The mobile recording space keeps rolling along. Alesis is the latest company to try to turn the iPod into a usable digital recorder. With up to 160 GB of storage, the fact that the iPod is a mobile hard drive you may already own certainly has some appeal. But what about quality?

The Alesis ProTrack attempts to bridge that input divide with internal mics and XLR inputs:

• XY pattern stereo condenser mics (they look a lot like the mics on the Zoom H4)
• XLR and 1/4″ inputs (line/mic) with 48V phantom power
• 1/4″ stereo output, making this interesting as a playback device, too
• LEDs onboard (nice!), limiter
• Tripod mount, universal iPod dock

Recording is limited to 16-bit, 44.1kHz; the lack of 48kHz means a big downside for anyone doing video production. Our friend and roving podcaster / NPR reporter Brad Linder has the full story on his blog:
Alesis ProTrack turns your iPod into a pro audio recorder [Brad Linder's blog]

This does look quite like the Belkin Podcast Studio. I’m not totally sold on Alesis’ quality control of late, but I’m more sold on them than on Belkin, so we’ll see.

Edirol R-09 with more storage

If there’s one mobile recorder to rule them all, it may be Edirol’s trusty R-09. The big news there: support for bigger storage, in the form of firmware updates for the R-09 and new, higher-quality R-09HR. The updates add support for Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) cards, for up to 32GB in storage. The 32GB drives are still mighty pricey, but 16GB isn’t a bad sweet spot.

I hadn’t actually paid attention to the HR model, but it has some nice extras: dedicated analog input control, low-cut filter, limiter/AGC (Auto Gain Control), gain boost, and even a remote.

R-09 HR Product Page [Roland/Edirol]

The Edirol has only an 1/8″ mic jack, but I know people who’ve been very happy with it. It may not work as a primary recorder — for that you may be willing to sacrifice something bigger and pricier. But for quick and dirty jobs and internal mic use, it does look quite nice. I sometimes think I should’ve gotten it instead of the Zoom H4 I bought, but I’ll just save up for a real mic pre for the Zoom and go home happy.

Review: Tascam DR-1

The last bit of news from Brad: a quick review of Tascam’s entry to the increasingly-overcrowded handheld recorder market. Brad writes us:

Seems like a decent, but not great device for recording music and interviews. A friend of mine took one for a spin for a little while and ultimately decided to return it and get an Marantz PMD660. I’ve heard good things about the Olympus LS-10 though, and I might pick one up myself eventually as a backup for my trusty Sony PCM-D50.

Got all those models straight, kids?

The DR-1 does have a 1/4″ jack, though no XLR. Downsides: preamps sound a little disappointing (weak levels), there’s no real mono recording, and, well, a lot of competition. Here’s Brad’s review with sound samples:

A short review of the Tascam DR-1 [Brad Linder's blog]

Edirol V-8 Mixer: 8 Ins, 3 Outs, Computer Ins Mean V-4, The Next Generation

With this arriving this month and the boutique Vixid mixer to play with, it could be a great year for audiovisualists.

Edirol announced today they have drivers ready for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, available for immediate download. What’s covered? Edirol says they’ve got updates “for their entire range of controller keyboards, field recorders and audio interfaces, including the ground-breaking M-16DX digital audio mixer.” Okay, I can’t personally vouch for whether the M-16DX is ground-breaking or not, but I expect owners of it will be very pleased the latest-and-greatest from Apple is supported.

Other driver updates, anyone? So far, we’ve heard people are doing pretty well with most of their equipment, whether it’s officially “supported” on Leopard or not — though I have heard about issues with M-Audio. Anyone else? (Updated: Wait, strike that — M-Audio hardware sounds like it’s working reasonably well for most, as is PreSonus. I should get to test my Focusrite soon. The one big troublemaker: Alesis. And we’re still seeing some isolated interface bugs. I still say wait for a few more weeks before leaping, but that said, most people are having a pretty smooth experience.)

Previously:
Leopard Early Installers, How’s it Going?
Leopard Reports: Native Instruments, MOTU, Why Tiger Still Rocks, Java
Native Instruments Posts Installer Patch for Mac OS X Leopard

Roland has published a compatibility list for all its current relevant hardware, under the BOSS, Roland, and Edirol brands.

