Concert recording: How well does the DS-30 work for recording live music?
1532751
It's fine for me, good enough to record little demos on. But if you're looking for something that records studio-quality, you'll need to pony up for an LS-10, which records at 24/96 linear PCM. The sensitivity on the DS-30 is only adjustable in 3 settings, though, so if you're thinking about recording rock concerts, it'll probably still clip at the lowest sensitivity.
1357464
@ +12db you will hear some noise, but for live work it's acceptable&gt; I would not use it for studio post production mix downs. Hope this was helpful.
843561
Hi Fred, the DP-24 is not easy to use unless you have experience using different digital recorders and/or software. I have used quite a few different devices and software, and still occasionally I need to refer back to the manual when using my DP-24. It gives great quality recordings if you are willing to invest the time learning how to use it. If you're looking for something simple, I would recommend starting with one of their smaller portastudios (see http://tascam.com/applications/musician/mtr_digital_portastudio/). A lot depends on how many channels you want to record at a time. If it's just you, and you want to record 1 or 2 channels at a time, go with one of their smaller devices, it will be simpler, and you will probably find no difference in sound quality and you will save hundreds of dollars.
1051671
Yes, the Zoom Q2HD is very good for recording live performances. I frequently use it to record my band, it has an auto-gain feature that's very convenient for regulating the input volume to avoid distortion. As most reviews state, the video is not great but not bad, and if you need good audio and can live with so-so video then this is the best option. It has different light and audio settings depending on the environment you're recording in and it's pretty flexible. Spend the extra money for the AC adapter though, because it destroys AA batteries...you'll only get about 30 minutes of recording time out of 2 new batteries. Also the tripod that comes with the AC adapter is only about 6 inches high, good for setting on a table but you'll need to get some kind of other stand if you want it 3 feet off the ground (I use a music stand). My biggest gripe besides the way it kills batteries would be the fact that the buttons are pretty small and when you're on the menu screen it's easy to accidently select the wrong function. The AC adapter/triopod package includes an HDMI and a USB adapter, so you can connect the HDMI adapter to an HD tv's input and play videos straight from the recorder to the TV. To save your files you FIRST have to use the menu to select the 'USB' option, THEN you connect the USB adapter to the Q2HD and to a computer. This is actually another gripe that I have with the design, because even though the Q2 AC adapter uses a USB connection to power it, it doesn't seem to use phantom power from the computer, so you need to have batteries in it prior to using the menu to select the 'USB' option. Bottom line, the main reason to get this would be for the outstanding audio recording. If you don't really care about getting good quality audio there are probably better video cameras available for the price.
202951
From my experience with any kind of Mic, trying to record clear sound at a concert is damn near impossible. I've occasionally used the Mic to record movies played in class that were louder than the lecture overall and it still came out Crystal clear. I'm not sure of the quality with concert music though. Definitely use that black puffy protector that the product comes in. It'll filter out some of the noise. Sorry that I'm not much help.
2131564
I haven't used the recorder for anything other than for meetings. The quality is good for that but I'm not sure about a loud event. Sorry!
390037
I haven't tried recording music, so I don't know. May try later, when it's not late. I only got it to create audio books of rare books and periodicals I have access to at a college library.FOLLOW UP: I put the unit up to my home stereo speakers. They were not at a deafening volume, but loud enough you wouldn't want to be sleeping in a room nearby. No distortions. I held the recorder right up against the speakers. It captured pretty good tone differences too, depending on which tweeters/cones I held it to.
1716210
Simple Answer-NO Hope this helps! It is a very nice recorder. I have lots of music on my via micro-card.
1300133
It should. But keep in mind, this is a discontinued product, whose drivers haven't been updated in ages. I switched to a presonus VSL22, and found its drivers work a lot better (lower latency) and the recording quality is no worse. It costs a little more, but keep in mind... unlike Amazon, a lot of music gear distributors often have sales.
