Digital Recorder for ITM

[pipersgrip]

Hi guys, I am buying a recorder for the sessions so I can start learning by ear more often and get the session's version of the tunes instead of a generic version. The only problem is that the pub plays so fast, it is pretty hard to learn by ear. I was looking at this recorder and it says you can replay something 50%slower for music and stuff. I have a hard time understanding what it fully means. Does it make the tunes 50% slower while keeping the same pitch and tone, or would it change the the pitch where I would have to play in a different key? Could someone help me decipher what this means? Thanks a bunch!!

http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-Handy-Portab ... pd_cp_MI_1

[Hotblack]

From the link you gave

The H4n’s phrase trainer capability makes learning new songs easy with an adjustable playback feature that changes the speed from 50 to 150 percent, while maintaining pitch.

[pipersgrip]

ahhh, thanks I have minor dyslexia, so sometimes I miss stuff like that and need help with it being pointed out. Thanks for the help.

[DavieD]

Hi guys, I am buying a recorder for the sessions so I can start learning by ear more often and get the session's version of the tunes instead of a generic version. The only problem is that the pub plays so fast, it is pretty hard to learn by ear. I was looking at this recorder and it says you can replay something 50%slower for music and stuff. I have a hard time understanding what it fully means. Does it make the tunes 50% slower while keeping the same pitch and tone, or would it change the the pitch where I would have to play in a different key? Could someone help me decipher what this means? Thanks a bunch!!

http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-Handy-Portab ... pd_cp_MI_1

We are using the "Zoom H2" and a "Swissonic MDR4". Both work fine. If the recorder has it's place on the table with the musicians sitting around, it seems, that the Swissonic works better, because the 4 mics are working all around, while the Zoom works 180° on one side and 120° on the other. You barely can't hear the instruments, which come in from the intermediate zone.
Aside from this, the Swissonic has half the price and is easier to manage. You can find it her:

http://www.thomann.de/gb/swissonic_mdr4.htm

With both recorders you can record in "*.wav" or "mp3"-format. I use the mp3-format. Once recorded, you can play the mp3's with the windows-mediaplayer (WMP). You can select the speed from 50 up to 200%. It works only with mp3's.
The pitch stay original, below 60%-speed the quality is sometimes not the best.
Look at the image to see, how you can find the speed-feature on the WMP.



Your's, David

[Hotblack]

ahhh, thanks I have minor dyslexia, so sometimes I miss stuff like that and need help with it being pointed out. Thanks for the help.

My pleasure.

[pipersgrip]

Thanks Davie, I will look into that.

[Makar]

I am looking to pick up a Tascam DR-08. They are brand new and not quite here yet - end of March I was told in UK. It is very small, has directional mics that move (not necessarily good but...) does the pitch control down to 50% (and up to 200%!), has a small kick stand for sitting on a desk to record and has a built in speaker. I confess I like the idea of the small speaker as I am no big fan of headphones. You can google it for full spec and see a short youtube vid of it also. It is priced competitively at £175.

Ah, I note that you want it for ITM - I do Scottish traditional music so maybe it's unsuitable...

cheers
Stephen

[LeeMarsh]

I use a BOSS Micro-BR it has more options than I need. but most important it records straight to MP3. It has built in memory but also takes SD cards. My regular MP3 player also takes SD cards so I can record a session and listen to it the next day on the train to work. MP3 is in stereo using a sony stereo microphone.
The recorder's native mode is a 4 track recorder and even has a 1/4 inch jack. It's a lot more than I need but the recordings are clean and clear in MP3.

If you're going to record something important, make sure you spend some time testing out the settings to make sure you get the results you want.

[s1m0n]

At this point, most digital recorders - whether device or software - can do this. Audacity & Winamp, to name a couple of free options can do it, so you can experiment a little before you buy if you're not sure how much this will help.