EmptinesOf Youth Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 k, im thinkin of askin one of these for christmas, they both cost the same, the pocketstudio 5 records onto compact flash card, the pandora records onto smartmedia cards, both 4 track, and thats about all i know for now....anyone have any of these or do you have a suggestion for which one?... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 Go with the Tascam, it's a lot more of a pro piece of equipment. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimK Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 I've heard the TASCAM records in mp3 format, which is not good if true. Zoom has a PS-04. The nice feature of this unit is it has dedicated drum and bass tracks (which are really just "drum machines" in the unit). The advantage is you can get some simple drum and bass lines without taking up any of the 4 tracks. In an effort to improve the responsiveness of e-mail for everyone, the e-mail servers will be out of service. We are hopeful that this change will improve the performance of e-mail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmptinesOf Youth Posted December 8, 2003 Author Share Posted December 8, 2003 yea it records in mp3, why is that bad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 I stand corrected! Originally posted by JimK: From the TASCAM web site's FAQ: Q:What Format are PS5 Tracks Recorded In? A: Individual tracks are recorded in 16 bit, 44.1 kHz, 64 kbps modified mp3 files. These are proprietary files that can not be individually loaded into a DAW.Thanks, JimK! Sorry for the hastey misinformation... Here\'s Tascam's PS5 product info page. http://www.tascam.com/images/P5ad72.jpg Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmptinesOf Youth Posted December 9, 2003 Author Share Posted December 9, 2003 in fear of getting forgotten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimK Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 Originally posted by EmptinessOFYouth: yea it records in mp3, why is that bad?From the TASCAM web site's FAQ: Q:What Format are PS5 Tracks Recorded In? A: Individual tracks are recorded in 16 bit, 44.1 kHz, 64 kbps modified mp3 files. These are proprietary files that can not be individually loaded into a DAW. > All of these portable units that record to flash or Smart Media cards have to deal with the same problem: maximize the limited amount of space on the storage device. Many manufacturers have taken the approach of reducing the sample rate (32 kHz is common). TASCAM's approach is to use the mp3 format. mp3 is a format in which data is lost and can not be recovered. If you just want to use the unit to record some stuff that you plan on converting to mp3 only, then it's probably not a problem. But, if you plan on using this as a portable device with the hopes of transfering great tracks to a DAW, you'll find the mp3 format compromises the sound quality. But like I said, everyone of these units compromises the sound quality in some way. I agree with the earlier post, TASCAM makes good stuff (I have an old TASCAM Porta03 4 track recorder that I've been using for 11 years). Jim In an effort to improve the responsiveness of e-mail for everyone, the e-mail servers will be out of service. We are hopeful that this change will improve the performance of e-mail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 I stand corrected! Originally posted by JimK: From the TASCAM web site's FAQ: Q:What Format are PS5 Tracks Recorded In? A: Individual tracks are recorded in 16 bit, 44.1 kHz, 64 kbps modified mp3 files. These are proprietary files that can not be individually loaded into a DAW.Thanks, JimK! Sorry for the hastey misinformation... (Here's a link to Tascam's PS5 product info page.) Sooo... JimK, what do you think of the Pandora PXR4, or any other similar units that you know of? Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimK Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 Caevan, Unfortunately, picking one of these things is a pain. Can't someone just make a perfect-do-anything-and-everything piece of gear? And sell it for $50 There's a few things I like about the Korg unit: 1. It has virtual tracks, so you can do multiple takes of things and pick the one you like the best. 2. If you need it, it has amp and cabinet modeling built in. The downside to the Korg is it only comes with 16 meg of storage, which should be criminal IMHO with these devices. The TASCAM doesn't have amp modeling or virtual tracks (that I could find, didn't care for the manual either). But, it does have MIDI. So, if you have a use for MIDI, that seems to be the way to go. The Zoom unit I mentioned in an earlier post doesn't have too many bells and whistles, which is why the price is about $100 lower then the Korg and TASCAM units. What I want is someone to make a digital 4 track unit that records 16 bit, 44 kHz to smart media. Forget the bells and whistles, I've got a mult-effects unit for that stuff. Just bare-bones (although a USB port would be nice) and cheap! The built-in effects on a lot of these little units can be cheesey. I just want something to capture that insiprational momemnt. I'll move the tracks over to Cakewalk for the real work. Just my $.02 Jim In an effort to improve the responsiveness of e-mail for everyone, the e-mail servers will be out of service. We are hopeful that this change will improve the performance of e-mail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmptinesOf Youth Posted December 10, 2003 Author Share Posted December 10, 2003 so do you know anyone who carries the zoom unit, i couldnt find it on musicians friend, i probably wouldnt order from them, but jsut to get some info and stuff. soundwise, which of the three would be the best, im fine for effects so yea, all the bells and whistles are a waste, and i really dont have much need for midi, just wanna record some songs i made up and stuff. The 16meg smart media isnt that big of deal for me, if you think thats a downside, i can always buy more or transfer to my computer....thanks all for the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimK Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 Musician's Friend doesn't carry Zoom stuff. Zzounds does, but doesn't have the new unit (I guess it's really new ). They do have this