279703
Thanks for the reply. I'm not looking for studio quality, but just good enough to re-enjoy concerts. I've been using a Sony MD recorder, which is remarkable as long as I keep the volume under control. I'd also use it for acoustic group demo/critical listening, so it'll probably do OK for that. If all else fails in the concert area, I can keep using the minidiscs.Thanks again,Jim
1197115
For recording live music, I have used an external Zoom recorder which then fed the audio input of the GH3. Because the Zoom's levels were already hot, I had to turn down the sensitivity of the GH3 audio ins and also cut the output of the Zoom otherwise a nasty limiter effect from the GH3 would engage. With the GH3, be careful not to record too hot even with the on-board mics which are just OK. I also used a Stereo Video Mic Pro from Rode but did not use the +20 db setting as it would have been too hot. Bottom line, GH3 has plenty of it's own preamp gain so if using external mics, be careful of overloading your levels and turn down the GH3's sensitivity. For recording live music, I have used an external Zoom recorder which then fed the audio input of the GH3. Because the Zoom's levels were already hot, I had to turn down the sensitivity of the GH3 audio ins and also cut the output of the Zoom otherwise a nasty limiter effect from the GH3 would engage. With the GH3, be careful not to record too hot even with the on-board mics which are just OK. I also used a Stereo Video Mic Pro from Rode but did not use the +20 db setting as it would have been too hot. Bottom line, GH3 has plenty of it's own preamp gain so if using external mics, be careful... » Read More For recording live music, I have used an external Zoom recorder which then fed the audio input of the GH3. Because the Zoom's levels were already hot, I had to turn down the sensitivity of the GH3 audio ins and also cut the output of the Zoom otherwise a nasty limiter effect from the GH3 would engage. With the GH3, be careful not to record too hot even with the on-board mics which are just OK. I also used a Stereo Video Mic Pro from Rode but did not use the +20 db setting as it would have been too hot. Bottom line, GH3 has plenty of it's own preamp gain so if using external mics, be careful of overloading your levels and turn down the GH3's sensitivity. « Show Less
932638
I bought the DS70P specified here for the $4.00 and have had pretty good luck with it. I record mostly live music and it could be better, so I am breaking down and buying the Zoom H4n to see how that works. I'll post with results.Here is live music with the DS70P and Zi8:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPxewHTtCA4Here is live music with Zi8 and H4n:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X54B-B58DRo
1579293
I use it to record music classes. It is outstanding. Parameters need to be turned on so sound isn't too faint nor too saturated. Outside lectures can be difficult for any device but this will do it about as well as anything. Upon getting this I would suggest recording a TV show in your home, radio blasting from your stereo and talking. Learn how to optimize the recorder for various environments and it will pay off on your trip with flawless recordings. If that sounds too complex then get TASCAM DR-40 which can be set to record everything twice. One is called a "safety track" at a lower level so you're sure to have something. Buy a bunch of SD cards and an external hard drive to back up your work.
1111001
You'd be better off with a HDR-SR7. The HDR-SR1 is an older model, 30G capcity hard drived-based camcorder that's being phased out. Pity, I own one and really appreciate not having to screw around with tapes. I'm using it record music concerts and contra dances (figure high school gym class coming back to haunt you or close order drill set to music). The AVCHD codec currently in place is still in need of development. The playback quality of the High Def, hard drive-based models by Sony is excellent but the MiniDV tape-based HC7 is better. Since I'm using my cameras to record concerts and contra dances, which don't follow an exact 60 minute schedule, I've decided to trade off the best possible recording quality for extended recording time, both of which the SR1 does very well. The HDR-SR7 is also a hard drive-based model, but with double the capacity at 60G. In high quality, High Def mode, you'll get almost eight hours of record time before the hard drive is filled. Go to: http://www.youtube.com/CharleyHorseNC Look over the 2007-10-20 record dates. Wide angle shots of the contra dancers were done with a HDR-SR1; close-ups of the musicians were done with a HDR-HC7. This contra dance was done under flouresent lighting and both cameras were manually adjusted for white balance and exposure. The colors and lighting seemed to match pretty well. http://www.youtube.com/FourShillingsShort Wide angle shots were done with the SR1 and pans, zooms and close-ups were done with the HC7. This concert was recorded under apalling lighting conditions. Too little light for manual white balance and exposure was set to maximum along with gain at 18dB. Lots of noise, although you really don't see it that well on Youtube. Hope this helps.
18493
It depends on a few different factors. I use it to record classical music at about 50 yards in a concert hall. I don't even have the 10 dec. boost turned on.
168729
I'm no audiophile, so I can't vouch for the quality of the audio, but it sounds quite good to me. And yes, if you have headphones hooked in, you can listen to the audio as it is being captured. Just to let you know, I own the DS-40, but I think the only difference between that model and this one is the memory.
802807
So far so good! I've owned my Tascam DP-24 for almost a year now and have absolutely no complaints. I have used nearly all of the features on the unit and have adapted now to using the unit for recording live and studio gigs then switch to a DAW type setup on my PC for final editing, mixing and publishing. This is a great unit and you can't beat the price for 8 simultaneous inputs. I play in our band so I am able to run the unit while participating. In the end I have one large set of tracks for the entire set then separate them on the computer into songs. Works well. Hope this helps!