EQ Magazine - September 2008 - (Page 56)

® “power management of the year” award. Like the TASCAM, the built-in mics sit at the top of the unit, and rotate as a pair within a 90 degree range; unlike most other units, it has a speaker for monitoring. And if you want to use it as a portable music player, the Pocketrak 2G supports WMA as well as MP3 (you can record in those formats, as well as standard PCM). On top of all that, it’s also super-easy to use, there are faster/slower playback options, the package includes a free copy of Cubase AI, and you can passwordprotect individual files. Limitations: You can’t expand/replace the memory, and there are no “musician” features like a tuner, metronome, etc. Also, the only I/O is an 1/8" mic/line input and 1/8" output—so don’t expect to plug in your guitar. But with something this small, you’d probably want to use the 10 MORE WAYS TO USE YOUR PORTABLE RECORDER FOH Engineer Jim Ebdon Kyle Cook Guitars Guitars Royers On The Road With MATCHBOX TWENTY “Live guitars sound amazing with R-121 Live mics on the cabinets, and they stand out well in the mix. Royers are warm, natural, present and uncolored - not at all harsh like several of the other mics we auditioned, and the band loves the natural sound they get in their in-ear monitors. “I've used Royers on Aerosmith for a few years and currently on Matchbox Twenty and they've been among my most reliable microphones. These are amazing ribbons.” FOH Engineer - Matchbox Twenty, Aerosmith, Annie Lennox 1. Leave the iPod at home. Well, unless you’re using one of those portable recorder thingies (e.g., Alesis and Belkin) that’s based on recording into an iPod. Thanks to removable media, you can store gigabytes of your favorite music, pop it into your recorder, and use it for listening. 2. Better pre-show music. Don’t like what the FOH mixer is playing before you take the stage? Load up your portable recorder with suitable preshow music, and ask (politely!) if that can be played instead. 3. Better live sound. Bring a studio recording of your band’s music on your recorder, and pump the sound through the PA while setting up. This will give you valuable clues about how the venue will alter your sound, making it easier to “tweak” the PA. 4. Are your songs in order? Another playback application: Bounce over the cuts for your new album. Most recorders have an easy way to change the playback order, so you can determine what songs work well together. If all else fails, alter the song order in your computer, then bounce back into the recorder via USB. 5. Better than calling your answering machine and singing into it. Carry your portable recorder around with you at all times, the way a photographer always has a camera handy, so you can capture anything important that pops into your mind. 6. Recording rehearsals and performances. Hook a portable recorder to your mixer’s recording outs or an aux out during rehearsals and performances. With even relatively small memory cards able to record several hours of music, just press Record, and go. 7. Record your audience. I learned this from Frank Heiss, the first guy to turn me on to using portable recorders live (back in the days of Minidisc). He would go out into the audience and record people saying things, then later on, while he was onstage, play back OLYMPUS LS-10 ($449.95, WWW.OLYMPUS.COM) New kids on the block? In the music industry, yes . . . but when it comes to recording, no. The build quality grabs you immediately: The LS-10 has a solid, substantial feel, with an aluminum metal frame surrounded by a sturdy plastic body. Nothing about it feels cheap, or like any corners were cut. The mics are very good. They’re in a fixed 90 degree pattern and can’t be moved, but the LS-10 includes a function called “Zoom Mic” that provides four different spatial options, from a highly directional mono sound to seriously expansive stereo. This works well, but only with the internal mics, and only Jim Ebdon Royer Ribbons Ribbons bn 818.847.0121 s Burbank, CA.. Burbank, CA a A www.royerlabs.com www.royerlabs.com c 56 EQ SEPTEMBER 2008 www.eqmag.com http://WWW.OLYMPUS.COM http://www.royerlabs.com http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - September 2008

EQ Magazine - September 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Punch In Freak Folk Todd Rundgren Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Sony Acid 6 Ableton Live 7 Portable Recorder Showdown Gadgets and Goodies Sounds Room with a Vu

EQ Magazine - September 2008

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