Windows Vista Compatibility Release

The table setup is a bit unusual. “Yes” means “will be compatible” in the future tense, but that apparently translates to “it works now”; links are included to 32-bit and 64-bit drivers. A dash means compatibility is unconfirmed one way or another, as you’re on your own with current drivers. A “No” means “We are sorry but we have no plan to realese the compatible software with Windows Vista.”

In other words, Roland/Edirol/BOSS have basically finished drivers for most of the devices they plan to support, and a lot of what isn’t supported now won’t be supported, ever.

Winners: USB, USB2 audio and MIDI hardware.
Losers: Older gear, bundled software, and editing apps.
Undetermined: FireWire (as of 1/31; I expect we’ll either learn it works or see an update).

The good news is, there’s a lot on the list: nearly all USB and USB2 audio and MIDI devices are supported, with only a handful of “legacy” devices excluded. The bad news is, FireWire devices are currently unconfirmed, and a surprising number of synths are on the “No” list. The original V-Synth (though not the newer XT) and Fantom-Xa and S (though not the X6, X7, and X8), and the SH-201, introduced less than a year ago, is being “evaluated” for compatibility with the internal editor, one of the major selling points of that synth. I’m assuming “incompatible” means the editor software is unsupported, though I’m unclear on why.

Overall, I’d say the Roland/Edirol compatibility picture is pretty good, and with dozens of devices on here, it’s certainly not fair to say “there are no drivers yet for Vista.” This is far more compatibility than the Mac had when the first Intel Macs appeared. But, that said, watch closely for what isn’t compatible before you get stung — there are some popular devices on the incompatible or unconfirmed list.

I’ll try to get more information, but otherwise, you should consult the Roland page for the latest information rather than CDM; only major announcements will appear here since Roland has it covered.

One of the most sought-after devices this year is the R-09 portable recorder from Edirol. It’s got what everyone’s been looking for in an audio recording device: integrated mics, a gorgeous silver case with iPod-like, pocketable dimensions, SD cards for recording, rechargeable batteries you can actually replace when you need to, and some nice extras. The key question: will it fit people’s needs? You don’t want just one review; you want a whole bunch of reviews. And we’ve got them, from readers and authors all around the world who have been testing these recorders on sources ranging from acoustic music to barking dogs to interviews to ambient sound:

Full Reviews

OReilly.com: Acoustic musician and author Mark Nelson is back doing field recordings in Hawaii for his O’Reilly Digital Media review, this time with the R-09. (Last time he used the R-09’s main rival, M-Audio’s MicroTrack 24/96; the similarity between the two suggest it’s worth your time to read both reviews. See our previous mention of the Hawaii MicroTrack test for further comments.)

Mark really sums up the device as what it is — a great, portable bargain, with some slight trade-offs in audio fidelity and pro features:

Review: Edirol R-09 Pocket Digital Recorder (Thanks, David!)

The Edirol R-09 is a handy field recorder with some surprisingly sophisticated file-maintenance features. It is profoundly easy to use (once you suss out the buttons), it records to inexpensive media, and the onboard mics do a decent job. Battery life is outstanding. It looks cool, too … It’s not for everyone. Professionals will want higher sample rates, enhanced metering, and more robust mics. But they’ll have to pay a lot more.

Gizmodo: Instapundit’s Glenn Reynolds got to take on the R-09 for the gadget mega-blog. You can make NPR-quality recordings, but can you master the soft-spoken, deep intonations? (The time is now thirteen minutes past the hour.)

Edirol R-09 Audio Recorder: Hands On By Instapundit’s Glenn Reynolds

Still, if you’re willing to spend in the neighborhood of four hundred bucks, you can make NPR-quality recordings for podcasts or radio shows, or quality concert bootlegs. Not bad for a gadget that fits in a shirt pocket.

