Looking for a budget Fieldrecorder

Hi Elektronauts
I am looking for a small budget Fieldrecorder with built in mics. I want to record sound at my work in a joinery. Wood und handsaw aso.
If it fits in my pocket i can carry it all the time with me.
I have got three Devices in my list to compare:
Tascam Dr 05 v2 for 85€
Tascam Dr 40 v2 for 170€
Zoom H4n pro for 220€ with Dead Cat.
One Problem is i want not spend too much money for it. So i would buy the Tascam Dr 05 BUT i dont know if its crap.
I have seen Dave Mechs youtube videos of making music on his digitakt by using sampled utrecht with the Tascam dr 05. And it seems to be good enough for that.
Whats your opinion and your experience with the three recorders above?

Thanks a lot.

Milan

Zoom H1 is also worth checking out, it’s around the size and shape of a chocolate bar, definitely pocket friendly.

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Milane,

All three are good devices. General consensus is that there is little difference between the Tascam Dr40 and the Zoom H4N Pro in terms of sound quality, although there’s this video/audio guy that did a comparison where the Zoom came out as the better device sound-wise (less noise, less hiss, higher resolution…this was for field recordings & preamps!).

I think you can’t bypass the preamp on the Tascam Dr-5, which means your line signal goes through that additional stage before hitting the converters (often considered not great ‘cause signal might get coloured and get hotter). This may be a factor to consider as you plan to record your Elektron gear, correct? As far as I know you CAN bypass the preamps on both the Tascam DR40 and the Zoom.

Portability is a factor also, the DR40 and the H4N Pro are bigger devices. I recently bought a recorder for one of our artist (a DJ who needed one to record his live sets) and we went for the Tascam DR40 because it was there and good enough. We decided against the DR5 because of the preamp thing and I would have preferred the Zoom (just a tad bit nicer to my mind), but they didn’t have it in stock and the extra “features” on the Zoom weren’t really needed in our case.

Btw, to my understanding the Zoom should cost about the same now as the DR40 on Thomann. 220€ seems a bit steep for it?

Best
H

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I am looking into the same topic @milan1 , and for pretty much the same reason (actual field recording / sampling of environmental sounds), rather than recording “DJ Sets”…

I have heard that the mics in the Tascam Dr-05 are supposedly even better than the Zoom H4s… apparently, some people say that Zoom mics aren´t all that great in general.

So in theory, you´d have to decide between sound and “features” (like big jacks on Zoom vs. supposedly better mics on the Tascams)

So far, in my own research, the Tascam Dr-05 is indeed winning, purely based on price and form factor.

as long as it doesn´t weigh much, is as small as possible but still records what I want it to record in acceptable quality… I guess that would be enough for me.

being able to record line in… well in my case, that´s not a factor, but with the right cable the Dr05 might still be able to do that.

Not sure about what @hausland wrote RE:bypassing preamps, but I have a suspicion he might be right.

Might not be a problem after all though, because usually with the gain at 0, there should be little “preamping” going on and probably no noticeable coloration…

I think I might actually end up ordering both from Thomann and returning one after the “trial period” they offer…

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Somehow skipped over the bit re environmental sounds lol. In that case, and if you’ve never owned a field recorder before, the DR5 is a great start and portable :slight_smile: Zoom H1 and H2N are also nice.

Just get one that suits your budget and take it from there, it won’t be the last purchase you make guaranteed :slight_smile:

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I hate how right you are about the whole “it won´t be your last purchase” thing haha :smiley:

The Zoom H1 appears a bit more lobudget than the Tascam Dr 05. I dont like the size of the H2N. I looks like a razor to me.
I read that Battery Power is a problem of the H4N Pro and to use it with a powerbank over usb isnt possible? And I am a bit afrait of the plastic mics. One fall on the ground and theymight be broken. But one plus point are the xlr/jack for ext. mic. I plan to use contact mics.
But the Battery thing is a problem for me.
The Tascam Dr 40 is excluding a windshield so i need plus 35 € for an extra one.

I’ve been using the Dr-05 for my videos on sampling. It’s a great device. I think there’s no recorder that comes close in terms of price/quality. Recordings are great, it’s pretty study and battery life is insanely good.

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see, THAT´s the kind of 1st-hand-reports I like to read.

thanks man.

“battery life is insanely good”, means roughly what?
20hours? less? more?!

Pfoeh, no idea how long exactly but it still has me scratching my head sometimes. I’m still running it on batteries I haven’t recharged yet and I’ve been using it since the beginning of this year. Also recorded multiple hour+ sets with it as well as sampling etc. It has one bar left so you’d think it will deplete sometime soon. Sooo, 20+ hours for sure.

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I´m pretty much sold on the Dr-05 at this point :wink:

thanks!

here´s the english manual for the DR-05 by the way, which has helped me in finding answers to some further questions

looks like the ext input will accept mic AND line level signals, which is nice. of course you´ll have to turn down gain if using line.

powering via USB seems possible as well, which is great news since I have tons of those USB battery packs…

now all I need is to find some audio samples to reference and then I´ll order one for a 1-st hand test run. makes a good xmas present for myself :slight_smile:

Thank you Dave for your advice. I will give the Dr 05 a try. Thumbs for your stuff on Youtube. I like it very much.

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I have a DR-05 and am happy with it as well. Portable (size is good), price is good, sound quality is good. With the price vs. quality if something were to happen to it, I wouldn’t feel as bad as if I had spent more.

And as Dave said the battery life is quite good.

use your phone :slight_smile:
zoom f1 is a really cool option.
I have the zoom H6 and love it, but you need something pocket-able.
thus the f1. very small.

I’m not a fan of XY microphones. With this, you can get different attachments that will make your recorder so much more versatile. i really like the mid side mic attachment, and I want the shotgun mic.

I’ve been considering the DR05 as well, good to hear that users are happy with it.

The Zoom H2n seems interesting too as it can record mid/side stereo and a couple of other configurations, could be useful for capturing ambient sound. It definitely doesn’t win any awards for looks though!

I have a dr-05. Very happy with it. Great sound and features for the price.

Was looking for recommendations for a sampler for tv/movie/ad-hoc sampling.

Obviously I’ve got devices that can sample; like the Octatrack. But I don’t want to be hauling that into the living room in the middle of watching a movie.

So was looking for recommendations for a small / cheap / portable little thingie.

Something that I can just leave next to the tv; have it plugged in, and when something catches my ear can very quickly hit record, playback, stop and it’s saved as a wav. Then transfer over USB to the computer for further manipulation.

I’m thinking one of the options from Zoom is the best bet? The Zoom H1N looks like it ticks all the boxes. (If it can do field recordings, cool; but not if it pushs the price up too much.)

PS: Maybe there is already a thread around here somewhere… but you try searching for “Sampler” or “Sampling” :crazy_face:

These are really handy little boxes, I own the DP8 and have my media center hooked up to that for doing exactly what you mention

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Do you have an iPhone? I purchased on of these zoom lightning mics and it’s been pretty cool. I can carry it around everywhere without having a clunky second device.

I love my Sp404 for this reason. Its battery powered so I can just bring it to the sofa with me while on my ipad and when I come across a sample I want I just hook up the RCA to the ipad headphone.

The process is as fast as turn on > press Rec > Press empty pad > press Rec again and you are done. Unfortunately there is no USB but it works fast with the SD card.

I think you could also get the older smaller SP but the 404 is the one with battery power.

Aside from being a portable sampler the effects are no joke either.

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