Looking for a not expensive MP3-player which could also record if need be. Normally we have a minidisk or portable DAT for recording a session or concert but mp3-players can be very small in comparison so I am looking for one which could do an quite-ok-recording if nothing else is around. Any advice on this? Thanks a lot
Brigitte
Do a search on the ITM forum. As I recall, user Eskin put up several threads on different inexpensive recorders he had tried. I think he also suggested looking at recorders intended for taking straight conversation, as in lectures or meetings. They were fairly inexpensive, but they didn’t handle mp3.
djm
The latest and greatest are the Edirol and similar models from other makers with CD quality recording. A while back some folks like the IRiver brand. Eskin mentioned some voice recorders by Olympus.
There is a lot to choose from depending on how much you want to spend, and other desired features. The pro musician models such as the Edirol and similar from other makers have a lot of features and will range $200 to $500. On down the food chain there are less expensive devices. Some of the flash memory IRivers can be found for around $50, if price is the primary concern. Buy from somewhere with a return policy if the recording quality doesn’t meet your need.
Me, tiny size and always on are tops on what I need. I use a now seemingly stone-age Sony voice recorder.
The Edirol R1 was $600 here. I can’t believe my luck getting it 2nd hand for less than half that practically new.
djm
I have an Olympus WS310M (make sure it has “M” at the end,
that indicates that it has the good MP3/WMA codecs). Add an
external stereo mic for good recordings.
I was using a cheap cassette recorder
then switched to a lousy Olympus DS-330 and used an external microphone to record my teacher playing our tune of the week.
The sound was so bad my husband thought it was me playing so he bought me the latest generation of IPod and a Belkin microphone.
They say the earlier generations of IPods weren’t very good to record live music but what I have now sounds pretty much ok though I guess technically its not MP3 when it records.
My IRiver is great. My 1Gb flash model stores hours and hours of recordings and stores in mp3 format. I’ve heard that some of the hard drive models are loud enough that the harddrive spinning gets picked up by the mic.
I’ve got the Edirol R9, which I think is the incontested ultimate recording machine, because it’s small and the sound recording quality is great. I did put 2 GB of flash memory on it.
Thanks for all the ideas so far!!! I checked them all out already and was surprised about the differences there are… and yes, the Edirol ones look all impressive but they are completely outside my price range by a few hundred percent from what I could see so far… 
but having a portable DAT as well as MD recorder, one with lot less features than the Edirol will do. Tendency at the moment is for iriver T30 or similar sizes without any fancy video displays but more focussing on a small size.
Thanks again
Brigitte
I have a session-mate who got the Olympus WS300 for Christmas, and loves it. So, after some research, I (just yesterday) bought the Olympus WS330M at Amazon for only $100. It should be arriving at my home today (I couldn’t wait, and paid for the rush shipping). I’ve got a sesh to attend tomorrow night, and will record, listen and report back.
Signed,
Fyffer
your itinerate digi-recorder reviewer-du-jour
If it takes SD cards, they’re down to $30cad / gig here. That’s a lot of time at 128kbts/s (decent MP3 sound for documenting stuff). In a pinch, my Sony telephone (with SD card) will record a session, as long as nobody calls me!
The Zoom H4 is a very good alternative to the Edirol R9. It can usually can be found for $299 or slightly less if you are lucky.
Sound recording quality is excellent, tested it the other week as a friend of mine just bought one. Comes with built in true stereo microphones as well as two phantom powered XLR-1/4 input jacks for external microphones (perfect for recording pipes), also works a a 4-track portable recording studio, and can be used as an external USB sound card for your laptop computer 
It uses secure Digital memmory so storage space will not be an issue.
IMHO, this is the best digital recording device you can get at the moment, considering the price and the multitude of functions.
Check out Zoom H4 website here:
http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/h4/index.php
I’ll be getting one, soon I hope 
/MarcusR
The Zoom is wow… weird enough it is about 100 Euros cheaper in the US than in Germany or UK… anyone coming to Europe/Germany in the near future 
… just an idea 
Brigitte
There are some useful in-depth reviews by Mark Nelson of several of these products here:
http://www.oreillynet.com/articles/author/2474
He’s going to have a review of the Zoom H4 pretty soon, by the way. It’s being carried by Samson in the US.
You can also listen to an interview with Mark Nelson here; he talks a bit about the Zoom:
http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2006/12/08/digital-media-insider-podcast-5-portable-recorders.html
I think this is closer to what Brigitte is looking for.
Unlike MP3 recorders, the Olympus is both tiny, simple and quick to start. No booting up into an operating system, no navigating to a “record” menu while you miss the tune. You hit Record—it’s about as simple and fast as a MiniDisc.
I have an earlier model, and it was perfect for the Noel Hill concertina school. Now I use an iPod with a recording gadget, in part because I always have my iPod in my car (thieves: do not read this.) The downside of the Olympus is that it mine doesn’t record as raw WAV, the memory is small, it’s basically intended for voice recording rather than music recording—though the stereo recording is decent.
However, that Zoom looks pretty amazing. That might be what I’ve been looking for all this time, although I’m not buying any new technology for a while.
Caj
Actually it LOOKS pretty weird – the reviewer at O’Reilly Media said it looked like a device for trimming a Klingon’s nose hairs, which in fact is exactly what it looks like. But he was pretty impressed with what it could do and how well it could do it, and that’s what counts!!
Does anyone have experience with the voice recording function of the Samsung YP-Z5(F)A MP3 player? I’m considering to get one, and it would be great to record sessions also. Sound quality isn’t so important, important is that I can distinguish the Gravel Walk from the Kesh jig on the recording later.