Field recorders and microphones

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Chris Christensen on January 21, 2009 at 8:21pm

I use a laptop with a Plantronics DSP 400 headset. When I am on the road I used to use an iRiver 800 series with an iGriffin lapel mic. I know also own a Samson - Zoom - H2

Permalink Reply by Daniel M. Perez on January 21, 2009 at 10:44pm

I use a cheap but trusty Olympus WS-300M digital voice recorder. I would love to get a Zoom H2 or H4, though.

Permalink Reply by Craig Martin on January 22, 2009 at 8:15am

Since April '08 we've been using a Zoom H2 - I love it. Great faux-surround-sound when we record together and nice 90 degree or 120 degree angles when we're recording individually. A couple of quality AA batteries will give us a few hours of recording time.

Before that we used the built-in mic on our Apple G4 Powerbook. Oh, how sound quality has improved!

Permalink Reply by Mark Peacock on February 8, 2009 at 10:22pm

I use a RadioShack condenser mic plugged into an iRiver 800 series. It's a pretty compact set-up, but then again, I'm doing all of my recording indoors. I'm going to have a business need to record multiple people, so may invest in a small USB mixer if I can find one that works with Adobe Audition.

Permalink Reply by Chef Mark Tafoya on March 11, 2009 at 5:18pm

I cannot say enough good things about the Edirol R-09 Digital Audio recorder. I use it in 3 different ways:

Sometimes just use the built in mics, which are surprisingly good, for recording live music performances.

I use plug in bunaural in ear microphones for soundseeing tours.

and I use a converter cable that goes from stereo mini to XLR and use my ElectroVoice RE50B standard reporter's handheld mic.

Permalink Reply by CoreyTaratuta on March 22, 2009 at 8:37am

I scored a Marantz PMD660 for great price from a former employer. It's amazing, but more recorder than I need. The device is pretty big (roughly the size of a Lonely Planet guidebook) and once you add the XLR mic...it's a lot of gear to carry. It has a great built-in mic, but I have trouble finding the sweet spot for using it in noisy areas or when holding it in my hand...it picks up EVERYTHING.

Without more training, I'm afraid it's "pro" capacity is wasted on me.

For quick recording, I've used my Flip video and stripped out the sound. It sounds a little tinny, but while on the road, speed sometimes trumps quality.