Hi! I’m looking for a piece of gear that would allow me to record my master out on an sd card without plugging in computer. I need it to be the last in the chain in between my audio interface and monitors(or instead of my audio interface). Preferably small, easy to use, not feature rich. All I need it to do is to record and pass the audio signal to monitors. Any good suggestions? So far I discovered zoom h6 but I don’t want to overpay for the microphones and additional features. Also not sure if it has stereo output and if it can pass stereo audio signal to monitors?
Thought maybe you guys could lead me the right way
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Basic, but the best converters under $1k: MOTU M2/M4/M6 Removing since you want to record to SD
Basic, fun, never worry about levels: Zoom R4
Also worth considering: Zoom H4n
Avoid: Zoom H2n, it has a fixed 60hz high pass filter that can’t be bypassed.
Update:
If you are extremely lucky and happen on a great second hand deal: Sony M10
If you have an Elektron with Overbridge, then you already have a decent interface.
As long as a portable recorder has a line level out setting or dedicated output probably any will be fine.
There’s a little 32bit float Zoom recorder that might be ideal for what you want, can’t check the specs right now. Zoom F3 is the one.
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How many inputs/outputs are you using with your audio interface? Because a Sound Devices MixPre could cover both interface and recorder duties, as well as giving you the ability to use it’s analogue limiters to help manage the levels.
R4 is another, and it has a 4 track porta studio UI that makes it ideal for DAWless recording.
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Isn’t this where people like the 1010 bluebox?
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One stereo input (1/4 L and 1/4 R) and one stereo for output (1/4 L and 1/4 R)
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What about outputs from your DAW to the interface, just the two?
I second the Zoom F3. Simple set up and interface, excellent sound quality! And 32bit floating is a real game changer…
I don’t use daw, I have a hardware setup
Ideally I’m looking for something that would have
Two 1/4 inputs, audio recording function, two 1/4 output.
None of the above are this. It seems that most of the recorders would have single stereo mini jack output
Blackbox or Tangerine would be my choice for this task.
There’s not much out there with this configuration. The Zoom R8 might suit if you really want to avoid a 3.5mm stereo line out jack.
Ah ok, so you don’t really need the audio interface part then.
I don’t think anything apart from mixer form factor devices aimed at podcasters would have 1/4 outputs. A 3.5mm output should work just fine with an adapter. The MixPre-10 has balanced mini-XLR outputs but that’s way overkill and over budget.
I assume all 3 would work ok for the primary task, but I’m getting the impression that any one of them is probably too feature rich for OP’s needs.
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Oh no!
That’s the one I’m using! Is the filter on the line input too? I haven’t noticed and I thought it sounded great, but I’m usually avoiding especially high frequency sounds anyway.
Zoom H4n if you ever think you’ll need quality live mic’ing and need to occasionally record straight in and need to add some reverb or such. The other effects are decent but dated.
Zoom R4 if all you want is line in recording and more practical controls.
Whoops, just realized the R4 has amp sims and effects.
If it is based on their later tech like the MS and G pedals then it may be a huge bonus. Some of the amp sims in the MS100 are really good. As are the mod/delay effects.
Yeah…get anb R4.
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I use the Zoom H1n with no problems! Also doubles as a mic for sampling acoustic instruments and grabbing decent field recordings!
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Tangerine would be just right for the task at hand. Its recording quality is great and it is tiny.
That’s my understanding. I use mine almost exclusively for field recordings, since I’ve got a Sony M10 for line-in recording duties, and now the R4.
The great thing about the H2n is that you can put some fresh batteries in and record from an open window while you go tour a city. Perfect for casual travel field recording, but not what the OP is after.
I haven’t done any A/B testing with my MS70CDR, or even listened much to the few recordings I’ve made with the R4, but I don’t see why Zoom would make an effort to develop worse FX for the R4 rather than just pull from their existing library.
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What audio interface do you use?