cheap 99 buck tape recorder

BTW here's the link to what I'm talking about: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=42/g=rec/search/detail/base_pid/240851/

I have never used that one. They are good for getting ideas on tape.

yo - can't tell you much about the cheap $99 recorder, but for $79 more, you can have a digital 4 track - Zoom PS-04:

http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/models/ps04/pdmodel.html

There's a discussion forum where you can learn more about it at:

http://www.2090.org/zoom/bbs/index

I own one and like it, but don't really use it to its full potential. I know $179 is a lot more money, but its a lot more machine and you might make better long term use of it.

Steve

Thing is, I don't have a permanent job (I'm a teen), so I can't go the extra inch when buying. :(

Understood - scour ebay. You may find a bargain.

I've heard some incredible recordings on a four track cassette recorder. It's all about how you use it i think. You might eventually want to invest in a few things like a decent preamp and some outboard effects but that can come in time. I would still consider the zoom. built in effects and I believe, amp sims.

I used the tape 4-tracks for years and they can capture great sounds. The biggest drawebacks are tape hiss and loss of quality if you want more than 4 tracks and have to bounce multiple tracks down to 1. Their advantages are that they are cheap and easy to use and are very forgiving with headroom due to natural tape compression whereas digital has a hard ceiling that results in ugly digital clipping if you're not careful.

I have a PS-04 that I use all the time, and it sounds good and has a lot of usefulness when combined with computer mixing programs. The PS-04 is not intuitive, though, and I've spent a lot of time getting it to do what I want it to do. You might want to look at the slightly larger Zoom MS4 (?) and the 8 track version which have larger control pads and, therefore, less complex menu structures, if you do consider these. Of course the PS-04 has the advantage of practically fitting into your pocket.

Maybe it's because I grew up with tape recorders, but those old tape 4-tracks always just seemed to do exactly what you expected them to do, very intuitive but without all the amazing powers you can jam into a digital box.

I own that exact recorder and use it with acoustic and electric guitars and vocals even thought I can't really sing. It'll get your sound down just like it sounds, so when I record something and it sucks it's my fault. I would say go for it, that thing works good. The only thing I've noticed that I don't like is that when I put the tape into a regular tape player the speed does funny stuff, but that should be okay if you use the line out and stuff like the insructions say.

I think that would work fine, you can even use it as a mixer if you want to record on your pc, in fact you can use the line out to plug into your sound card and you can mix your tracks on the pc hard drive ( you can use audacity), you will need a stereo mini jack to 2 RCA jack( just order it from MF with the tape recorder) You can bounce tracks from the tape deck to the pc to get more than 4 tracks. If you are looking at digital DON"T get one with a 32 or 128 mb card, you just don't have enough memory IMO.

most of the stuff on my web page is recorded with a 4 track cassette recorder :D :D

The biggest drawebacks are tape hiss

I have the Tascam 4-track, and found that the way round tape hiss was to record with the treble knob all the way up; then back it down for playback.

Best,

A :-)

smokindog,

Thanks for that very interesting and helpful advice. I know this topic is very old but here is my perspective, me also being on a very limited budget.

PATIENCE IS VIRTUE. Don't buy impulsively but SAVE money for as long as it takes, a few months maybe to get the very best that you can get with a little bit more money saved up. As a rule, get something that you think you will STILL be using and satisfied with a year from now or 2 years from now. Otherwise if you buy on impulse you may not be satisfied with it 6 months later and have to save up money all over again to buy something better.

For a small amount more than the price of this tape tracker you can get a portable BR532 on ebay ($100-$150) or Better yet a Fostex MR8 in the $180-$220 range. I saw an MR8 go recently for $101. simply because it was missing the battery compartment cover and did not have the power supply, which could very easily be remedied in both cases. I wish I would have bid on that one and maybe picked it up for $120. I wasn't paying attention.

On a very limited budget you have to be patient and save money. MEANWHILE, there is a HUGE ADVANTAGE to waiting and saving money. You get to WINDOW SHOP all of the available products and LEARN about them as you go so you end up making the best decision.

Oh Yeah, (on edit) with reference to smokindog's comments, these memory cards are very inexpensive nowdays so upgrading the memory cards up to a gigabyte is not a big deal.

Good luck
Phangeaux
I think that would work fine, you can even use it as a mixer if you want to record on your pc, in fact you can use the line out to plug into your sound card and you can mix your tracks on the pc hard drive ( you can use audacity), you will need a stereo mini jack to 2 RCA jack( just order it from MF with the tape recorder) You can bounce tracks from the tape deck to the pc to get more than 4 tracks. If you are looking at digital DON"T get one with a 32 or 128 mb card, you just don't have enough memory IMO.

most of the stuff on my web page is recorded with a 4 track cassette recorder :D :D

Why do you want an external recorder by the way, wouldn't a computer with free software work just as good?

Why do you want an external recorder by the way, wouldn't a computer with free software work just as good?

Arjen, I am not sure who you addressed this too, but I agree, you can record directly through the 'Line In' on a simple and basic cheap sound card that nearly every computer has, use free software to mix tracks and it is thus essentially FREE. You don't have to buy anything but an adequate microphone (or two). I saw one post which illustrated a cable divider that makes two mono leads going into the 'line out' on the sound card,about a $5 item at Radio Shack or any audio department in bigger stores. I assume this is for 2 mics. I haven't tried this yet because I hate crawling under my desk to make connections, but I may in fact try that very soon just to see how well it works. I have heard that it is quite adequate. See my post under the Line 6 Toneport topic that smokin' dog posted, which more or less says that simpler is better in alot of cases.

As for me, I was considering a portable recorder like the Fostex MR8 because I have a nice little hideaway that I go to which is quiet and NO COMPUTER, thank goodness!!! The computer just eats up time that I would much rather be spending on making music. I ALWAYS play better, sound better and am more creative when I get away from the computer and away from my messy apartment. Therefore a good portable recorder would be quite useful.

Otherwise, as I mentioned in that Line 6 Toneport topic it can all be very simple and inexpensive, depending upon what you really want to do

Phangeaux: was actually talking to Yoyo, sorry about that. Portable recorders do have many uses but I was wondering if he might not better go the Free Way until he saves up for what he really wants or needs.