Thanks as always to all of you who were so helpful; after your input and a bunch of reading, I went with the Edirol R-1. I’ve only used it thus far for some home recording tests and to record the Cathal McConnell concert. I also purchased a 1G flash card and used that instead of the included 64MG card; I can now get about 11.5 hours of recording at a setting of MP3, 192kbps, which is what I’m using.
Ease of Use: After some initial easy set up (card format, volume level, etc.), just plug in or use the 2 AA batteries, set the mic switch for internal mic use, hit record (standby), hit record again to begin. Playback is just as simple - I used some Phillips headphones I found laying about and the quality to me was excellent (just like the sources, both a CD and me live). There is also a half speed button for slow down without pitch change, which I have only tested to see whether it works at all so far. Of course, there’s pause and jump forward and back as well. There are also some effects which I have not yet used. The power pack has a really terrificly long cord making plug in more convenient. The unit fits in one’s palm, but is a bit too big for shirt pocket carry, but could fit in a sport jacket pocket for example. Set up at the concert was great for an oaf like me - just turn it on and hit record and pause as needed; no external mics (it has two stereo built ins) needed. I heard other machines’ tapes shutting off, needing changing, several times throughout the middle of the concert; no problem here. I changed batteries at intermission only as not to take any chances on losing Cathal - I will test battery operated limits later. Due to the change of batteries, the show was recorded in two separate files - not a matter of concern for me. USB cable and carrying case are also included.
Sound Quality: - I’m no audiophile, but the sound quality seems terrific to me. I can actually hear better than I did live, both with headphones (to be expected) and from my computer speakers. Perfect for my purposes.
Computer Connection: USB cable is included. Just plug it in and drag and drop files where you want them instantly. I need to work more with file naming, etc.
So far, it’s everything I need and easy to work with.
The main complaint I’ve heard and read about these units is that they’re a bit flimsy – I’ve seen reports of dials falling off and jacks becoming loose after a few months of use…it has made me a bit leery of this product but maybe Edirol has been working to fix those issues? I do think at the very least one should buy a hard case for this unit if you intend to do a lot of field recording with it.
Glad you like the R1 , Phil ! I’ve only had mine for a few months , but it seems to be all that I need in a field recorder. It comes with a very nice padded case … by the way. Have fun with your new “toy” !
As yet another clumsy oaf who had the good fortune to sit next to Phil at that event, I can say that it sure was a no brainer to operate. I got excellent sound capture with my SONY HI-MINICD recorder and external SONY Condensor mic, but somehow managed to either not get or record over the first hour!!!
So much for no-brainers. I will go out on a limb here and suggest that, if the longevity of the Edirol becomes proven, it is hands down more user friendly than the SONY. There is the added problem with the SONY that the files have to downloaded as ‘Audio In’ (i.e., analog) if you want to do anything with them on your PC. Yes, you can easily download the from the HI-MINI into the Sonic Stage PC program that comes with it, BUT those files apparently cannot be shifted to Transcribe, Cakewalk, etc. in the file format of the Sonic Stage. I SURE WOULD LIKE TO BE WRONG ABOUT THIS, and any C & F’er who can point out the error in my understanding here should FEEL FREE TO DO SO!! I have also heard grumblings to the effect that SONY may be walking away from this entire line–the delayed impact of IPOD and I River, no doubt.
These problems aside, the quality of the sound capture on the SONY sure exceeded my expectations. Admittedly, both units–the SONY and the EDIROL–were IDEALLY situated for getting good sound–about 6 feet in front of the sound source, resting on a cloth mat.
If longevity is demonstrated on the EDIROL, I will be putting my SONY up for sale, along with another little handheld tune grabber and rolling those proceeds over into the Edirol.
Thanks Philo for the great review. One might almost think that you had a background in spec. writing and ‘no-nonsense’ report preparation. I, on the other hand, strive for a situation in which I can get paid by the word.
Great News for Live Recording & MiniDisc!
It’s official! You can now do high-speed digital uploads of your microphone and line input recordings on Hi-MD and convert them to WAV format. If you own a Hi-MD unit and have been waiting for the ability to export files from Sonic Stage to WAV format, the wait is over! Go here to download Sony’s WAV Conversion Tool for FREE:
If you still don’t have a Hi-MD unit, well there’s no better time too get one. Here are some of the amazing things you can do with Hi-MD and why it is now the ultimate tool for live recording.
With a Hi-MD recorder, you can…
Make your own high quality recordings with a microphone or via the analog line input.
Upload these recordings digitally and at high-speed into Sony’s Sonic Stage software (included with every Hi-MD unit).
Use Sony’s WAV Conversion Tool to digitally convert the files at high-speed to WAV format.
Now that your your recordings are in WAV format, you can edit your recordings, burn an audio CD, make MP3s or do anything else you want. You’re limited only by your imagination!
There are no restrictions on your uploaded recordings! We’ve tested this in our office and it works like a charm. * * *
Please note: when uploading your recordings to Sonic Stage, you can only upload once. We agree that this small limitation is annoying, but overall Hi-MD is still the live recording method to beat.
Michael was particularly helpful and it came down to a choice for me between the M-Audio and the Edirol. I really don’t know enough to make an authoritative choice but selected the Edirol because it includes half speed playback and doesn’t have a limited life battery potential issue. The M-Audio also seems like a great unit and is a bit cheaper than the Edirol. I think it was about $379 at B&H; also a bit smaller and would fit into a shirt pocket - I just sort of picked one, as if by coin toss.
Both are great choices… The only reason I ended up with the MicroTrack was that my first Edirol was defective and it was at least 4 months before another was going to be in stock (early adopter blues). Now that I have the MicroTrack, I find it to be quite a bit more rugged than the Edirol, but both are good session recorders.
FYI, I typically get 3.5 to 4 hours continuous record time on the MicroTrack on a charge, and if I need more than that I can plug in an external USB battery pack.
I actually ordered a Edirol R-1 but they were back ordered for a few weeks so I changed my order to a Microtrack. I liked that the Edirol had built-in mics, a metronome, tuning tone, and replaceable batteries.
However, I’m enjoying my Microtrack. So far I’ve mainly used it for recording tunes at our slow session.
All the tunes in the “New tunes for 2006!” (scroll down to the end of the page) were recorded with the Microtrack and included stereo mic at 16/44.1 WAV and then converted to 128bit MP3s with either Audacity or Adobe Audition.
Lot’s of background noise in some of them, so not the best test, but it does what I need it to. However, you can probably find something that does it just as well for 1/2 the price.
It’s awfully convenient though (portability and getting recordings into the computer) compared to what I was using before: All the tunes before 2006 were recorded with a Marantz PMD-201 cassette tape recorder (using the built-in mic) and then output through the line out and into the computer sound card’s line in.
I’ve been getting 3 hours of recording time and still have some battery life left…haven’t tried running it all the way to empty.
