a > drive. You can buy a tripod (which I highly recommend) and a corded >remote > (which I own, but haven't yet had the chance to use.) > > The built in condensers are decent, and can be adjusted between 90deg XY, > parallel for more directional recording, and 120deg for a broader stereo > field. When I recorded a performance I did at a local restaurant, >through my > Mackie HR824s, it literally sounded as it would have were I sitting at a > table listening to a performance, reproducing not just the music, but the > ambient environment of the space and the people within it. That, to me, >was > as remarkable (and important) as the quality of musical reproduction. > > Finally, it's made of metal, not plastic. It's a sturdy unit. It's > definitely worth the extra ducats. > > It would still be nice to have phantom powered XLR inputs, but, other >than > that, I have no complaints, and I've owned it for several months. > > By the way -- the day after I purchased the Sony, I did, indeed, find the > Edirol. Annoying and predictable, but it did allow me to comapre the two > units side by side, without relying upon my memory, or recordings done at > different times/place/positions. > > -- > Zak Kramer > Crazyquilt Arts & Music > http://www.crazyquiltarts.com/ >