stop spending your money

I'm with Jaem, I had a minidsk recorder and it sounded like ass in all modes, even with good mics and stuff. Still usable for field stuff, but that's despite the sound, not because of it.

the proper MD players (the tabletop models) are really good if you know what you're doing. i know albums that have been mastered from minidisks, and tey sound fat as hell.

but yeah the portable ones do kinda suck, they got this unnatural compression going on which sounds a little odd.

and grimeybeats.. you don't necessarily get the exact same sound that you would get if you just left it to tape, but you do get a slightly different sound -
wether you like it better is up to you!

Cheech wrote:the proper MD players (the tabletop models) are really good if you know what you're doing. i know albums that have been mastered from minidisks, and tey sound fat as hell.

but yeah the portable ones do kinda suck, they got this unnatural compression going on which sounds a little odd.

and grimeybeats.. you don't necessarily get the exact same sound that you would get if you just left it to tape, but you do get a slightly different sound -
wether you like it better is up to you!

I agree that a recording on tape will sound a bit different to the same recording on cd. But I would've thought that recording to cd from tape would give you exactly the same recording, given the wider tech properties of cds... And the difference you hear is in the device you use to actually play the cd rather than the cd recording itself. Am I wrong? Fill me in!

I was talking about a portable Sony MD. The blue one. It sounds fantastic! I paid 300 bucks for it, I squashed it between a cars´ door. It was in my pocket and I banged my cardoor and the md was between the car and the door. The MD was physicly ruined tho it still works perfectly

Anyway, it does add a little compression wich I like very much! It has an optical input too so I can run (havent tried it tho) my mpc to my portable md via an adat cable! Great


Me too like the sound of tape, md and vynil better than cd.. I think cd sounds a little thin and flat. But youll need this medium to spread your demos and to get your music to the public via stores. There is no person thats gonna buy your tunes on md or cassette..
People wich buy cds doesnt care if md or vynil sounds better. They wont hear the difference anyway

Benyamin: "Yeah, having all the modules and outboard can be a waste of money if you have all the sounds in the computer. It's more a feel thing though, if you like the feel of the outboard, plus outboard processing to computer instead of out of the computer and back in, that is just plain annoying for some people, but you can save bread that way for sure. "

-> You could record everything to tape or md or something and then try to transfer the track to pc without having to use its DA´s.. You could dump via midi, transfer via usb, use a smartcard or something.. Or keep it digital thru a cable. Just dont go analog into the computer!

i cant speak from real experience but we once recorded an acoustic guitar via an sm57 straight into an md and it sounded fantastic...note i was pretty unexperienced back then and was only really used to cheap tape recording via 4 tracks

greg

dubmunkey wrote:i cant speak from real experience but we once recorded an acoustic guitar via an sm57 straight into an md and it sounded fantastic...note i was pretty unexperienced back then and was only really used to cheap tape recording via 4 tracks

greg

i use a md to record all the time, also with a 57. i think this has a lot to do with it coming out so good. the little stereo mic that came with it sucks ass imo.

can u just hook up a shure (i have a sm58) to the mic in of a portable md? i dont need an xlr connection?

You could record everything to tape or md or something and then try to transfer the track to pc without having too use its DA´s.. You could dump via midi, transfer via usb, use a smartcard or something.. Or keep it digital thru a cable. Just dont go analog into the computer!

I question the assumption there is no signal degredation going on during a digital transfer. It it as apparent as a analog transfer, prolly not but i think the rule of minimizing transfers still applies in digital[/code]

drumtrack wrote:can u just hook up a shure (i have a sm58) to the mic in of a portable md? i dont need an xlr connection?

no

I know this is a feckin ancient thread, but I'm after using the search function , and my question suits the topic the thread turned into. Not so the original subject because I am indeed planning on spending a little money on a minidisc recorder.
I have more than one reason to do so. If it is necessary that I name them in order for you to be able to answer my question, I will. But for now here's my questions:

Q 1: Are there MD recorders out there with digital outs? (that I can plug into my MPCs digital in?)
Q 2: What would be a good pick, value for money wize?? recomendations would be very much apreciated.
Q 3: Do the portable ones really sound as bad as people said in this thread? I used to own a non-portable one aaaages ago. I think it sounded OK...

Since a "good sound" is more a matter of personal taste, I should say that I love the sound of; tapes, vinyl and I don't think CD's sound that bad either. Only bad MP3s are horrible.

Thanks in advance for (helpfull) replys

Wow! I surprised! When I made a post about keeping money in your pocket, I got flamed. My point was exactly the same. Focus on the music...recognize what your current setup can do. Folks told me "who are you to say what others should do with their money!" What a difference a day makes!

all this crap has been said, but here i am writing it anyways !

i think there's a difference between loving gear and lusting after it. lusting after it means you're more in love with the idea of the gear than the gear itself! what you should be fixated on is making things. i believe that's what benyamininene meant.

i can't stand cassettes in the studio. noisy; a pain in the ass. you get the right deck, and there's definitely some "character," but you'd be insane to ignore computer/digital multitracking! unless you're a rock band trying to get an idea down, or make a demo.

most importantly, benyaminaniansd seems to misunderstand why i do this shit in the first place. i do it because it's fun, it's satisfying. 'cos i like showing off to my friends. it's not some epic fork in the road of life between awesomeness and being an assembly-line drone !

-niN wrote:minidisc recorder.

minidisc owns. field recordings, micing up pianos, recording gigs, or a backup for when the computer is being pissy...

just after reading through the whole thread from start. my initial post was just because the topic drifted to MD recorders..

I fell in love with that tapesound all over again a couple of months ago, when I found an ol' tape while I was tidyin my place, plugged in that ol' tapedeck that was just collecting dust since years, and heard that sound It was beautiful
After that I got's meself a walkman. My mp3 player is now collecting dust
I got a nice little SHARP boombox off e-bay. So any time I see kids listenin to music on their **** mobile phone through those tiny little speakers, I feel a little sorry for them, because they obviously don' know shite ...
So yes:
I record my beats to tape and it's feckin awsome.
It seams to enhance the whole sound in a way. Effects seam to come out stronger.
It's a little tricky, you gotta record loud enough, so that u don't get too much hissing, but not too loud so it don't get distorted.

But still:
Any suggestions on what would be a good choice for a MDrecorder. (please check my above post^^)

sure, cassettes are a great medium for LISTENING to music....
not as great for making it !

may be true. but it IS possible and it IS fun, and you might get some nice sound in the end, that admittedley not everyone diggs but hey.

People have their own opinions.. let them have 'em...


...some peoples opinions are just stupider than others...