Jeff Addicott Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 I finally picked up one of these things last month, and I haven't regretted it for a second! I used to record gigs on cassettes a long time ago, but I gave it up because it was a hassle. With this rig, there's no longer any excuse not to record. It's tiny (almost too small) and super quick to set up. There's no tape hiss, no wow & flutter or pitch drift. Just good clean sound. (Apparently not quite CD quality, but way better than tapes!) The discs are cool because you can insert track #'s anywhere you want for quick future reference. You can delete entire sections and shuffle around the track order. You can then record over the deleted portions, at 100% quality, of course. Try all that on a cassette! And MD's are CHEAP. Cheaper than tapes, in fact. And you can re-use them a zillion times. Having this ultra-portable recorder has been invaluable for me. I've resumed the much-needed hearing myself play therapy. It's pretty harsh, especially at first, but it's been great stimulus to go practice. The MDs are a great tool for rehearsals, as well. If something gets covered just once, you can review it several times later on the MD and make sure it sticks. It really makes a difference if you have a big show with lots of stuff to remember and full-band rehearsal time is limited. If you're looking around for a gizmo that might actually improve your sound and/or your playing, I can't reccomend a MiniDisc recorder highly enough. It's just a great tool for a musician. Even my ultra-cynical technophobic crusty old Jazz pals are raising eyebrows at this thing. They keep asking me for copies of gig recordings, and I've had a couple of them ask me to sell them my old MD recorder if I ever update. Jeff Addicott http://www.jeffnet.org/~addicott/bass.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasticsound Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 Use the search function to find threads on Craig's SSS, George Massenburg's, and other forae here regarding MD's... Plenty has already been posted praising these portable recording wonders. It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman Soundclick fntstcsnd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebrownbass Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 I've been wanting a MD for some time now...a lot of time I go to a rehearsal for some group that is just left of disastrous...no written bass part, no consistent time, horrible singers and etc. And I'm supposed to be the guy to pull it all together. With one of these, I can go to a rehearsal, record it, and then go back and ferret out some of it. So tell me, brand, price, specs, store and all the relevant details. Why'd you choose the one you bought? "Let's raise the level of this conversation" -- Jeremy Cohen, in the Picasso Thread. Still spendin' that political capital far faster than I can earn it...stretched way out on a limb here and looking for a better interest rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Addicott Posted June 28, 2003 Author Share Posted June 28, 2003 I got mine from a local guy who used it once. But he's an old fella and he couldn't get into the tiny controls. His loss - my gain, I guess. My deck is a Sony MZ-R37, but it's pretty ancient (1999 vintage, that's antique!!). The newer model is the MZ-N707 and I think there may be newer ones than that. The new ones would be nice because all the controls are on top, the display is better and the battery performance is much better. (Mine has the advantage that I got it complete with mic and spare discs for $175.) I have the Sony ECM-MS907 condenser mic. It interfaces very well with the recorder. (A friend of mine got some fancy $400 stereo mic and apparently it puts out a signal that's a bit too hot for his MD.) It's a bit bulkier and takes an AA battery, and you have to remember to turn it off, but I like the recording quality a lot. There's also the Sony ECM-DS70P condenser. It's much smaller and it uses "phantom" power provided by the Sony MD recorder. All these units can be found very easily on eBay. I know there's other models and manufacturers, but I don't care to get too involved in all that. I'm sure the Anderton forum has more detail. Also, there's minidisc.org Just make sure you get one that records, and has a dedicated mic input. There's a lot of cheaper models that don't have that. Jeff Addicott http://www.jeffnet.org/~addicott/bass.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cup Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 I'll second the mini-disc's brilliance! Especially in recording live shows. I've a little panasonic SJMR220, I only bought it last year and had no intention to use it for live recordings. But plug it into the sound desk and you get pre front of house mix, not always perfect but better than nothing. Most sound men are nice enough. We were gigging a new song which we thought was finshed, but after hearing it after, it was blatantly obvious that the arrangement needed a bit of work. My mini disc cost £189 but it's paid for itself from what we've got out of it! CupMcMali...this monkey's gone to heaven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenLoy Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 As a high-quality consumer level digital field recorder, the MiniDisc is just about the best format out there. It's way less tempermental than DAT and sounds amazing. I record rehearsals and gigs with mine all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.P. Non-Prod. Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 The singer left his Sharp MD-MT15 minidisc over here and it records very clear and accurate. But I'm trying to overcome the drums being a little bit louder and with too much bite. Time to put the drummer in a little plastic house me thinks. "Don't Ask Me I'm Just The Bassplayer" UBP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingmarcel Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 While on the topic of mini disc, can anyone tell me how to transfer something recorded on my mini to my computer so that it can a) be mastered or b) be recorded to a CD? I have a bunch of recordings of the band I play in, but have not yet found a way to properly transfer the files. Thanks FM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cup Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 Sorry FlyingMarcel, I got a mate with a better computer and a lot more technical knowledge than me to get it on to the computer. After that, it turned out he didn't have the software to mix levels etc. Maybe someone else will be able to help. CupMcMali...this monkey's gone to heaven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meccajay Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 Originally posted by flyingmarcel: While on the topic of mini disc, can anyone tell me how to transfer something recorded on my mini to my computer so that it can a) be mastered or b) be recorded to a CD? I have a bunch of recordings of the band I play in, but have not yet found a way to properly transfer the files. Thanks FMOptical out into a PC sound card would be a standard option. TROLL . . . ish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groovyjazzyfunky Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 Almost no MD recorders have optical out's, mainly due to a ridiculous attempt at "copyright protection." That is probabably their biggest downfall, and why they haven't been more popular. Also, the newer portable MD recorders that have USB hookups built in to them unfortunately won't allow you to upload recordings from your MD recorder to your computer. Actually, they will, but *only* if you downloaded the recording from your computer to your MD recorder in the first place. Here's what I do. I record concerts and band practices on my portable MD recorder. I then take the MD disc and stick it into my Yamaha MD-8 8-track digital recorder, which uses MD Data discs in order to record 8 tracks, but will also accept regular MD discs for recording only 2 tracks or for playback. My MD-8 unfortunately also has only analog outs, which I wire into an Edirol UA-5 external USB soundcard that is hooked up to my laptop. I use Cakewalk Sonar for recording. I like using my MD-8 because it has EQ knobs that I can mess with before the signal ever gets to Sonar, but I've also just ran my portable MD recorder straight into my UA-5 (any decent external soundcard will do) and gotten pretty decent results. All your bass are belong to us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingmarcel Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 I just checked out my MD and I have an optical in only....so is there any other way (besides purchasing an 8 track) that would allow this? Is there an adapter for your headphone jack that allows transfer using a computer soundcard? Thanks for all the help so far FM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wewus432 Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 To record mini disc material on your computer just buy the right cable to go from the output of the mini disc to the input of your soundcard. Mine is a 1/8 in. stereo mini plug to the same on the soundcard. I bought a little cable at Radio Shack. Record into a program like Cool Edit, GoldWave, or Sonar. You have to select the right input in the Windows mixer, hit record in the software and then hit play on the mini disc. You should have some kind of metering in the software that shows you've got input. It works fine that way, analog to analog,.... digital to digital, would be nice but you can't really tell the difference. Once you get it into the computer you save as a Wav file and you can do some amazing things with digital editing, and also transfer to CD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 I have a Sharp minidisc recorder (that lets me set volume levels) and a Sony home MiniDisc deck. I use a pair of Core Sound microphones on a home-made "Henry" (like a Jecklin Disc) - basically a binaural approach. The sound is terrific and you can cut-and-paste-edit easily and with great accuracy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meccajay Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 Originally posted by GrooveMouse: Almost no MD recorders have optical out's, mainly due to a ridiculous attempt at "copyright protection." That is probabably their biggest downfall, and why they haven't been more popular. One of mine does!! It's a Kenwood home deck and it has optical & S/PDIF in & out. For the home decks the copywrite protection is called SCMS, and there are ways around it with a soundcard. Go here for all you ever need to know about MD's- http://www.minidisc.org/ Read Tips & Tricks.. TROLL . . . ish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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