Recording rehearsals

[neepheid]

I'm so fed up wrestling with my phone. Turns out Android as yet has no means to control the gain of the microphone in your phone and so any app I've tried ends up being horribly distorted unless you stick the phone under a cushion or something. And even then it's a bit clippy. Gah!

We're trying to get some new songs together and not everyone can be at every jam at the moment. All I want to do is record us practising/jamming for future reference/keeping people up to speed with developments. Not looking for release quality stuff. Not looking for an iPhone (which I know is particularly good at this).

I have a camcorder which records pretty good, but it seems like a sledgehammer to crack a nut when all I want is the audio. Anyone recommend a device out there that isn't too dear? The Zoom H1 looks interesting.

All I want is to quickly and simply record listenable, clipping free audio. Is that so much to ask?

I'd like to re-emphasise that until Google sort Android out to give manual gain control over the microphone, it will be completely useless for this activity.

[RockfordStone]

i record rehearsals with this http://tascam.com/product/dr-2d/

it has a setting in it where you can set it to record 2 levels, ie the normal room level, and one which is a few db less, and as a result if clipping occurs on the normal level, you have the other track which shouldn't clip.

its a handy bit of kit, i find it pretty easy to use

[Cameronj279]

In defense of Android here. The Sony Experia is particularly good for this (better than iPhone imo). So i reckon its more to do with hardware than software.

[51m0n]

A Zoom H4n on its own, just stuck up near the wall in a reaheasal room souinds like this when recording a 3 piece enjoying a bit of impromptu jammage:-

https://soundcloud.com/51m0n-1/track-7/s-T7TIC

So far pretty much everything I've heard from the likes of an iPhone or other smart phone hasnt come close, even with a mic attachment thingy.

[tonyquipment]

Use s cheap old laptop to do it. Use it in conjunction with totalrecorder

[discreet]

I've had a Zoom H1 for some time now and it's invaluable. Records nearly 40 hours of stereo at .mp3 quality or around 3 hours of stereo at .wav quality. You can set it to automatic record level or set your own input level using the LCD display.

I just set it up on a little tripod at the beginning of a rehearsal and let it run for the whole session set to .mp3. Then later I download the file and chop it up with an .mp3 splitter app, tidy things up a bit and send the files to other members of the band. Incredibly easy and very useful.

Edited December 14, 2012 by discreet

[phil625sxc]

+1 on the Zoom - I've had the H2 for a couple of years now and use it constantly for recording gigs & rehearsals. Suprisingly good quality, especially if you're in a decent sounding room and really easy to use, as per the post above !

[andyonbass]

Do you H1 owners set the recording level to auto or adjust it manually?
When I had an H1 I missed out on a couple of good recordings due to setting the level incorrectly and I found auto setting would clip into distortion.
When I got it right though, it was superb

[51m0n]

I use an H4n and se the levels manually, 24bit 48KHz wav files allowing a good 12dB of level above the peaks.



That way I never, ever get any unwanted overs. 24bits means massive dynamic range, so make use of it!

I then use Reaper after the fact to bring the level up to something more sensible for general playback, and render down to 320kbps mp3 for ease of transfer to other band members via the web (wetransfer.com is brilliant).

Reaper lets you set up sections and then render them, automatically naming them as it goes, it is super easy to pull out the good bits from the entire rehearsal, takes me about 15 minutes to do a 2 hour rehearsal, and I record in 4 track off it now as a rule as well..

[mcnach]

[quote name='andyonbass' timestamp='1355511386' post='1899544']
Do you H1 owners set the recording level to auto or adjust it manually?
When I had an H1 I missed out on a couple of good recordings due to setting the level incorrectly and I found auto setting would clip into distortion.
When I got it right though, it was superb
[/quote]

I used an H4 and H2, not H1, but same situation. I set the volume manually, but make sure it's low enough. I just get the band to make noise and set it so that it does not saturate. Then lower it further. You can easily bring the volume up later using an audio editor, but you cannot save a distorted recording.