What's New, Pussycat?

Here's a quick rundown on some of the physical changes in the new models. Both M-Audio and Edirol continue to upgrade their products via free firmware updates. Visit their sites (M-Audio; Edirol/Roland) to make sure you have the latest.

MicroTrack II vs. MicroTrack

• New color: Black
• 48V phantom power
• Analog limiter
• Improved battery with longer life and faster charging
• Selectable One Touch or Record Ready/Record operation
• Extended input range
• Records files larger than 2GB
• USB 2.0 Hi-Speed transfer
• Monitor S/PDIF input via headphones while recording
• Add markers while recording

Edirol replaced the rickety battery door on the original R-09 with a sturdier hatch.

Read the whole review here

furtivity was thrilled to share a small table this afternoon with one of the world's finest deep house producers, none other than charles webster.

Appearing at sydney's apple store on george street, webster presented an intimate session to around 20-30 budding producer types using the new logic 8 studio, his macbook and an edirol usb keyboard.

Webster impressively built a smooth deep worker in around 30 minutes. He began with some hats and a kickdrum, worked in some iLoop samples which he fucked with, and then laid down a sweet deep pad. He even demonstrated how you could use the macbook's internal microphone to record a handclap and then place it into the track.

The 30 or so folks in attendance asked questions throughout, and webster was only too happy to share his knowledge and expertise. He also gave up some great tips, like saving MIDI files as audio and then re-importing them into the track, because you can do more with audio files in terms of cutting, splicing and looping them in the track. Duly noted.

He also showed off the impressive automation capabilities in Logic 8 - as ableton users we were suitably impressed, and did have a closer look at logic on the way out of the store. Guess that's apple's point in running these types of workshops.

If you missed out on this, then you do have a second chance - webster is doing a q&a at the production night cd-r, which happens on thursday at herrmanns. We strongly recommend attending if you have any desire to learn from one of the world's best electronic producers.

In the meantime, we have a burning desire to put on some old webster (peacefrog-era?) and get producin'. Gotta love that.

The three poems Henry Stead performed at the launch night for London Poetry Systems.

In order, they are:

- The Love of Phlebas

- A Visionary's Visionary Vision

- An Ancient Process

Thanks to Kaara for her design work on Phlebas. All three visual scores were outputted through an Edirol V4 mixer, performed with motion dive .tokyo, and pre-produced in Adobe Premier and Adobe After Effects.

You can watch all of the poets on our Vimeo group site.

The table could be unreadable. So here you can download the pdf.

Recorder	Price*	Pros	Cons	Bonus Coolness Factor
Edirol R-09	$450 Get current price on Amazon	Easy to use Good onboard mics Good menu & interface	Windscreen not included Tripod adaptor is optional	Optional case & tripod are terrific
Korg MR-1	$899.99 Get current price on Amazon	Outstanding audio quality 40 gig hard drive Rugged metal housing with leather case Universal power supply	No hardware rec level control Internal battery Hard to set recording levels	1-bit audio is a huge improvement over PCM
M-Audio Microtrack 24/96	$499 Get current price on Amazon	Easy to use Audio quality 1/4" TRS mic inputs with phantom power	Internal battery Potential damage from phantom power & TRS jacks	Smallest recorder with 1/4” inputs and phantom power
Marantz PMD620	$499 Get current price on Amazon	One-touch recording Mics well shielded from wind Sharp OLED display	Awkward menu interface Flimsy covers for USB port & SD card slot	Mono recording useful for broadcasters
Olympus LS-10	$399 Get current price on Amazon	Size Easy to use Audio quality 2 gig internal memory + SD card slot	Zoom mic effects color sound AC power supply not included	Outstanding battery life and great audio in a tiny package
Sony PCM-D50	$599.95 Get current price on Amazon	Rugged and ergonomic Very high audio quality 4 gig internal memory + removable memory	Heavier than the competition Cannot record MP3s Optional windscreen is expensive	Outstanding limiter means worry-free live recording
Zoom H2	$199 Get current price on Amazon	Front & rear stereo mics Inexpensive Doubles as USB audio interface	Feels flimsy Not exactly stellar audio	Records 4-channel “surround”
Zoom H4	$494.94 Get current price on Amazon	3 devices in 1: recorder, 4-track recorder & audio interface 1/4” & XLR combo-connectors with phantom power	Tiny display Confusing interface It’s big, Jim	It’s a portable USB audio interface with effects

Download Info

• http://rapidshare.com/files/117478063/Edirol.HQ.Orchestral.VSTi.v1.03.TALiO.rar

password: komplex

www.magesy.com

Reviews and others

The Edirol is a popular machine and Roland introduced an update to the R-09 in april '08 called the R-09HR. I bought this recorder (R-09) a year ago and have used it quite frequently to record classes, bhajans and kirtans (Listen to a class i recorded). I will not write a full review of this recorder as i belief there are already many good reviews available. I will point them instead so you can read them if you like. My conclusions are also acknowledged in these reviews.