F7sound: Michael Oster has an extensive R-09 review, with both internal mic and external “stealth” mic tests (go, bootleggers!), at F7 sound and vision. (Thanks, Sascha!) He’s mostly happy with it, and Edirol quickly replaced a faulty unit when it failed:

It’s tiny (smaller than a microcassette – see below) and records 24 bit digital audio with a sound quality that surprised me in a good way. It’s light even with batteries and should easily fit in a shirt or pants pocket. The only gripe I have so far, and it’s been mentioned on the net via group lists and the like, is the battery cover. The cover, located at the bottom of the device is very hard to deal with and seems like it’s going to break long before anything on the rest of the unit.

Sonic Studios: This manufacturer of surround mics, portable mics, and portable preamps (among other accessories), has written its own extensive review. If you like lots of charts and graphs in your purchasing decision, this is the review for you:

Sonic Studios R-09 Review

Additional good news is both mic/line R-09 inputs have tested adequately quiet and of sufficient bandwidth for at least 16bit depth recording requirements. However, audible improvement for 24 bit depth recording is likely with the addition of high quality external mic preamplifier for lowest noise/distortion requirements.

DAT-Heads Edirol/Marantz/M-Audio comparison: The one tricky bit to sort out is the age-old “which recorder should I buy” question, particularly with M-Audio’s competing MicroTrack posessing such a similar feature set. Stephen Bezruchka, one of the portable recording gurus on the DAT-Heads mailing list, takes his R-09 head-to-head with the MicroTrack and Marantz PMD-660. His major beef with the MicroTrack is poor reliability (in his experience) and the inability to replace the battery yourself; the latter issue sounds like a deal-killer for many, especially since the MicroTrack’s higher digital recording sample rates aren’t really critical in this kind of device.

Edirol R-09 review with comparisons to Microtrack and Marantz

The Roland R-09 is compact, featured, easy to use and may become the one I use the most. It is becoming accessorized to get with the iPod mania, so there is a carrying case with a tripod on the way as well as a microphone stand adaptor to put the unit in its case on a stand to use it as a complete microphone-recorder combo. We are blessed with good recorders to choose from.

Reader Reviews

Our first reader impressions have received a number of responses from other R-09 early-adopters, with sound samples linked from comments. (More impressions and sounds from the impromptu mini-blog r09.ocbka.org.)

Here are some typical responses:

I’ve used mine for 3 days, recording nature sounds, interviews, â€Å“testâ€Â? soundbytes of traffic, aircraft, sirens, and a live concert in the park. I am AMAZED at the quality, and the sensitivity of the internal mics. -Jim Flannery

I’ve been trying it out for a couple of days, and it’s really nice sounding. The display is also very bright and easy to read. Too bad it lacks phantom powered tele ins though. The M-Audio Microtrack 2496 offers that. -Matt

For more reader reviews, ranging from the informal three-line response to an extensive list of pros and cons, see the 55 comments on the original R-09 story.

Lessons Learned

Reliability is an issue on all of these devices, presumably because of the size and some readers being early-adopters. Edirol seems to have the best track record, though, both in terms of reliability and speedy replacements, and has the added advantage of being able to replace the battery yourself if there’s a problem (something you can’t do, notably, on Apple’s iPod line).

One important note: be very careful when buying memory cards. My current preferred brand is SanDisk; their cards have been extremely reliable and are available at some still-fantastic bargain prices.

Some readers have complained about a slight hiss when recording low levels. This seems to be related to the internal mic, so your best bet is to plug in a better external mic.

48v phantom power is not available on this unit. I was erroneously told it would be on the show floor at NAMM by someone from Roland (can’t remember if it was a product specialist or PR, so I won’t cast blame), before the unit began shipping. But if you’re really serious about plugging in external mics, a preamp seems like the way to go anyway. While I can’t vouch for quality, Sonic Studios has a fascinating portable pre that looks like it’d be perfect for the R-09 and other small recorders:

Sonic Studios portable mic amps

Thanks to everyone who sent in that barrage of tips, questions, and comments. Keep them coming, on this and other products you care about!

Edirol R-09 product page

Ever since I first spotted the Edirol R-09 SD-based flash recorder at the NAMM show, it’s been an absurdly hot item. There are some 50 comments going on that item, largely from people wanting to know how it is. Only problem: I don’t have one. While I talk to Edirol about that, here’s an early reader report.

