I continue to have trouble with my portable minidisc recorders. My 3rd one just quit working. I really like to record each night's performance, and do not want to go back to tape, but I'm tired of spending $150 bucks every few six months to replace the MD.
They seem to break about a week after the warranty is up, and it costs as much to get one serviced as to buy a new one.
Just wondering if anyone has suggestions as to a light-weight digital recorder or . . .??
Thanks,
DonM

Don, why not use DAT other media?

I've used Sony DATs for years, the ES series mains machine, and the TCD-D7 recording walkman. The quality is superb, the A/D converters very transparent, highly recommended. The walkman needs the adaptor for an evenings work, though 1800mAH AA nickle metal hydrides last a good 3 hours +. The quality is much better than minidisk, the only downside is rewind time, but dat is very much faster than cassette.

Also use an external usb soundcard with laptop - very good results too, but maybe not as practical on stage.

Zoom have a good value hard disk recorder with 20 gig - MRS 1044 - you can add usb to get your files over to the pc for editing, or pay more and get cd recording built in.

Then there is the latest mini hard disk recorders - Korg, Boss, Zoom - that use smart media flash memory cards and mp3 format to save space. These have drums, dsps, effects etc built in too. Ultimate quality may not be as good, but they sure are convenient.

Just for interest's sake which make of minidisk keeps failing?

I also had trouble with my portable Sony Minidisc. The repair costs are close to the price of a new one, so I decided not to
get it fixed (it plays discs but doesn't record).

The other solution I used is a laptop, which I use at home, but it's not as pratical on stage as the minidisc.

-- José.

Thanks for the info. I will check out some of these options. I am familiar with DAT, and would prefer to go another direction.
All my MD recorders have been Sony. In their defense, they are quite small, and, although I try to be careful, some knocking around is inevitable I suppose.
DonM

Don,
Korg makes a tiny little pocket recorder called the PX4 which records onto smart media cards. You can use a 128MB card which sells for $39.00 and in stereo you can record for hours (can't remember the exact amount). This little pocket unit also has a USB port and you can transfer your data easily onto a computer as an MP2 file and then burn CD's or send your tunes. The PX4 also has great effects built in such as reverb, echo, chorus, etc. and runs on batteries or A/C. The price is $349.00 for this product. Also, it is a 4 Track recorder so that if you want more than just a stereo recording, you can record 4 discrete tracks if you need a more "studio" type recording method.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene

George, that sounds like what I need! I'll try to find one to check out.
Do you handle them?
DonM

that's the one - PXR4, boss and zoom do similar units. Just have to watch the amount of compression you use before you lose too much quality.

Zoom seems to be less expensive. I wonder if it is as good. The Korg seems to have everything I would need. USB is ideal.
Don

Recording to Smartmedia sounds quite nice; but lets not forget that using MP3 as a guideline in terms of quality and data rate stereo sound recording costs about 1 Megabyte per minute (very approximately!) although this is reducing as algorithms improve (isn't WMA format about twice as compact?)

So 128MB is two hours - can't be bad!

I've got a quite small Sharp MT 161 minidisc recorder, however I could not recommend this as the tiny screws that keep the outside metal bits attached to the body keep coming loose. I would also think it is basically too portable to cope with hard usage. Most older Sharp "MT" series recorders use a similar case (square, chunky); I think they stopped making this style over a year ago.

On the minidisc front the following address is very useful:
http://www.minidisc.org/

you have to watch the compression on these, they offer a choice of quality levels and those with the most recording time are poor. The high quality recording setting cuts down the recording time accordingly. The only disadvanatge is really that your master is permanently compressed, so making a wave or cd out of it gains nothing in quality.

But they are very convenient, and remarkable for the size. Media is obviously more expensive than minidisk, but you get mixing, dsp, effects, drums, and with usb you do a few tracks then download to the pc, so do not need much media beyond one reasonably sized flash card.

