suggestions for an audio recorder...

tried to do a search but "recorder" seems to turn up more on the level of actual production work. I am thinking on a much lesser scale.

any suggestions on a budget audio recorder a kin to a tape recorder where i can record myself strumming so i can practice improvising/finger picking with it on in the background or even just to hear and assess myself play? i'm using my cell phone at the moment, but i'd prefer to have something specific for that duty. i don't need an elaborate system -- no external mics etc nor do i want to deal with actual tapes. practice being the keyword here.

mahalo.

Mark Nelson (author of "Fingerstyle Solos for Ukulele") has reviewed several recorders for O'Reilly. Check the following page and click on the "Articles" link:

http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/au/2474

You can also find a link to a summary chart and some additional info from Mark here:

http://www.taropatch.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7726

I'm still a big minidisc fan. Great sound quality, easy to use, and very portable. You will need an external mic.

http://www.minidisc.org

I bought a cheap Sana Clip MP3 player with the ability to voice record and use that for practice alot. 1GB size is $31 it is a little bit bigger than two nanopods. For lower level sounds it works ok. I have a resonator uke I recorded and the mic clips. But I can just carry it around and while practicing pull it out record and then listen back to it it works just fine. I've imported the MP3 in to Audacity on my PC and it's ok for $31.

A friend loaned me a Roland Edirol (MSRP $400), really nice recorder. Built in reverb, mic gain, save in MP3 or wav with different bit rates. Real nice sound. With a little tweaking on the PC it sounds like you were in a studio.

I am saving my pennies for a Zoom H2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoom_H2_Handy_Recorder

Even acts a a USB interface.

I've seen them new from $139. You can find them on E-bay with a 4G card and mic stand or headpohone ad-ons for 179 - 199.

Ukuleleblues said:

I am saving my pennies for a Zoom H2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoom_H2_Handy_Recorder

Even acts a a USB interface.

I've seen them new from $139. You can find them on E-bay with a 4G card and mic stand or headpohone ad-ons for 179 - 199.

Click to expand...

I've got the H4 and I love LOVE it!!! The H4 allows you to multitrack anywhere and anytime without being a tethered to a computer.

Here are a couple of (non-uke) recordings using the H4 ...

Whatever ... H4 all the way. Used the onboard mics, multitracked (4 tracks total), mixed in it the H4. Written and recorded within 24 hours!!!

Sip de rum ... this has about seven or eight tracks all recorded with the H4, but when I filled up four I dumped them into GarageBand for mixing. This was my first multitrack recording the the Zoom/GB combo. Original tune!

La Vie En Rose ... a solo duet! I laid down the rhythm and the played the lead. Simple two track recording with the H4.

btw, I heard that there is a new model coming out ... the Zoom H4n.

Stackabones said:

I've got the H4 and I love LOVE it!!! The H4 allows you to multitrack anywhere and anytime without being a tethered to a computer.

Click to expand...

Forgot to mention that I also have an H4 ($280) and feel the same way about it as Stackabones! The built-in mics are great and it's the only recorder of its size that gives you both XLR and 1/4" (phantom-powered) jacks, which gives you some serious options for external mics.

Zoom just announced the H4n ($350), an updated and improved version of the H4, which is what I'd probably buy if I had to make the choice now:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/H4N

If you're on a tighter budget and you definitely don't care about external mics then the H2 ($180) is well worth looking into, as is the Line 6 Backtrack (especially if you have a pickup)...a cool concept that acts like a musician's notebook:

http://line6.com/backtrack

The Backtrack goes for $100 without a built-in mic, $150 with.

All of the Snake Suspenderz rehearsal tape series have been done on the Zoom H2. Check out the music page at snakesuspenderz.com for free downloads of them.

Note that this is a quartet, playing live into the H2, with a minor amount of tweaking on a computer afterwards. For a solo thing (like just treating it as a "notebook") it'd probably be even better.

Depending on your budget, I'll throw in another vote for the Zoom H2. I just got one and it sounds really good. You can only record a single track but you can then put the tracks in audacity and come up with a multi-track song.

I used to have a Boss micro BR and I like the zoom much better. The microphones in the zoom are better than the boss and it's simpler to use. Of course it doesn't have all the multi-track functionality of the boss but that's ok with me.

you have a computer, so i would tell you to download audacity, buy a mic ($10-20 at any store) and you can have a decent setup.

if you have a laptop with a mic you can forgo that. I know you said no extermal mics, but the set up is easy enough, that and if you get good with the software and laydown some good tracks then you can have decent recordings.