Via the CDM forums, our friend masterslave (guessing that’s not his real name), sends a detailed first impressions report, complete with sound samples. It’s not a full review, but the sound samples are impressive; the built-in mics sound great. (Never knock lowly electret-condensers; they’re cheap, reliable, rugged, and have a nice, warm sound.)

Edirol R-09 First Impressions [r09.ocbka.org]

Anyone else who’s gotten a hold of this or other gear and wants to share the results, don’t be shy!

Now it’s Edirol’s turn again with the R-09. It’s got a small, curvy form factor like the MicroTrack, costs $450 list, and includes an excellent built-in mic. How do these units compare (on paper, anyway)?

Storage medium: The R-09 uses SD cards instead of CF. I happen to have lots of high-volume SD cards around, so I like that; they’re also smaller than CF. When I last checked, 1 GB SD cards were going for as little as $75 — very cool. (Though if you’re doing a lot of field recordings and don’t want to have to keep unloading to your computer, MiniDisc remains a much cheaper way to go.)

File format: Like a numebr of new recorders, the R-09 lets you choose between uncompressed linear WAV and MP3, with MP3 bitrates up to 320 kbps. For the record, the R-09, R-1 and MicroTrack support up to 24-bit, though only the MicroTrack can record up to 96 kHz. I seriously doubt anyone would want a sampling rate that high on this recorder, though, so that’s unlikely to be a deal-breaker.

Form factor: I believe the R-09 is actually slightly smaller than the MicroTrack. It’s certainly much prettier, and the silver case is a delight to hold. I also like the extremely friendly controls on the R-09; one button gives you recording on both, but the Edirol more nearly apes the controls on an MP3 player.

Display: Here’s the best thing about the R-09: the reverse-colored LCD screen is simply gorgeous. It’s easier to read, and it’s easier on battery life (you’re only backlighting characters, not the whole screen).

Mic: Both units come with a stereo electret mic. On the MicroTrack, it’s an add-on you plug into the top. On the R-09, the mic is integrated with the device. The latter is slightly more convenient, and because this is a solid-state device, noise from the device isn’t much of an issue. Roland reps I talked to at the show said they thought this might actually be a slightly better mic than what was on the R-01, which already had impressive recording fidelity. (Stereo electret mics, while very cheap, are often underrated — while they’re not going to give you a flat recording, they can do a decent job.) The R-09 also has some nice recording options: dedicated input control, mono/stereo selector, low-cut filter, and gain boost.

Phantom power: A controversial element of the MicroTrack was its inability to put out a full 48V phantom power for mics. Not a huge issue given the target market, but Edirol said they have true 48V phantom power on the R-09. That spec isn’t on the Roland website, though, so the jury’s still out.

I/O: M-Audio retains the slight edge here, because it has balanced TRS inputs and optical inputs. The R-09 has mic and line ins (minijack), and USB. The headphone jack doubles as optical out. That’s too bad: I think there’s more of a market for optical in recording than optical out, because most of us are going to use the USB to off-load audio. Then again, if you’re not planning to do digital-in recording, the R-09 is fine.

Battery: The MicroTrack uses a rechargable Lithium-Ion battery. The R-1 and R-09 both use AA batteries (rechargeable AA’s work, too). I much prefer the latter setup, and battery life should be roughly comparable — a few hours of record time mean you’ll probably run out of storage space before you run out of juice.

Effects and Extra Features: Here’s the one remaining reason to get an R-1 over the R-09 or MicroTrack: the R-1 has 13 built-in effects (microphone simulator, noise suppressor, hum-cut, EQ, reverb, center canceller), a metronome, and a tuner. The R-09 has a reverb only. The MicroTrack has none of the above.

Conclusions: So there you have it. What we really need now is a recording run-off between the R-09 and MicroTrack, because their features and form factor are otherwise nearly identical. The MicroTrack is your choice if you want optical in, and the R-09 if you prefer a truly integrated mic and real phantom power, but the other features are so close I’d want to see extended hands-on reports with each before buying. I expect we’ll see some reviews of each soon — CDM will have to battle with every other reviewer on the planet, but if I don’t get one, I’ll point you to someone reputable who has.

