Sparky Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 hi all. any suggestions welcome. but am considering the following options: [u]1. Second hand, old school, cassette tape, analog 4 track[/u]. ebay's banned at work so am yet to see what's on offer in the bargain bin price bracket. [b]Pros[/b] - will be able to lay down multiple instruments and make horrible sounding home demos... [b]Cons[/b] - bad home demos may destroy my soul. will have to learn how to use it. may work out more expensive with accessories ie. mics & leads. will have to set it up and put it away, so may not be conducive to capturing spontaneous ideas. will undoubtedly zap even more of my time fiddling with useless gadgets.. [u]2. Dictaphone style tape recorder[/u]. Can get one new for £20. [b]Pros[/b] - fool proof operating. compact. no need to set up and put away. quick to record, then post to colaborating musician friends. will zap less time messing around with it - all i'd have to do is get it out of the cupboard, press play and record together and perform my ideas... [b]Cons[/b] - no scope for recording anything other than acoustic guitar / uke ideas (but really, this is all i need it for) [u]3. Mic adaptor for my ipod[/u]. £20-30 [b]Pros[/b] - (potentially)fool proof operating. compact - no need to set up and put away. quick to record, then EMAIL to colaborating musician friends. Scope for recording ideas on a single instrument, uploading them into p.c. getting hold of some cheap mixing software (any suggestions - like the most basic of basic.. free if poss?!!) to open up multi-track capabilities??? DOES THIS EXIST? WILL THIS WORK???!!! [b]Cons[/b] - might be sh*t and not work/break (electrical goods paranoia). if the multi-track software thing becomes reality, this will probably be the worst zapper of time fiddling with useless gadgets. so.. i guess options 2 & 3 are the main runners. just wondering what people thought or if anyone has and can recommend a very cheap setup that they use just to record rough song ideas (mainly on acoustic guitar and ukulele (neither of which have built in pickup)). Especially interested in whether the multi-track facets of opt.3 could become reality? This could open up a whole new world of working remotely with my buddies (i currently live far away from all my musician friends). ok thanks very much for your time. sparky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 In the past I have used a digital dictaphone, and been able to transfer the files into cubase (but there are free DAWs out there) to mess with and/or record over. I think you should go for digital if you do want a dictaphone. If your Ipod is something you carry around all the time, and you can just get an adaptor so that it'll record you, that sounds like the best option to me. I use my phone because it's always with me, and I can transfer the files off if I want, but I never do 'cos the mic on it is so crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Posted March 13, 2008 Author Share Posted March 13, 2008 nice one cheddatom. thanks for the input. hmm, digital dictaphone - had not considered that. just had a quick scootch on t'interweb and they start at around £25. could be a possible alternative to the ipod mic. saying that, i guess the two options are effectively the same thing? i do carry my ipod pretty much everywhere, but rarely have an instrument handy whilst in transit.. so this is just for home, band practice and pissing about with round my bandmate's houses. i think the deciding factor here is gonna be mic quality. it'd be handy to be able to control the gain.. so i can use it to make half decent recordings of a quiet soprano ukulele or at full blown electric band practice with loud drums, amps and p.a. i've seen one ipod adaptor that you can control the gain on, but they've not yet released if for 6th generation ipods... think i'll be keeping an eye out for this. in the mean while, i'll look out for a decent dictaphone with any useful features. anyway, thanks again cheddatom. keep em coming folks - anyone used an ipod mic adaptor or digital dictaphone to record band practice or acoustic messin' at home? cheers, sparky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 the mic on the digital dictaphone wasn't great to be honest. There was a gain control but the quality was always verging on telephone. I guess 'cos it;s designed for voices. Does the Ipod adaptor have a built in mic? Or is it a pre-amp adaptor for the Ipod that you can plug any mic into? That would be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Posted March 13, 2008 Author Share Posted March 13, 2008 (edited) The [url="http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/italkpro"]Griffin iTalk Pro[/url] is the only one of these iPod mics (there are quite a few on the market - just google 'iPod Microphone') that I've seen with adjustable gain settings. There is also an minijack input for an external mic - which could be pretty handy if the adaptor's built in "twin built-in" mics are poor? Shame it's not compatible with my either of my ipods (3rd gen & 6th gen)... think i'll wait for another one to be released with these two features. the speil from the above link: [i]iTalk's twin built-in mics record directly to your iPod, and adjustable gain settings give you control over the volume. You can even use external microphones with iTalk Pro. Just plug your mic into the 3.5mm jack on the bottom of iTalk Pro. Note that some microphones require their own, separate power source (sometimes referred to as "phantom power"). To use such a mic with iTalk Pro, simply plug it into iTalk Pro through an appropriate pre-amp.[/i] Edited March 13, 2008 by Sparky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Posted March 13, 2008 Author Share Posted March 13, 2008 just found this under the iTalk's FAQ's: [i]The Griffin iTalk is not fully compatible with the 3rd Gen Nano and the iPod Classic, but it will work. It will still record like normal, but the usual iTalk sub screen will not show on the latest iPod screens. The only thing you miss by not having this sub screen is the ability to choose your Gain setting.[/i] DOH!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Heh, that's quite crap. Does your phone not do it? Also, i've just remembered a bit of kit I saw in the "other musically related..." for sale forum. I think it was Tascam, and it was a digital recorder with two built in mics for high quality XY type recording. It'd be more expensive, but that's kind of what you're looking for. I wish I could remember a product name or number or something. You'd do well to find the for sale thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Posted March 13, 2008 Author Share Posted March 13, 2008 Woah ha! Hot tip to look in our the BC market place cheddatom - hadn't even thought about it. anyway, did a quick search for Tascam in the forum and a few results came up... i'm sure this wasn't the one you were refering to (i rekon you saw the 4 track? i saw that too when it came up) but this one's really caught my eye - never mind the functions - check out the mojo on this little 80's esq bad boy!!! [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=10829&hl=Tascam"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...9&hl=Tascam[/url] i might put in a PM... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Heh, I haven't seen that one actually. I have the same model but in blue. If you put a guitar through it and make the pre-amps distort it gets pretty nasty in a way that I like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Posted March 18, 2008 Author Share Posted March 18, 2008 yeh, the red recorder's cool huh?! but it'll be a backup purchase (if that particular one isn't available anymore, there are a lots of others like it on ebay for £20 and less). anyway, now i'm looking at the this: [url="http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1781&brandID=4"]Zoom MRS 4B[/url] ...it's a discontinued product but before it was discontinued, it only cost £100 new from GAK!..i've looked and there's one on ebay - i'm gonna put a max bid of £40 on for it and hopefully I'll get it. Surely there's a gap in the market here? i've looked and there doesn't seem to be any of that type of product - entry level digital multitracks in the £100 and under price bracket.. the closest thing is the Boss Micro BR at £120 which looks pretty cool but it's tiny with no sliders. i quite like the retro analog blackbox look of the zoom! haha! my ambitions seem to have progressed since my OP... i seem to have developed a minor case of multitrack gas!!! i figure i'll get a cheap multitrack (digital will just make things easier) and spend a couple of years demo'ing an album (which i have yet to write).. and by that time, i'll have enough money to buy proper gear and i can get lots of my mates help me record it in the house that i'm gonna build... it's an ambitious plan, but hey, seeing as i'm just doing this for the craic, i've got all the time in the world. my days of striving for that record deal with the band are gone.. now i just want something to keep me creative, and thinking about music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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