Hi Craig:
For stuff that's not music-master grade of sound quality, I have good results with my M-Audio
MicroTrak II. There are now a host of other devices in that price range and some have more
features so you should shop based on current info. Either EQ or Electronic Musician mag did a
rundown of a bunch of the sub-$500 models in a recent issue, it'll turn up in Google or at their
website.
A friend of mine and a fellow listmember who usually doesn't post here has a Tascam flash
recorder that he likes a lot. It was more pricey at the time I bought the M-Audio but I think
Tascam has a new model in the sub-$500 space. Also playing there are Korg, Sony, Olympus, Fostex
and others. The best thing to do is check out the marketing materials and reviews on the whole
bunch, decide what features are important to you and then decide from there.
My wife recently used the M-Audio in her classroom, her students recording "podcasts" about their
summer reading material. I set it to record to 128kbps MP3 with the limiter engaged and was
pretty amazed at the results. Much better quality than I expected, no digiswishes and the
limiter was very effective and didn't pump up the background noise. The cheapo freebie mic worked
great, too. Overall, this was far better quality than any little portable cassette recorder I've
ever used. I would expect better still with an external stereo mic like Richard Hess likes to use
for oral histories and interviews. We were also happy with the battery life once it was fully
charged. It only needed two recharges over a 10- day period in which about 2 hours total of audio
were recorded. The kids did very well with the small unit and non-intimidating mic. We both were
pleased with all aspects of the results.
-- Tom Fine
----- Original Message ----- From: "Craig Breaden" <breaden@xxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 5:28 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Software for Mac
I'm using an Apogee Rosetta 200 converter right now, but I'm
interested in the idea of creating workflow around a separate
recorder, as you mentioned, and then just transferring files. Tom
Fine mentioned this in the thread on oral histories not too long ago
and I've been thinking on it. Any standalone recorders besides Sound
Devices you might recommend for this purpose?
Craig
On Tue, Oct 14, 2008 at 5:13 PM, Lou Judson <inaudio@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
In all of this computer audio, Mac or other, keep in mind that the analog to
digital conversion is vital and key to the resulting sound, far more
important than what DAW software you use to work with it once in the
computer. General pro audio wisdom says to have the A/D convertor outside of
the computer, not internal, and almost never use the computer's internal
soundcard for the conversion. Though there may be no problem with what is
inside your particular box.
Since I use Protools 7.4LE and Peak Pro XT, I do my conversions outside the
box with a seriously upgraded Digi 002 box, or a separate Sound Devices
recorder. Using the external recorder with its excellent A/D leaves the Mac
free to work with files at the same time. I personally almost never record
directly into any computer any more, just copy from flash cards. Way more
efficient and multitasking that way for me.
Just offering one person's work style, as in Bill's great A/D/A mentioned
below.
Lou
Lou Judson • Intuitive Audio
415-883-2689
On Oct 14, 2008, at 12:51 PM, Malcolm Smith wrote:
Bias Peak and Soap are for Mac. I've used the pro versions of this
software and found them to be excellent. They are fairly expensive though
the non pro versions would be less. Go to the Bias web site for more
information.
Malcolm Smith.
On Oct 14, 2008, at 11:58 AM, WIlliam McQuay wrote:
HI Craig,
We are digitizing our audio collection using Sonic Studio's soundBlade
digital editing software and both Sonic and Prism A/D/A's. We find the
quality of the hardware and software to be very high.
Bill
On Oct 14, 2008, at 1:47 PM, Craig Breaden wrote:
Hi all,
I'm deciding whether or not to move my audio transfer workflow to Mac.
Pretty much everything else I do is on Mac, particularly since we do
a lot with video oral histories. Right now I use both SoundForge and
WaveLab on a Windows machine, and have considered trying Boot Camp and
Parallels so I can run them on my Mac. My systems guys warned me off
of Boot Camp, and so that leaves either Parallels ($79), so I can run
my software, or getting audio software that will run on a Mac. I can
always stay with my Windows machine for audio, but it drives me a bit
bonkers with its wonkiness. Any suggestions or sharing of experiences
using Parallels would be welcome.
Craig
--
Craig Breaden
Head, Media and Oral History
Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
Main Library
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602-1641
(p) 706-542-5782
(f) 706-542-4144
William McQuay
wjm93@xxxxxxxxxxx
Supervising Audio Engineer
Macaulay Library
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Our Mission:
To interpret and conserve the Earth's biological diversity through
research, education, and citizen science focused on birds.
--
Craig Breaden
Head, Media and Oral History
Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
Main Library
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602-1641
(p) 706-542-5782
(f) 706-542-4144