one: Zoom MRS4 This one is $220 (free shipping). It's a basic digital 4 track, with some effects. It records 16 bit, 32 Khz to smart media (comes with 32 meg card). There's some decent reviews on it at Harmony-Central This unit doesn't have the built in drum or bass stuff, but it does have a MIDI out that can be used to control a drum machine. (I have the Zoom MRT3 drum machine that was designed to go with it and like it.) This is the cheapest digital unit I know of (other then the Zoom PS-04 which we can't find on-line yet). Ok, I spoke to soon. music123.com has the PS-04 here If you try one of these out, post back and let us know how it is. Jim In an effort to improve the responsiveness of e-mail for everyone, the e-mail servers will be out of service. We are hopeful that this change will improve the performance of e-mail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmptinesOf Youth Posted December 10, 2003 Author Share Posted December 10, 2003 how come the ps04 is cheaper it seems better? also, out of the two has the best sound quality. Which would you go with and why? Finally, with virtual tracks...is this how they work?....you record a track, then save it to a virtual track. This virtual track can then not be edited or anything. im a bit confused about this... thanks for all the help tho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimK Posted December 11, 2003 Share Posted December 11, 2003 As far as sound quality goes, the MRS4 and PS04 are probably the same. They both record 16bit, 32kHz. Recording digital audio is not rocket science: just convert the analog input to digital (done with a 3rd party chip, I'm sure), sample it, and record it. It's the mixing and effects algorithms that get tricky (and expensive). From what I've read about the MRS4, it does a good job of recording what you put into it. The sound quality is good and noise is not a problem. If I was picking....well, my needs may not be the same as yours. Why do you want one? If you're hoping to do some recording "on the road" (college dorm, or travel for business a lot), then the PS04 is a nice option because it's got a lot of stuff built in. You won't need to drag along a drum machine with you and you can even put together some simple bass lines. You're not going to record the next hit with it, but you can work out a lot of ideas. If you've got a bass and a drum machine (or plan on getting one), then the MRS4 might be a better option. It looks like it has more effects then the PS04. It also has two 1/4 inch inputs. I'm not sure about the PS04. A note about the effects: neither unit is going to have the best effects (read some of the reviews on harmony-central). But, I've heard that the EQ on the MRS4 is decent. I'm not sure what the PS04 has for EQ, so that could be something to sway your decision. I think the MRS4 has more effects overall, which is probably one of the reasons for the slight price difference. As for virtual tracks, the idea is you can record mutiple takes and then choose one to be the "up front" take (the one you can hear). I'm not sure if you can cut and paste from one virtual track to another. That would be great if you could. The manuals for both units are on the ZOOM web site , so take a look. I can't stress this enought: read the manuals. Another resource is yahoo.groups. I know there's a MSR4 group there. Take a peak and see what people are saying. You can also check out the forums at homerecording.com . Let me know how it goes. In an effort to improve the responsiveness of e-mail for everyone, the e-mail servers will be out of service. We are hopeful that this change will improve the performance of e-mail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmptinesOf Youth Posted December 11, 2003 Author Share Posted December 11, 2003 i dont have a drum, machine really, so i think the ps04 would be the better option. Im not really gonna be on the road with it, just in my room probably. it looks like the unit is about 100 dollars cheaper than the Tascam and korg one too, which is a good thing. Thanks for the help, if you have anything else to add, feel free to do so... thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimK Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 I guess I have one last thought.... We've been talking about these portable units. Have you given any thought to going with a computer based solution? There's some great software available cheap. Cakewalk GT2 is $50. If you can get Pro Tools FREE running, well hell, it's free! GT2 will give you 8 tracks of audio, some plug-ins (EQ, delay, reverb, chorus), and it even comes with some drum loops and individual drum hits (the loops aren't ACIDized, but you can use the individual hits to create your own loops at whatever tempo you need). I use GT Pro and am very happy with it. If you don't have a computer that you have easy and frequent access to, then this isn't a great solution. Last thing you want to be doing is trying to record in the living room while the rest of the family is watching tv. In an effort to improve the responsiveness of e-mail for everyone, the e-mail servers will be out of service. We are hopeful that this change will improve the performance of e-mail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmptinesOf Youth Posted December 12, 2003 Author Share Posted December 12, 2003 well i got a laptop tho im not sure how well itll run that. where exactly do i plug into at, cause i dont have a cool sound card or anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimK Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 GT2 will run on a laptop. Does your laptop have a sound card? It probably has one integrated on the mother board. It's worth trying. You can download an eval version of GT2 here . The web site says GT2 works on Windows 95/98, but I think people have been running it on newer versions too. The eval is a 30 day trial. The only thing it doesn't include is the drum samples. There some info on cakewalk's site about configuring laptops here . If you try this and need help with the actual recording, let me know. Jim In an effort to improve the responsiveness of e-mail for everyone, the e-mail servers will be out of service. We are hopeful that this change will improve the performance of e-mail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.