Best digital recorder for a simpleton like me...

[Dirtybluegene]

I'm after something super easy to use. I'm hopeless with anything too technical and just lose interest and give up. A friend uses a Boss BR-800, so I thought I'd get one of those and he could show me how to use it, but they're discontinued and I can't find a used one at the moment.
Any recommendations for something similar that is easy to use? I really just want to be able to record a few tracks, nothing fancy. I'm not interested in computer software etc. as I don't have a reliable device. Something I can just mic up an amp and record a few tracks. Any suggestions greatly appreciated! Thanks.

 

[scelestus]

How many tracks do you need? That'd determine the model but I really like my Tascam stuff. I've got an older DP-004 and a DP-24. They make updated ones of both (the 006 and the 24SD). They have some in the middle, too.

 

[thescarecrow]

You might want to look at the Tascam Portastudio models.

The link I posted above show two of their smaller, simpler models. I have an old Portastudio (tape version) and it was a lot of fun, simple and produced some decent mixes.

You could have a look at these two listed here: Boss and Zoom recorders

Hope this helps.

 

[Dirtybluegene]

Fantastic. Thanks for this. I'll check them out.

 

[banditpanda]

I'm after something super easy to use. I'm hopeless with anything too technical and just lose interest and give up. A friend uses a Boss BR-800, so I thought I'd get one of those and he could show me how to use it, but they're discontinued and I can't find a used one at the moment.
Any recommendations for something similar that is easy to use? I really just want to be able to record a few tracks, nothing fancy. I'm not interested in computer software etc. as I don't have a reliable device. Something I can just mic up an amp and record a few tracks. Any suggestions greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Thescarecrow has got it right! Look into the

DP-01FX | 8-track Digital Portastudio ​

I've been using one for years. 8 tracks. simple with possibilities if you need more complex. Look on e Bay. Can be had for 2-3 hundred bucks.(make sure the power supply is included). Don't know if it's still available new.

 

[Boreas]

While it won't multitrack or record stereo, a good smart fone actually can do a great job of making a quick, MP3/MP4 quality recording. You can either do it with video (huge files) or strictly audio. If you record at high resolution, you can actually get a good mono track. Adding a cheap directional mic may improve your results, but with my recent Androids I didn't notice a big improvement other than improved directionality. I ended up buying a cheap "selfie stick" with a tripod base and attaching my previous fone and keep it set up all the time. If I want to record something, I just dust it off and record a video or audio file. If it is something worth keeping, I can import it into a DAW for editing or multitracking.

 

[mexicanyella]

While it won't multitrack or record stereo, a good smart fone actually can do a great job of making a quick, MP3/MP4 quality recording. You can either do it with video (huge files) or strictly audio. If you record at high resolution, you can actually get a good mono track. Adding a cheap directional mic may improve your results, but with my recent Androids I didn't notice a big improvement other than improved directionality. I ended up buying a cheap "selfie stick" with a tripod base and attaching my previous fone and keep it set up all the time. If I want to record something, I just dust it off and record a video or audio file. If it is something worth keeping, I can import it into a DAW for editing or multitracking.

Agreed—phones can do a good job. Just using the voice memos app you can do pretty good mono recordings, as @Boreas said. It’s no harder than using a portable cassette recorder. A couple of caveats: you may need to experiment with certain sounds. I have an old iPhone (6S) and while it’s actual mic sounds really good, while using it in voice memos mode it employs some kind of compression or limiting to help the mic deal with loud sounds. Recording quietly works great. Recording band practices works great in a loud compressed punk rock mayhem kind of way. But in between sounds can trigger that compression/limiting circuit, resulting in volume jumps. So I either position the phone a little farther away, or baffle the mic opening (a terrycloth hand towel, or put the phone inside a beer cozy, etc). Not hard, and it’s free, and it yields digital files that are easy to share right from the device.