Great review on the Edirol R-09 at oreilly.com

The Edirol R-09 is a handy field recorder with some surprisingly sophisticated file-maintenance features. It is profoundly easy to use (once you suss out the buttons), it records to inexpensive media, and the onboard mics do a decent job. Battery life is outstanding. It looks cool, too … It’s not for everyone. Professionals will want higher sample rates, enhanced metering, and more robust mics. But they’ll have to pay a lot more

thorough review and info at f7sound.com 

It’s tiny (smaller than a microcassette - see below) and records 24 bit digital audio with a sound quality that surprised me in a good way. It’s light even with batteries and should easily fit in a shirt or pants pocket. The only gripe I have so far, and it’s been mentioned on the net via group lists and the like, is the battery cover. The cover, located at the bottom of the device is very hard to deal with and seems like it’s going to break long before anything on the rest of the unit.

Review at Gizmodo

Still, if you’re willing to spend in the neighborhood of four hundred bucks, you can make NPR-quality recordings for podcasts or radio shows, or quality concert bootlegs. Not bad for a gadget that fits in a shirt pocket.

In-depth review of the Edirol R09
More reviews and info about the R-09 at createdigitalmusic.com

My comments

First, recording with the machine is simply. Just put it near the speaker/singer and start recording. I really like the simple controls on this recorder. A big button to record that starts recording with 2 clicks. (The first click will start the recording preview, also very handy).
The two internal mic's will pick up even faint sounds like the questions at the end of a class. When recording bhajans it will record also the singing public. (Listen to a bhajan i recorded)

Secondly this machine works with regular AA batteries. I am a fan of that because if you do run out of power, you can buy them everywhere. And your precious investment will not become useless once the integrated battery is dead.

Next is the support for SD/SDHC memory cards. With the latest software inside (v1.30) this machine will support SD or SDHC cards upto 8 GB. I have tested a 4 GB SD card and it works flawlessly. The battery / Memory card / USB compartment is really really flimsy. As noted by other reviewers Roland really made a serious design flaw with this. Luckily they solved this with the new model R-09HR. The battery compartment has been moved to the back and USB access is easier.

With a memory card of 2GB (small these days) you can record 2h in 24 bit/44KHz WAV. That is the highest quality for the R-09 model. The R-09HR will even record in 96KHz. Ouch, where are the bigger memory cards.....????

Strong and Weak Points (R-09HR)

Strong
* Uses 2 AA batteries (in new compartment)
* Records MP3 (320 kbps) and WAV (24bit, 96.1kHz), (44.1kHz  R-09)
* Good battery life (using NimH batteries)
* 2 Internal microphones (electret)
* Easy controls
* Uses SDHC cards
* Mounts as a standard harddrive when plugged in USB

Weak
* Flimsy battery comparment (in older model R-09)
* Protective bag is optional
* No screw for mounting on tripod (comes extra with protective cover)
* Batteries cannot be charged from USB

Conclusion

I highly recommend the Edirol recorder. It is expensive compared to the Zoom H2 but the use of SDHC speaks in its favor. But if you are low on cash the Zoom H2 is a worthy contender for $180. The recording quality is sufficient with the internal mics although some noise is there. You can always plug in an external (electret) microphone. My Sony mic does a nice job.

Now that Roland updated to the R-09HR model, personally i would not consider to buy other brands unless a better recorder will emerge.

Competitors

Direct competitors for the Edirol R-09 are the Zoom H4 and H2 , the M-Audio Microtrack I/II and the Marantz PMD620. The price of the R-09/HR is quite high compared to the Zoom for example, but makes up in ease of use. The Microtrack II is also a nice option, but uses a integrated NiMh battery which is not replaceable.

