Hi all,
I'm primarily a lighting guy that occasionally does sound (read: still just a lighting guy). So, while in my day job I work for a larger entertainment lighting company, I tend to be just a little bit out of my comfort zone when it comes to sound for my church. All that to say, I'm posting here just as me, not representing the company I work for.
A bit of background, and then the question(s):
We're moving from a small portable recorder (an older Zoom H2 handheld recorder) and want to get a higher quality recorder for sermons. Some of our criteria include a clear and easy user interface for basic recording, high quality inputs, flexible for future needs, and a variety of storage options (SD, USB, and so on). Budget is $650. Why are we moving away from the Zoom unit? While the quality is fine, the user interface is designed for portable/handheld use and it's hard to keep an eye on it without picking the unit up off the desk. It's fed with a RCA to 1/8" mic input, and I'm always worried that will get unplugged in the process.
Looking through a number of options - I really am a fan of the Tascam SSR200. (http://tascam.com/product/ss-r200/). It's got a nice clear display, it's rack mountable, good variety of media options, and balanced ins/outs. I don't need all of the extra I/O, but the SS-R100 (next step down) loses the balanced XLR connections and I feel that's important if the recorder moves too far away from the mixer. (Right now, the recorder would be 3-5' from the mixer. Not far at all).
Our mixer is a Mackie VLZ Pro 1604. The Main L/R out goes to our powered speakers. To hook up this recorder, I have a few options that I'm okay with (others, like the C-R out have gotchas):
Hans
EDIT: I suppose this actually isn't outboard gear - I chose the wrong category... Sorry about that!
I'm primarily a lighting guy that occasionally does sound (read: still just a lighting guy). So, while in my day job I work for a larger entertainment lighting company, I tend to be just a little bit out of my comfort zone when it comes to sound for my church. All that to say, I'm posting here just as me, not representing the company I work for.
A bit of background, and then the question(s):
We're moving from a small portable recorder (an older Zoom H2 handheld recorder) and want to get a higher quality recorder for sermons. Some of our criteria include a clear and easy user interface for basic recording, high quality inputs, flexible for future needs, and a variety of storage options (SD, USB, and so on). Budget is $650. Why are we moving away from the Zoom unit? While the quality is fine, the user interface is designed for portable/handheld use and it's hard to keep an eye on it without picking the unit up off the desk. It's fed with a RCA to 1/8" mic input, and I'm always worried that will get unplugged in the process.
Looking through a number of options - I really am a fan of the Tascam SSR200. (http://tascam.com/product/ss-r200/). It's got a nice clear display, it's rack mountable, good variety of media options, and balanced ins/outs. I don't need all of the extra I/O, but the SS-R100 (next step down) loses the balanced XLR connections and I feel that's important if the recorder moves too far away from the mixer. (Right now, the recorder would be 3-5' from the mixer. Not far at all).
Our mixer is a Mackie VLZ Pro 1604. The Main L/R out goes to our powered speakers. To hook up this recorder, I have a few options that I'm okay with (others, like the C-R out have gotchas):
- Use the mono out
- Use the tape out
- Split the L/R out to both the recorder and the speakers
- Use a postfader aux
- Is there a preferred way to hook up the mixer to the recorder?
- If I end up using the Tape Out, then I'm spending money for balanced ins/outs that I'm not going to use for a long while. Is it still worth getting a recorder with balanced connections?
- Is a splitter okay in this instance? Will I have any issues with that?
- Any other recommendations for recorders? Am I in the right category of recording equipment?
Hans
EDIT: I suppose this actually isn't outboard gear - I chose the wrong category... Sorry about that!
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