AND there are some recording apps for smartphones that do allow multi tracking. I use Bandlab, which is a free app that runs on iOS or Android. There are others, but that’s the one I know about. If you use the phone mic as the input to a track in Bandlab none of that compression or limiting is applied. It’s just an onboard mic, and it works pretty well.

PM me if you want to know more about Bandlab. The thought of doing recording from a smartphone touchscreen sounds pretty off-putting, I know, but it hasn’t been the problem I thought it would be. But a dedicated recording device with in-built proper audio connections and physical controls Would be more inviting.

 

[Miff]

I also recommend BandLab - the IPhone works as a pretty good mic. One thing I’d recommend, since the project is stored in the BandLab cloud, you can do the tracking on your phone but mixing is best done on a computer - just log into the website.

The online mixer comes with lots of FX which are pretty good, and editing is easy - but the bigger the screen the better. Alternatively you can download the stems and use any software you like.

 

[Boreas]

Agreed—phones can do a good job. Just using the voice memos app you can do pretty good mono recordings, as @Boreas said. It’s no harder than using a portable cassette recorder. A couple of caveats: you may need to experiment with certain sounds. I have an old iPhone (6S) and while it’s actual mic sounds really good, while using it in voice memos mode it employs some kind of compression or limiting to help the mic deal with loud sounds. Recording quietly works great. Recording band practices works great in a loud compressed punk rock mayhem kind of way. But in between sounds can trigger that compression/limiting circuit, resulting in volume jumps. So I either position the phone a little farther away, or baffle the mic opening (a terrycloth hand towel, or put the phone inside a beer cozy, etc). Not hard, and it’s free, and it yields digital files that are easy to share right from the device.

AND there are some recording apps for smartphones that do allow multi tracking. I use Bandlab, which is a free app that runs on iOS or Android. There are others, but that’s the one I know about. If you use the phone mic as the input to a track in Bandlab none of that compression or limiting is applied. It’s just an onboard mic, and it works pretty well.

PM me if you want to know more about Bandlab. The thought of doing recording from a smartphone touchscreen sounds pretty off-putting, I know, but it hasn’t been the problem I thought it would be. But a dedicated recording device with in-built proper audio connections and physical controls Would be more inviting.

Cool! I didn't realize Bandlab worked on Droids. I'll have to give it a try.

 

[mexicanyella]

Cool! I didn't realize Bandlab worked on Droids. I'll have to give it a try.

One of my music collab buddies uses it on an Android tablet and maybe sometimes on his phone. He might drop in to comment on how it works on Android or how recent your version of Android needs to be...paging @ToNka_0000

 

[mexicanyella]

While it won't multitrack or record stereo, a good smart fone actually can do a great job of making a quick, MP3/MP4 quality recording. You can either do it with video (huge files) or strictly audio. If you record at high resolution, you can actually get a good mono track. Adding a cheap directional mic may improve your results, but with my recent Androids I didn't notice a big improvement other than improved directionality. I ended up buying a cheap "selfie stick" with a tripod base and attaching my previous fone and keep it set up all the time. If I want to record something, I just dust it off and record a video or audio file. If it is something worth keeping, I can import it into a DAW for editing or multitracking.

This is a cool use for old retired phones, if you are like my family where the old phones occur in sedimentary layers in a drawer.

I dug out my mother in law’s old iPhone 5C and charged it up and took it along to record a band practice one night. It worked well, but then I realized the battery was pretty much shot. But had it still held a useful charge reserve, it would be a great portable practice recorder.

 

[Boreas]

This is a cool use for old retired phones, if you are like my family where the old phones occur in sedimentary layers in a drawer.

I dug out my mother in law’s old iPhone 5C and charged it up and took it along to record a band practice one night. It worked well, but then I realized the battery was pretty much shot. But had it still held a useful charge reserve, it would be a great portable practice recorder.

Just remember to remove all of the trash on the memory so you have some capacity again. New batteries are pretty cheap. Of course, video takes up allot more space.

