Tascam or Zoom or something else ?

[chrisba]

I want to buy an entry level recording device, mainly for recording our band to help with my practice regime, but also other musical things, and possibly just as a dictaphone* for work

Both the Tascam DR05 and the Zoom come in at under £100, and seem to suit my needs. Does anybody have any opinions on one of these vs the other, or of anything else in that price range I should consider ?

Thanks in advance.



* "I use my Dictaphone"
" That's odd, I use my fingers"
There, I said it before anybody else did

[Fuzzbass2000]

If you've an iPhone the Tascam im2 mic is pretty useful. The suggested software's a little goofy on IOS7 but there are other recording apps on the AppStore that get the job done.

You can then record to a wav, edit in Audacity and save as an mp3.

[Coilte]

I have the Zoom H1. I use it for personal practice recording, and for band rehearsals. IMO the recording quality is very good considering the price. There are other Zoom models (H2, H3, & H4) which are a bit more sophisticated, depending on what you want.

Apart from the recording quality, the thing I like most about the H1 is it's simplicity of use, compared to it's other Zoom cousins.

The only negative thing I can say is that it is a bit on the flimsy side, and would not stand up to rough handling very well.

All said, I am very happy with it.

[kendall]

I use a Line6 Backtrack without mic. there is one with a mic which may suit your needs. Easy to use and quality is not bad for a small piece of kit.

[chrisba]

Thanks, Fuzzbass, for the heads up on the Tascam iPhone mic. I do have an iPhone, but it's a company-owned device, only 8GB, without a whole load of empty space, so I wouldn't want to rely on it having space, or on me still having the phone in two years time.

The Backtrack sounds like a good idea when used as originally designed ( I don't think I would ever use it like that ), but the microphone add on sounds a bit of a compromise.

[tinyd]

I have the tascam dr05. It's very solid and works very well, with a straightforward interface. I like it a lot for recording practice sessions etc. From reading the reviews it's very similar to the H1, but has better build quality and is a bit bigger.

[gapiro]

I have a Roland r-05
Brilliant fantastic piece of kit

[url="http://www.roland.co.uk/products/productdetails.aspx?p=1077"]http://www.roland.co.uk/products/productdetails.aspx?p=1077[/url]

The batteries seem to last forever, and accepts huge amounts of memory at a staggeringly high volume
I especially like the function to press the "rehearsal" button and the device will listen to the music etc over the next 5 minutes so that the mic gain is set appropriately.

I can upload some examples if you want to hear some recordings

[Highfox]

I have the Zoom Q2, which has the bonus of recording video as well.

+ Good sound recording quality. Video is even decent in fairly low light. I like to record rehearsals and gigs sometimes, it's small and can be hidden easily
- it only runs on batteries and has no line in

It's nearly perfect for me.

[discreet]

Use a Zoom H1 for rehearsals. Cheap, easy mp3 or .wav recording. Recommended.

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='gapiro' timestamp='1386596240' post='2301899']
I have a Roland r-05
Brilliant fantastic piece of kit

[url="http://www.roland.co.uk/products/productdetails.aspx?p=1077"]http://www.roland.co...ils.aspx?p=1077[/url]

The batteries seem to last forever, and accepts huge amounts of memory at a staggeringly high volume
I especially like the function to press the "rehearsal" button and the device will listen to the music etc over the next 5 minutes so that the mic gain is set appropriately.

I can upload some examples if you want to hear some recordings
[/quote]

That looks pretty cool. I have, and love, the older RH-09HR, but this cheaper version looks tempting. I use mine all the time to record gigs, best portable device ive ever owned, but at over £200 its not one i would recommend in this thread.