the choices in recording…

Hello grubs,

Well, I’ve been using the Zoom H2 for quite a while now and I do love it.  It’s a great live stereo recorder, but I do find I’m moving out of that style of recording now.  It’s great to lay down quick ideas and is the best mobile “sketch-pad” available I do think.  I find myself leaning towards some of the new units out there, either in the 4 or 8 track world.

One that has really caught my eye is from Tascam, the DP 008.  These were launched near the end of 2009 and are quite the little units.  The 4 track is great, but at the price point of the 8 track…who couldn’t use the extra tracks.  It’s around $330 CAN plus taxes available locally, which is pretty good for what this thing can do.  It has 8 tracks (uh..ya!), individual knobs for dialing in each track, built-in reverb and EQ settings, two XLR (with phantom) and 1/4″ stereo in’s, and you can run a footswitch for punch in/out.  It also has two onboard stereo condensor mics, that catch the “sketch-pad” ideas, not unlike those of the H2.  This sucker isn’t very big either, about 11″ x 6″ making it super compact for gigs, jamming or remote recording locations.  The unit runs on batteries or AC adaptor and can be fully monitored using external speakers or headphones.

The way I’m typing here, I’m starting to sell myself on it for Christ sakes!  I’m 80% of the way there on it anyway…just have to bite the bullet and sell the H2 and move up.  I was also looking at the Zoom R16, which is there “smaller” version of the HD16 but rather than a hardrive, you save to SD directly (with no CD burner).  The R16 gives you great flexibility with 16 tracks and 8 simultaneous XLR inputs.  This is a big plus compared to the DP 008 with only 2 track sim-recording.  The cost jump is substantial though, about $580 once taxes are topped-up.

The R16 is the next step before a studio type set up I think, while the DP 008 is more of a basement/garage type recorder.  These 4 and 8 track units were based on Tascam’s long running 4 track tape portastudio success.  The 8 track is definitely a good option for us lads that don’t want to go “full-out” and buy crap loads of gear and start a mini-studio.  My needs are to get ideas down, and polish them to “near-studio” quality….at least CD demo quality.  I’m not looking for Abby Road or anything…maybe Albert Road?

Anway’s kids, check out the new digital options out there for portable recorders…it’s nuts how many there are to choose from!

Peace;    The Worm ~