I'm looking for the easiest ways to make 1 or 2-track field recordings, from outdoor sounds to a quick set-up for the occassional jam. I've been looking at the Tascam 564 (perfect, except for the early version of ATRAC compression and no phantom power, and I don't necessarily need all 4 ins, or the editing abilities), and that got me thinking about using one of the little player/recorders. Ideally, it would have two phantom powered XLR ins, and SPDIF or a USB port to feed recordings to my studio editing software. The Marantz PMD-500 is apparently pretty close to this.
The Marantz is also $1200, though. How do the walkman-type mini player recorders do with live sound? What kind of signal quality can you get through the standard 1/8" stereo mic in?
-Mike
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I've used a Sony MV-R700 for live to two track recording, taking
I've used a Sony MV-R700 for live to two track recording, taking the signals from the FOH console into the line in. I then recorded it onto my computer and played with it a bit.
The biggest problem was just the sound itself (having to very quickly mic everything with mostly SM-57s, no overhead on the drums, etc.) The ATRAC compression didn't cause anything noticeable (though this is a pretty recent unit).
I've heard of people using special stereo mics and a more heavy duty power supply for recording. Check out http://www.minidisc.org for some good info.
Ryan