References, guides and websites

* Some bhajan that i recorded with the Edirol

* Edirol R-09 product page
* Edirol R-09HR product page
* Edirol Firmware v1.30 (up to 8GB SDHC cards)

* Edirol R-09HR at Amazon

The UA-1X is not new, but still a nice device. Works normally like a charm, but I have an issue that I was not yet able to resolve. But maybe someone else can.

Here we go:

I have two laptops on which I want to use the Edirol. On my quite old and trusty Compaq Armada M700 the Edirol works as intented with XP SP3. But on my - not so old, but not fresh anymore - HP Compaq nc4000 the Edirol installs itself only as an input device. No possibility to route sound to the output ports. Tried a lot, including installation of ASIO4ALL and XP SP3, but no success.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Improvements over the R-09 Model

• !! Built in Speaker
• New Oled screen
• Decent battery compartment (normal AA)
• New SD memory card slot
• Sample Freq improved to 96 Khz, 24 bit
• Remote control (optional)

Links:

1. Edirol Product page
2. Roland Product Page

Eidrol have now released a new version the R-09HR.

From Engadget:

Edirol released its high-end R-09 portable recorder back in 2006, and now they're taking things up a notch with the R-09HR, which can handle 96KHz recordings (up from 48KHz) and supports SDHC up to 8GB instead of the 4GB max of the old model. The recorder also includes a monitor speaker, remote control and playback speed control -- a big win for fans of Alvin and the Chipmunks or for those who need to transcribe interviews, two camps which we conveniently find ourselves in.

It will cost £249.

On Opening Day of the 2004 season, AT&T Park became the first professional sports venue to provide continuous universal wireless access to fans in all concourses and seating areas. Working in conjunction with AT&T, the Giants have installed 123 802.11b/g WiFi access points, creating one of the largest public wireless hotspots in the world. Fans who bring their PDA, tablet PC, laptop, PSP^TM(PlayStation®Portable) or other WiFi-enabled device to the ballpark will gain free access to the Internet and the Giants Digital Dugout.

Maybe. Who wants to bring a laptop to a ballgame?  Or do something like Heavy Metal Parking Lot.  No, not that.  Take one of these and record the sounds from the bleacher bums and live blog it.  Yeah, that.

Edirol R-09HR Personal Recorder

Die 24 bit Auflösung bei 96 kHz sorgt für sehr erfreuliche Klangeigenschaften. Dazu trägt übrigens auch der Adaptive Recording Circuit (I.A.R.C.) und das eingebaute hochempflindliche Stereo-Kondensator-Mikrofon bei.

Hier gibt es den Edirol R-09HR mit Fernbedienung beim Musikhaus Korn.

• Edirol M-16DX System Update Version 2.0
• Roland VG-99 System Update Version 1.04
• R-09 System Update Version 1.30
• Juno-G System Update Version 1.06
• Fantom-X6, X7, X8 Version 2.10

Hier geht´s zu den neuen Supports von Roland

Weiter erhält der M-16DX einen erweiterten Szenenspeicher. Wurden vorher 8 Speicherplätze bereitgestellt, kann man nun auf 16 Speicherplätzen seine gesamten Einstellungen speichern. Aufgrund der großen Nachfrage sind diese Einstellungen nun auch nach Szenenaufruf editierbar!

Das Systemupdate wird vorerst nicht Werkseitig auf dem M-16DX installiert sein. Daher muss das Firmware-Update manuell aufgespielt werden. Der technische Support von Edirol ist bereits geschult und kann daher umfangreiche Unterstützung bei der Installation gewährleisten. Die Software steht sofort zum kostenlosen Download bereit.

Interesse am Edirol M-16DX? Das heisse Teil kann man HIER käuflich erwerben.

Haha, und was lese ich dann zufällig als Bezugsquelle für manche dieser Dinger - direkt um die Ecke vom Konservatorium - das ist ein Hammer. Und was lese ich noch - ein kleines Review über den Zoom H4, in dem ich, wie so oft bei diesem Thema, vieles nicht verstand, aber das dem Zoom durchaus wieder Chancen einräumt. Und als Draufgabe noch was über weite Strecken Positives.

Wird wohl noch einiges Wasser die Mur runter rinnen und ich werde noch einiges darüber lesen, bis ich ein Gerät habe, aber über den Sommer werde ich wahrscheinlich keines benötigen :) .

Nachtrag: kleine Erweiterung meiner Kategorienliste :mrgreen: