Best Idea Machine

[DC]

For ages I've used a micro cassette to capture little musical bits to later turn into songs. I'd really like something a tiny bit more hi-fi sounding as sometimes I have trouble figuring out what I've done exactly. I was thinking of the little card reading 4-track deals, but I really don't need multi-track, built in drum machines etc. My main needs are: 1 A built in mic. 2 A built in speaker. 3 Good battery life. 4 Better fedility than the micro cassette deals. So, have any of you tried the little digital dictation machines or something along these lines?

[Wewus432]

Are you familiar with mini-disc? I've never seen one with a built in mic but they do make a mic that plugs directly into the input jack without a cord. There's a lot of gear and info at [url=http://minidisco.com/]MiniDisco[/url] . I've got a Sharp minidisc player/recorder that has worked flawlessly for years.

[Alndln]

I gather that you are typing this request on a computer right?I'd guess that maybe there's it has some sort of sound card or built in sound right?If so there's all kinds of software around,even free applications that would more than work for your needs.

[Wewus432]

I guess I didn't read your question very well, you said built in speaker, BUT..., minidisc would still work using headphones and the sound quality is so much better than most other portable formats, near CD quality as they say. You could actually get some useable tracks using minidisc then record the output of the minidisc into a program like Cool Edit on your computer and have access to digital editing, which is an amazing thing.

[PBBPaul]

I also have a little microcassette recorder that I keep in my car. I don't have as much windshield time as I used to but when I was spending 7 or 8 hours driving each day, it was a great little tool for getting those nagging music ideas out of my head before I forgot them. It's a heck of a lot safer than trying to write them down while driving at 80mph. Unfortunately, yes the fidelity is almost as good as my 1907 Victrola. DC, If this is the same kind of application that you have, you might want to try small, hand-held, full-size cassette recorder. Obviously the fidelity is not going to be like minidisc or anything digital but if your application is just to get the ideas down on tape so you don't forget them when you get back to your studio, they work great. Radio Shack actually used to have a really good one. It was only slightly larger than a microcassette unit. The mic was built in, but in a little housing that kept it insulated from the body of the machine (no motor noise). The downside was that to keep the portability, the speaker was so small as to be almost useless unless you're in a quiet room. The upside is that when you get home, you can just put the tape in your home system (provided you have one with cassette) without having to transfer. The recording quality on these units was surprisingly good for around $60.

[Mats Olsson.]

I also vote for a regular cassette thing. Cheap to use & good enough for the task. /Mats

[Gtoledo3]

I have one of the radio shack units, and it even came w/ varispeed. But the sound quality isn't THAT good. :p The fostex and tascam four trackers are so damn cheap nowdays. I know you said you didn't want to go that route... But, a tascam 4-track, cheap pzm, and sony walkman headphone buds, would be a pretty cheap setup, and portable. "You can't always get what you want..." A friend of mine had one of the early Korg handheld records a compressed digital file, onto a memory card, I think. It's surprisingly decent. The funny thing is, he uses the built in mic and vocal fx all the time with much better recording systems! It actually fits his voice so well, you have to really dig around to find a high fidelity combo that works as well.

[DC]

Thanks guys, I just really don't want all the dangling partaciples like a mic or headphones, BUT, it would be cool to be able to input the thing onto hard disk for easy access to ideas at a later time. What I mean is if the thing had much better line out fidelity than it's built in speaker, that would be cool. There's a little Zoom deal that is going for two bills these days. Have to deal with headphones but it's got a built in mic and effects which might be a plus. I guess I was wondering if anyone is using the digital version of what I have a mini dictaphone or whatever; the digital version of a micro cassette?

[PBBPaul]

[quote]Originally posted by GT3: [b]I have one of the radio shack units, and it even came w/ varispeed. But the sound quality isn't THAT good. :p [/b][/quote]I know which one you're talking about and you're right it's not very good. The one I'm thinkng of is smaller yet and has the mic offset from the body. I haven't looked for a couple of years so I'm not sure whether or not they still carry them.