New Recording Tip For Summer Workshops

[Lawrence Reeves]

I am very pleased with a new accessoryfor my my ipod. It is a Belkin Tune Talk Stereo, and I bought it brand new on ebay for less than 50 dollars shipped. It plugs into the bottom of a 5th gen ipod ( the current full sized ones) and with no additional software allows you to record right on the ipod. A new menu screen appears on the pod,and gives easy navigation for record,save, and resume pause. You can disconnect and listen right away, or delete. When you sync the ipod to the computer, it goes into a folder called voice memos ( from there you can rename and move tracks to other playlist in the library, or export to editing software such as audacity ( PC) or garage band or logic express( MAC ).

Personally I hate packing any more crap than I need to when off to a week long summer workshop, and this along with my ipod and remote charger all fit easily into my case.

As for quality of recording, not for those who expect miracles, not as nice as an edirolhandheld, but vey good for point and shoot recording. Internal mics with two resolutionsettings, or an eternal mic like my Sony 907,or equal could be used. No tapes, no discs, no memory cards to fool with, just the ipod that is already in my bag.

Any others on the forum that have suggestions for recording workshops?

[Jody Kruskal]

Any others on the forum that have suggestions for recording workshops?

 

That sounds like a very good option for those with ipods. I've been using an Ederol hand held model and I'm extremely happy with it. The sound quality of the built-in mics is great even at low resolution mp3 settings. It works just like an ipod in that you can listen to the recordings on headphones and store any mp3s you like on it. The case is not as slick though and you do have to slide a flimsy cover open to reveal the usb connector... but I only do that at home to download on to my computer.

 

The computer based file management and storage is the really cool thing that makes all digital recorders with usb output far superior formats. Putting the date stamped audio files into folders for easy retrieval is what allows me to actually listen to and use the recordings. Easy access and being able to organize my field recordings is key. Ipod, Ederol and others do this.

 

My June and May TUNE OF THE MONTH recordings were recorded on this unit. Point and shoot easy.

[Lawrence Reeves]

In the old days( who the hell am I saying that the 70s or 80 were the old days),I used to record live music with a Sony TCD 5M and a Sony stereo mic. That used to suck,because it ran on c or d cell batteries, and cassettes that were acceptable cost about 6 bucks each. I still have bags of unmarked cassettes that I am transfering to computer. Then I moved to a smaller cassette,the Sony WM D6C, which I still own as my only cassette deck. I then went the direction of a DAT recorder. Anyone who has used a portable DAT shares some of my pain. Then came minidisc....not too bad really. Good battery life, ease of use,etc. What I have come to realize is I am after an archival recording more so than a commercial quality end result. Jody is 100% on target with the edirol handheld. It is easy to use, and a wonderful machine. I would strongly recomend an Edirol for anyone seeking a CD perfect recording,the internal mics on both of the handhelds are amazing. My new Belkin iPod accessory is nowhere perfect, but I already have an iPod, and I travel with it everywhere. When I travel for my day job,and find a session,I always have a whistle or a flute in my carry on bag. The Belkin piece will be tossed in to the pocket with my charger and my earphones from now on.

I am really not fond of people recording sessions without being a part of one, and for that matter I usually prefer not seeing a recorder at all. I look at a recorder more for a replacement to a memo pad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any others on the forum that have suggestions for recording workshops?

 

That sounds like a very good option for those with ipods. I've been using an Ederol hand held model and I'm extremely happy with it. The sound quality of the built-in mics is great even at low resolution mp3 settings. It works just like an ipod in that you can listen to the recordings on headphones and store any mp3s you like on it. The case is not as slick though and you do have to slide a flimsy cover open to reveal the usb connector... but I only do that at home to download on to my computer.

 

The computer based file management and storage is the really cool thing that makes all digital recorders with usb output far superior formats. Putting the date stamped audio files into folders for easy retrieval is what allows me to actually listen to and use the recordings. Easy access and being able to organize my field recordings is key. Ipod, Ederol and others do this.

 

My June and May TUNE OF THE MONTH recordings were recorded on this unit. Point and shoot easy.

[Pam B]

4th Generation iPods will also take a voice recorder. I use them in my classroom with the kids - they are indestructible, and the older the ipod, the cheaper the voice recorder - I think I paid under $40.00 for all three.

[Alan Caffrey]

A techno friend put me onto the olympus DM20, which is a small dictation type recorder. At it's best recording level, with built in mic, it will record about 8 hours high quality onto solid state memory - no tapes or discs. Downloading to the computor was easy even for me. Sound is excellent. It records more than 20 hours with lower quality sound. File management is a breeze, this is one of the best things about the DM20. You can also download music to it ipod like. The only catch is I'll probably need to take my laptop along to workshops to download to, as I wnt to use the high level record quality for all my recordings. Alan CAffrey.

[Alan Caffrey]

I guess I should have said, about $200 for the DM20.

 

Alan.