From: "Ryan" <>
>
>
> I have been a member of this group for some time now, but not very
> active, with the work situation I haven't had much time for anything
> else.
> Way back there was a popular concensus that minidisc recorders were
> not the best choice for nature recording, for reasons I cannot
> recall, is this still the popular opinion?
> The reason I brought this up is a few weeks ago I was a farm show and
> all the radio stations doing their thing used minidisc machines, I
> asked one of the guys what he was using, he said minidisc, and they
> used to use DAT, but it didn't work as well as the md. Yes I know
> there is a major difference in recording human voices in a building
> and nature recording, two totally different venues.
A few people were very negative toward minidisc, and very vocal. In a
number of cases they had never made any attempt to use minidisc over a
season in the field. Minidisc is used by a majority of the group and
works well. In the inexpensive walkman minidisc's the primary issue is
the quality of the preamps, they have this in common with the newer
types of recorders that are priced low. Regardless of what you buy in
the lower priced end you will deal with this.
DAT is virtually dead. There is no more production of the internal
mechanisms, they are using up stored stock. And there is only one
factory still making tape, after another burned down and was not
replaced. This beyond the trials and tribulations of using tape in
outdoor environments. In my opinion buying a DAT now as a field recorder
would be a waste of money.
I use a HHb Portadisc, one of the top field recorders made. It's minidisc.
People have been getting a lesson in what matters in recorders lately.
Back about the time you talked about there was this opinion that any
hard disc or solid state recorder was going to be much better than
minidisc. They turn out to be quite variable as to quality. Some are
pretty good, like the new offerings from Sound Devices (which if I were
forced out of minidisc is where I'd go today), but others turned out to
be equipped with fairly poor preamps, or whatever. Anyway, your choices
now are minidisc (both regular and HiMD), and some solid state or hard
disc recorders. Or if you like awkward things not really suited for
portable field use, some use laptops. Other than minidisc the new crop
is still in the early stages of shakeout as to what's a good field
recorder and what is not.
The bottom line is to get your hands on a recorder and get out
recording. There is plenty of good equipment, experience in the field is
what is needed for reliably getting good recordings.
Walt
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