TASCAM (TEAC) DR-05 PCM RECORDER

I got a Zoom H2 some years ago as an all purpose recorder mic. It's probably good for meetings, if you like the stereo to localize voices in a room, and it can be great for concerts, stick it up on a mic stand or just a table in front of the stage, and it can capture better, handling higher sound SPL without pumping than most camcorders. It has great resolution and audio bandwidth too.

I don't necessarily like my H2 for on the spot recording, wanting to capture someone as they go by for a bit, or a sudden sound that you want to record. One of the things I wanted to capture was a local coyote group howl. A siren will start them off, and the howl can be mostly done in 30 seconds, and I had the recorder right with me and was not able to get it booted up in time.

Other problems were recording into the wrong side of the mic, while the back side was active, I got the ambiance rather than the direct sound because the mics are that directional. That might only apply to the H2, not that Tascam.

In time I've gotten used to being ready in advance, making sure it's really recording and not just armed and other ways to deal with it and be more efficient using the H2, but I wouldn't consider it great for field. If you were used to using a portable cassette before, it might take some getting used to.

I'd like a digital mic that just has an on-off switch and record light, each time it's turned on, then off it deposits a file in memory, super simple for field. They have mics like that, but they're not broadcast quality, like prone to overload and clipping, no vocal processing I guess, like they're a mic for kids.

One thing you could look into is a phone, I don't know about all smart phones, but some do have broadcast quality audio in their voice recorders. I've heard some and it wasn't clipped or hard limited, and sounded crisp and full band. That was iPhone, but check with other phones, and you might be able to do other things too, like a Lav mic to a phone in a pocket, maybe even Bluetooth it.

Let us know about the Tascam, if it's a good performer I might look into it as an upgrade.

Carl's the microphone guy, I wonder what he uses for remote with Blair On Air.

Boomer

I like Carl's idea for simplicity, I think that's what make my H2 mic not so great for simple, quick recording, it's not simple enough.

This past weekend I watched the movie "FM", which you might know about through Steely Dan's song of the same name, and title track in the movie.

The air studio at "Q-Sky FM" had two mics on the boom, separated maybe a foot, on a cross arm. Has anyone seen that in an air studio? I don't think that's done in broadcasting any more, but it would be almost like these stereo Tascam and Zoom mics are doing.

Boomer