Best Way To Sample/ Record Vinyl On The Go??? Portable

Explicit- wrote:Im really liking the Zoom H4 and Zoom H4N. Im diggin' those 1/4" inputs. Shit is real dope.

I dont have the h4n, but I do have the h1 and h4 (old version of the h4n)

first off.. I suggest the h4n over the h4.

first of all, the h4 has a built in 4 track that I dont like using due to cramped screen and buttons etc.. the workflow is not great.. however if needed you can arrange and edit clips etc.. it has piles of fx. it can be used an an interface (2 channel) to the computer also via usb. that is great, however one feature I didn't understand why it lacked was .. if it has a 4 track, why cant you use both built in mics at the same time as the 2 line ins. Well they added this to the h4n.. as well as the ability to use sdhc cards (the sd cards above 2 gigs) .. which is nice so you can record a few extra hours instead of like 2.5 hours on the older h4.

one thing I like about these units in general is.. you can run a line out of the mixing desk at your shows and record audio of the whole thing, but with the h4n... you can get the ambiance of the club too.. now even if that were possible on the h4, you would have to bounce the 4 track file internally to a stereo wave file to use on the computer... granted you could mute the 2 built in mics and bounce, followed by muting the two line in channels and bounce.. but still..

also, the zoom mics aren't bad at all.. they are condensers that are quite sensitive. You can hear your finger rubbing your thumb from across the room if wanted. the mics are omnidirectional but the stereo spread does add quite a nice stereo spread also.

on the h1, I have not tried the line input jack so I cant vouch for it... but in the next couple of weeks I will try and get that done to let you know the result if you are interested.. as I dont have the h1 here.. my friend carries that one to record when needed while I currently have the h4. That doubles our chances of snagging great field recordings.

Nice info. Yea I would like to hear how your recording with the input goes.

I've recorded samples off record players with beatmaker on my iPhone.
I just put the mic from my phone up to the speaker and had a good sounding recording. If they have a tower speaker you can use that to your advantage.
If you want high's put it next to the tweeter.... Want lows? Put it up to the sub.

Then I plug in my RCA Jack/headphone set up to my mpc..... I've even recorded gunshots with my phone.

Dan L wrote:I've recorded samples off record players with beatmaker on my iPhone.
I just put the mic from my phone up to the speaker and had a good sounding recording. If they have a tower speaker you can use that to your advantage.
If you want high's put it next to the tweeter.... Want lows? Put it up to the sub.

Then I plug in my RCA Jack/headphone set up to my mpc..... I've even recorded gunshots with my phone.

Really? That sounds like it would be crappy quality. Why not just use the record in? The iPhone can be used as in input.

mr_debauch wrote:maybe look into the zoom h4/h4n, though expensive.. it has 1/4 inputs and records in wave, mp3, all that stuff.. plus it has combo jacks so if you need to record something using your pair of neumans then it has phantom power as well. the internal mics are also very good for the price and will probably tempt you into the field recording game while you're at it...

that would be the (highest quality / most portable / actually affordable) way I can think of to do it.

the zoom h4n is a great portable tool
but maybe the ad-da converters quality of your 2500 is way higher
dont' know...

The h4n seems like it would be ideal for this situation. However, if you're considering going the iphone route then I would look into getting something like this:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Apogee-JAM-Guitar-Interface-for-iPad--iPhone--and-Mac-106565526-i1861913.gc

Portable digital recorder is your best bet imo...or ipad/iphone with one of those audio recording applications or beat making apps

konc3pt wrote:Portable digital recorder is your best bet imo...or ipad/iphone with one of those audio recording applications or beat making apps

That's the route I'm heading for...

**** Debauch has me stuck on that Zoom H4N but it's damn expensive just for sampling. I do like how it records in 16 bit wav. That's a easy transfer over to the MPC

Y'all are forgetting premphasis. You'll need a phono preamp between turntable and recorder for RIAA deemphasis. Or the records will sound overly bright. I think the MPC 4000 has RIAA inputs from memory. Else, you'll have to schlep an amp with phono in.

Shostakovich wrote:Y'all are forgetting premphasis. You'll need a phono preamp between turntable and recorder for RIAA deemphasis. Or the records will sound overly bright. I think the MPC 4000 has RIAA inputs from memory. Else, you'll have to schlep an amp with phono in.

i suspect they have those there already no? how are people listening to the records over there?

Explicit- wrote:

konc3pt wrote:Portable digital recorder is your best bet imo...or ipad/iphone with one of those audio recording applications or beat making apps

That's the route I'm heading for...

**** Debauch has me stuck on that Zoom H4N but it's damn expensive just for sampling. I do like how it records in 16 bit wav. That's a easy transfer over to the MPC

for sampling alone I would pick cheapest quality solution, unless you plan on doing better and bigger projects with it later on then it's worth investing in more expensive model imo

I'm eyeing the Tascam DR-05 and the Zoom H4N if I can find it for cheap

Man just compose your own songs with a musical instrument

the cosmic pimp wrote:Man just compose your own songs with a musical instrument

Valid, but very much off-topic.

i checked on amazon and look like most of them portable recorders are 1/3 the price second hand than new if you willing to take a chance