[Harp-L] Microtrack vs Sony Minidisc

["Bill Hines" <billhines4@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

The Microtrack is an interesting unit. On the plus side, it records to
flash memory so there's no discs and it's solid state, no moving parts
like a minidisc unit, so probably more durable and certainly nice to not
have to fuss with discs for recording (as long as you have plenty of
hard disc space and cd's to burn the stuff to at home!). But my concerns
are:

1. What's the fidelity? It records to WAV or MP3 which have been noted
are not high fidelity mediums. Does a live recording, say at a busy bar,
sounds as good as when recorded on a high-end minidisc like the one
Garry bought?

2. How long can you record? The Minidiscs (in their lower fidelity
setting) can go for 8 hours. Is it possible to record anywhere near that
long on the Microtrack (in a similar fidelity setting to the Sony's 8
hour setting)?

Bill Hines

-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Chris Michalek
Sent: Monday, September 26, 2005 11:39 AM
To: harptime@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [Harp-L] Microtrack / M-Audio Recorder

I have one.  I haven't used it for anything but short rehearsals but I
think it's a great little unit.  $299 is a great price.  I paid $369 for
mine.

The mic that comes with the unit is more than adequate though I will be
using higher quality large diaphram condensers for recording live shows.
Still waiting for them to come in the mail....