What about the R-1? Edirol says they’re continuing to sell the R-1, and with good reason: the effects, metronome, and tuner remain unique. I have to admit, I like the idea of having a do-all musician’s tool, even if the R-1 is chunkier looking. I do have one of these on test, and will offer my review soon, complete with sound samples.

R-09
Pricing: $450 list, $400 street
Availability: Spring 2006

Related:

Which Portable Recorder to Buy?

iPod Nano Still Not a Recorder; Portable Recording Alternatives

O’Reilly Reviews MicroTrack USB Recorder, In Depth, In Maui

The software: Motion Dive has been a huge part of the software VJ scene since its 1998 debut. American VJs even imported it, because the DJ-style interface was so intuitive it didn’t really matter if the menus were in Japanese. It excels at adding text and effects, timed cross-fades, and even custom MIDI-triggered Flash animations. There’s plenty of fun stock content to fool around with, and adding your own is a breeze. Thanks to the addition of V.Link, Motion Dive is automatically mapped to Roland and Edirol music keyboards. At AES, I tried it out with the PCR-M1, which is perfectly suited to VJ apps.

The hardware: Here’s the part that really got me psyched. Edirol has been tweaking the controller, and it looks and feels fantastic. It in fact sends MIDI, so while you won’t be able to buy the controller separately, if you do buy the Motion Dive bundle you can use it in other software like Ableton Live. It’s compact enough that I’d consider putting it atop my music keybaord and doubling as a VJ. It’s just great fun to play with.

Availability/pricing: Shipping expected to start later this month; Mac/Windows, street around US$500.

motion dive .tokyo performance package

Amateur VJs need not apply. Edirol has unveiled pricing and availability on their new V-440 HD Multiformat Video Mixer, and it’s not for mortals: US$$12,995 — an incredible deal for HD mixing if you’ve ever priced pro video equipment, but, uh, probably out of reach of most readers.

That said, the V-440 is an amazing box, and a great glimpse of what’s to come. Up to full 1080i HD resolutions, multiple formats (standard, HD, computer RGB), blue and green chroma keying, daisy-chaining support, and everything you’d expect from an HD mixer from Edirol. And musicians are in the mix, too: thanks to V-LINK, you can control the mixer by playing any supported Roland or Edirol keyboard. So who’s snapping these up? Expect pro tours and (believe it or not) the religious market, which spends a lot of the dollars on this kind of equipment.

And, oh, it’s gorgeous.

V-440 HD Multiformat Video Mixer and Switcher [Edirol.com]

First off, welcome readers of Keyboard Magazine, which has bravely taken on a new regular feature on VJing for musicians. Don’t read Keyboard? Check out online stories or subscribe at Keyboard’s site.

In the September issue of Keyboard, there’s not only a great cover story on Trent Reznor, but I did a two-page feature on VJ Holly Daggers. There were a lot more links that I wanted to talk about than I could fit into the article, so here goes:

Holly Daggers, Reflective Chroma-keying, and the Korg Entrancer [CDM]

Holly’s rig: Reflecmedia’s miracle surface, perfect for chroma-keying, Edirol V4, the favored 4-channel hardware video mixer of VJs everywhere, and of course the Korg Entrancer, the key to Holly’s setup

VJ resource list from community sites to VJ performance reports [CDM]

Hands-on with the Kaptivator, Korg’s beefed-up new video sampler (Holly? Have they sent you one yet?) [CDM]

Forward Motion Theater, Holly’s collaboration with Eric Dunlap that produces the Eyewash VJ event here in NYC

VJing: Now in convenient book form! Lastly, much to my surprise, we have a new VJ book to look forward to that features the Eyewash crew and many of the other top VJs and video artists, and provides essential how-to information:

The VJ Book [via share.dj]

Not only that, but the writer is Paul Spinrad, who I also get to work with via Make Magazine. We’ll have to all have drinks in the fall when his book, plus my upcoming (delayed) book Real World Digital Audio are both out!

Got other VJing tips or resources to share, technical questions to ask, or just want to brag about your demo reel? Drop me a line, because remember, “I don’t sleep.” (TM)

Search for “VJ” for more coverage at CDM, or check out the latest news.