 

[schmee]

The trouble with most units is it's all about scrolling through the menu and remembering where to go, what to push etc. It's how they make things cheap, but confusing as heck. Many of them record amazingly well though. I have a little Tascam DR40 I bought, have rarely used it. If I do I spend more time trying to figure out how to put down 4 tracks over one another and keeping it all right than actual recording.
Oh how I miss the ease of a 4 track Teac Tape deck! Wanna record track 1? Push that record button on track 1!

 

[chulaivet1966]

The trouble with most units is it's all about scrolling through the menu and remembering where to go, what to push etc. It's how they make things cheap, but confusing as heck.

Howdy schmee....
I'm in the same camp.
I'm not at all enamored with the scrolling necessary with that format so I'd never go that route.
I don't care for the cramped foot print either....the interface is all too small and tightly packed for my liking.
But, they all have their place in the market and I may be in the minority.

[B]Dirtybluegene[/B]....good luck with your decision and keep us informed. ​

Carry on.

 

[Dismalhead]

I had a little 8-track Tascam recorder, worked well but it crapped out after a year or so. Right now I've got a Zoom R16. Record onto an SD card, and then use a cheap converter to upload them to your computer via USB. Super simple, works like an old cassette four track from the '90s; very luddite friendly. I use Reaper to master, but you can make decent recordings without it using the built-in software. Bought mine used on EBay for a little over $200. Been using it for about 8 years now, sometimes a lot, with 0 problems.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Yup, Tascam. They a wide variety of choices, and they're all designed for idiots like us. I've had a couple of their Portastudios and managed to get some recordings I like out of them.

It's true that they're kind of fragile, but that's not a bad trade-off for ease of use.

 

[burntfrijoles]

As much as I love my DAW, I sometime miss the simplicity of a Portastudio or any all-in-one unit. I started on a 4 track cassette; progressed to Roland's first VS-880, and had a great Yamaha before I made the leap to a computer based recording.
Tascam still offers some excellent choice from 6 tracks up to 32. They are not very expensive. I would opt for one with actual faders.
You really can't beat them for easy of use.
I made countless recordings with my old units, an Alessis SR16 drum machine, bass, guitar and mic.
Good luck and happy recording.

 

[lupowitz]

I am an avid Zoom user.
The R8, what I use is discontinued now (together with the series other items, the R16 and the R24), but it still does everything I need. Mult fx, looper, sampler, drum muchine, recorder. It is very easy to use, there are tons of demos and tutorials on youtube.

If you wanna hear it, how it performs:



More complex arrangments with drums built up with the provided live drum loops:

https://mosmangirls.bandcamp.com/

From their new offerings (R12, R20) I am not sure about the later's touch screen sollution, but the brand new R4 might just as well be right up your alley, considering simplicity:

 

[Grandy]

This is a long one but here goes....

I've been trying my best to find a simple solution for recording for the last few years. I have a DAW and a computer, a 4-track hand held recorder and an 8-track recorder as well. I haven't used the Zoom R8 too much yet so I don't know how it will fit in the workflow.

A computer will give me all the options for tweaking but all the adjusting takes away from creating music. That's why I've been experimenting using loopers as recorders. Recording is easy and simple and let's me focus on the music. It's not for perfectionists though. You can't do a whole lot afterwards.

I use a Beat Buddy jr for a drum machine but any looper with beats will do (tried that too). I might put it throught some fx medals and then record it into another looper. You can also make a beat from scratch into a looper. Just put a mic or anything that makes noise in front of it.

Then you can layer whatever on top of it. You can't record too many layers as it will mask the earlier ones. At the moment I'm using a 2-track looper for recording but I'm considering getting the Boss flagship model with six tracks at some point.

This way I skip the mixing and transfer the files to a computer for a bit of mastering. If I get the 6-track looper, I'm hoping I get the the easy tracking I've enjoyed plus a chance for additional tweaking.

 

[Dirtybluegene]

Thanks for all the wise words. I found the Boss machine I was looking for for a good price used. My friend can come and spell it all out for me.