Here's something noone else has mentioned: I use my Creative Labs NOMAD Jukebox mp3 player for recording my live gigs, and it works incredibly well. It can record WAV files and has a line input so I just feed it from my stage mixer. Then I take the file into my computer and edit with Sound Forge and voila! Instant demo. I offload the WAV files and convert them to mp3's and restore them back into the Nomad for convenience. The Nomad is very useful and makes a dandy MP3 player. Have recommended this to friends who are also very pleased with theirs. Go to http://www.nomadworld.com/

This looks very interesting indeed!
Does anyone know the differences between the 6 gig and the 10 gig models, other that storage capacity?
Thanks,
DonM

Nomad Jukebox looks very interesting. Does it find files files fast like a CD?
Eddie

There's an interactive demo on the website. It organizes and finds file at least as fast as CD.
Don

I've read that the recording quality is not as good as the playback in one of the reviews, and wonder how you monitor levels to avoid clipping when recording analogue? the specs are not at all clear on this. I was interested in getting one of these but need more info on the recording quality first.

I don't know how my Nomad Jukebox handles input levels but it must be an auto-leveling scheme... I can only tell you that it works very well and I have been highly impressed with the results. I didn't actually buy this to be anything more than an MP3 player, but I can testify that it makes a darn good portable recorder. I have used in in my home studio in place of a DAT machine for quick recordings, and again it worked great. The only thing is that the Nomad can only record about five minutes at a time before dumping it's RAM to the HD, but it does so seemlessly and then I use Sound Forge to restitch and edit the tracks. This isn't the end-all portable digital recorder but considering that it's a great MP3 player first and foremost, the record feature is just a great bonus.

As to the hard drive size, I have a reliable friend who swears there is just a notebook HD in these things and that he replaced his himself. I haven't needed to do this but I believe him.

BTW: Tascam has come out with a cool little pocket four track recorder/MP3 player with a built-in MIDI sound module called the Pocketstudio 5. Lists for $599. This may interest some of you:
http://www.tascam.com/products/pocketstudio/pocketstudio5/index.php

Thanks Esh,
I assume that as long as the song is less than five minutes long, everything would be fine and that the unit would automatically end the track and start another when the recording stops.
The web site says that it is a standard notebook-size hd, but that the software is configured so that a larger capacity hd can't be fitted.
DonM

thanks,
I think I'll wait, I don't like auto recording systems. Maybe the next model they will make the volume control an input level control and give a level bargraph on the display when recording? As you say it's more of a bonus feature than a proper recording solution.

If I'm reading correctly, you can set the record levels manually, at least on the latest model.
Don

If that's so I'm interested but I don't see where they say that...

I think there is one at Best Buy here locally. I plan to go check it out.
DonM

There is a new Roland mini-digital recorder that has a midi sound module built in. I guess it's the successor to the PMA5. Looks small enough, uses smart media, makes MP3's, plays sequences .... sounds like a winner.

UD,

what is the model number of the Roland you are describing?

I purchased a Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox from Outpost.com. It is a refurbished model. It cost $129., but they have since raised the price to $149.
Eddie got one also.
I really like this unit. It records in WAV format, has a 6-gig HD, and in the best quality mode will do 9 hours or so, even with quite a few MP3s loaded on board to play during breaks.
It does not have auto-record. You can boost the input level. I've had best results leaving it at zero.
The newest model (Jukebox 3) will record in your choice of MP3 or WAV, but it is several times as expensive.
I've already found that you can install a larger hard drive if needed. You can also download the newest operating systems. It came with a CD that includes a program that transfers files via USB to and from the unit. The program allows you to edit song information, encode to MP3 or WMP format. Pretty neat.
Today I bought a car power adapter at Best Buy for $19.95. It is made by Jenson and actually has a picture of the Jukebox on the package. It is much less expensive than the one Creative Labs sells, and it seems to work fine.
I also found a great website with lots of information, downloads, discussions, etc., if anyone is interested. It is called "Nomadness": http://www.nomadness.net/download.php?op=viewsdownload&sid=1&min=10&orderby=titleA&show=10
DonM

Whoooops ! It's not a Roland it's a TASCAM !
It's the Pocketstudio 5. List price - $599.
Looks cool, but from what I hear ... it's not in the stores yet.