Home Recorders

[Harpo]

For quite a while I've been using old school methods of recording, basically I recorded the rhythm part to a cassette and then played that back as I played lead and recorded the whole thing onto my iphone. It was crude with no control beside volume, but actually worked okay. I'd been seriously thinking about upgrading to something better but the choices in my price range(cheap!!) were almost over whelming. I knew I wanted at least 4 tracks or more with the ability to punch in with true stereo mix down. So after some serious consideration and recommendations from others, I wound up with a Tascam DP-008EX with a 4GB card. It has 8 tracks total, 2 stereo and 6 mono that can all be bounced down for pretty much unlimited tracks if you wished. I'm pretty happy with it so far and I thought I'd share my first attempt at using it!

https://soundcloud.com/tony-carron/grace001wav

I used my 618, my GC7 and a Dobro that I got from my Dad. The rhythm parts are panned right/left while the Dobro and Lead are right down the middle. I still need to work on my intro's and fades, but I'm liking what the Tascam can do!

[Earl]

Recording is almost its own skill set, with unique techniques and equipment.  And it is TIME CONSUMING.  That is why I don't have official recordings, despite having enough regular repertoire to fill at least four CD's.  I have accumulated recording equipment (Sony PCM-50D and others) but never seem to be able to force myself to sit down and spend the time to record.  I'd rather just play and not worry about the recording, so major kudos to anyone who does record themselves.  And I'm too cheap to go elsewhere and pay for someone to be the recording engineer.

[TaylorMate]

Well done, Harpo! Well played, balanced and nicely recorded. Good you've made this qualitative jump forward. Yet, Earl is right, it is so time consuming. I myself use Reason which is what they call a DAW. It offers you more digital tricks than your Tascam, but stay with your machine because it's clean and honest recording.
With my DAW I recorded some vocal songs and one classic instrumental: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYBnUQDzmJ0. Apart from my guitar everything is digital. But sometimes makebelieve works.

[Harpo]

Well done, Harpo! Well played, balanced and nicely recorded. Good you've made this qualitative jump forward. Yet, Earl is right, it is so time consuming. I myself use Reason which is what they call a DAW. It offers you more digital tricks than your Tascam, but stay with your machine because it's clean and honest recording.
With my DAW I recorded some vocal songs and one classic instrumental: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYBnUQDzmJ0. Apart from my guitar everything is digital. But sometimes makebelieve works.

Thanks! I looked into DAW's but that's way more techie than a basement player like me wanted to get involved with. I wanted something small, portable and simple to use yet still sounded decent and could be uploaded to burn a cd if I wanted. So far, the Tascam has been everything I wanted at a price that I was comfortable paying. 

[boomklever]

I am having trouble with my Marantz PDM-661 portable recorder to get sufficient signal. The level is very low. If I set GS Mini output to MAX, record level to MAX and strum at max then I come somewhere in the -20 ... -10 dB range, which is still low. Soft fingerstyle guitar brings me at -40 dB or even lower.

Do you get sufficient gain when recording? Or do you have to turn all levels to MAX as well?

[Earl]

Boomklever, I'm not familiar with that particular Marantz recorder.  This sounds like a classic "mic" versus "line" level situation.  If the XLR is set to mic, it is meant to have maximum signal of 50 mV, or 1/20 volt.  Line level is 1.0 volt max, or about 20 times stronger.  If the input gain is set for microphone sensitivity but you are plugging in a line level (such as the output from a pre-amp) it will overload and distort grossly.  If the input expects a line level signal, but your are sending a mic level output, you get almost no volume.  This is all electrical, and independent of how you mechanically connect them - 1/4", XLR, RCA, using adapters, etc.  Hope this helps.....

[boomklever]

Boomklever, I'm not familiar with that particular Marantz recorder.  This sounds like a classic "mic" versus "line" level situation.  If the XLR is set to mic, it is meant to have maximum signal of 50 mV, or 1/20 volt.  Line level is 1.0 volt max, or about 20 times stronger.  If the input gain is set for microphone sensitivity but you are plugging in a line level (such as the output from a pre-amp) it will overload and distort grossly.  If the input expects a line level signal, but your are sending a mic level output, you get almost no volume.  This is all electrical, and independent of how you mechanically connect them - 1/4", XLR, RCA, using adapters, etc.  Hope this helps.....

Earl, thanks for your input. I am familiar with the mic versus line situation. My Marantz even has the +48V option for microphones (that's why I bought the Marantz). When using the mic input I get more distortion (without reaching the 0 dB level). Of course the +48V remains untouched...

Weird, because the GS Mini played well on an acoustic amp (although a bit noisy) and the Marantz records excellent with microphones. And I also used different cables plus also a different hardware input on the Marantz.

A pity because recording straight into the Marantz was one of the reasons for chosing the 'e' version of the Mini.

I do see people having similar problems and these were solved using an impedance transformer like Hosa MIT 176.

[packy]

Sounded very, very good! Enjoyed!

[Harpo]

A quick update on the Tascam: I'm still liking what it does at the price I paid, but...there's always a but, right? I was recording a version of Tequila Sunrise the other day and wound up needing more than 8 tracks so I had to bounce down. After bouncing, some of the tracks sound levels dropped enough to affect the mix. Now I will admit this was the first time I had to use the bounce feature, so it may well have been user error, but I followed the directions exactly, so...

Anyway here's a little something for Christmas! Still messing around with the Dobro while my 618 runs the accompaniment. 

https://soundcloud.com/tony-carron/silent-night

Sounded very, very good! Enjoyed!

Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate it!

[MikeB]

'Bouncing' is always a tricky prospect when multi-tracking.  I recorded my first album on a Boss digital recorder, same # of tracks as you (but 64 virtual tracks, so at least one didn't have to record OVER a previously done track, the way it was in the old days with tape.  It takes some experimentation and guessing when it comes to setting volume and tone and panning when bouncing, that's for sure.
Since moving to a computer DAW, I've never looked back - and wished I hadn't spent so much money (only part of which I got back when reselling) on that recorder!

[verichai]

I use a Roland Micro-BR as a musical sketchpad. It lets you practice and record, even multi-track without needing any other equipment. It even has rhythm and effects built in. I got on CL for about $40, and it's not cutting edge, but it's great for what it is.

[PaulWood]

I used a Roland BR900cd for 2 or 3 years, having upgraded from a BR200. Great results, plus I was able to use and edit the BR200 recordings on the BR900cd. I've now moved up to a DAW: ProTools 11.3. Advice: don't do this unless you are really committed to trying to achieve professional-level recordings. I love it now but the transition, mainly installation on my PC, was mind-bogglingly difficult. Now its all settled down I wouldn't go back. Only problem is I've got 80+ recordings, plus related backing tracks, done on the BR900cd, so I've got to keep it for maintenance purposes (each recording is stored on a separate CD, as a back-up to the hard disk version on my PC). I'm looking to start a project to move the BR900cd output onto ProTools but I don't think there'll be enough time. Any short-cut pointers would be appreciated!