Re: Re: [Harp-L] Re: Portable digital recorders

["Tim Moyer" <wmharps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'll weigh in with my 2 cents: I jus tbought a M-Audio Microtrack 
24/96, and used it to record our latest gig.  This is the first time 
I used this device, having gotten it only a couple of days prior, 
and I used a pair of PZM microphones that were actually placed 
behind the "stage" setup (in the side of a restaurant).  I just 
started the recorder and stopped it between sets and didn't have a 
chance to check anything until it was over.  In retrospect, I wish 
I'd had cardioid mics out front pointed back to the band to reduce 
some of the ambient noise and capture the instrumentation and vocals 
with better balance, but I can't fault the quality of the 
recording.  

http://www.workingmansharps.com/Sounds/other/03%20-%20The%20Shadow%
20of%20Your%20Smile.mp3

This device has no built-in mics, but comes with a small stereo mic 
that plugs into the 1/8" stereo mini jack on top of the unit.  This 
mic is probably not great for recording gigs, since it's omni-
directional, and has very little stereo separation, but it works 
great for ambient recordings.  I took the recorder with me the next 
day on a cub scout trip with my son to the zoo, and recorded 
him "talking" to a white-handed gibbon: 

http://www.workingmansharps.com/Sounds/other/file0015.mp3

One small caveat is that the device is virtually unusable with the 
firmware as shipped.  I had to download a driver update (shipped 
with v1.0.2 and updated to v1.4.3) just to get the device to record 
and play a file twice without a reboot, but since the firmware 
update I've had zero problems.  At $316 from an ebay vendor, it's in 
there with the rest of this crowd.  

-tim