Simple recording questions

[boat]

I have some pretty basic recording questions...  I'm convinced from reading and listening to posts here that quality won't be an issue for me.  Will the Zoom H4 or the Boss BR-600 allow a second track to be added later (record and play simultaneously)?  It appears the H2 and Boss Micro will not – right?  With any of these portable recorders is it a fairly simple matter to add a second track later with Garageband, Audacity, or Reaper?  Is Garageband substantially superior to Audacity or Reaper (my next computer may be a Mac)?
Thanks,
- Hamp

[boat]

The H4n promo includes the following but I'm not sure this is the capability I'm asking about.  "The MTR mode allows simultaneous 2-track recording and 4-track playback. With this feature, you can sketch songs by overdubbing vocals and instruments with ease."   Due to lack of experience I'm not sure of some of the info I read on this and on the BR-600.  I want to buy a portable recorder - not sure if I should start out with the Boss micro or Zoom H2 and then use the computer for any further editing?  Trying not to be shortsighted but don't want to waste money either.  Hope some of you guys with experience will lend some insight.
Thanks,
-  Hamp

[jeremy3220]

Any multitrack recording device should do what you are asking but I don't have any experience with portable devices.

[identicalstranger]

Hi Boat,

I have a barely used Boss BR-600 (approx. 10 hours) that I would love to sell.  I would let it go for $225 ($125 off new price) if you are interested. You can definitely do what you want to do...I have done it with it several times. I am switching over to a Mac. A friend has one, and I just think everything is easier to see on a big screen, as opposed to the little LCD on the Boss unit.

Of course, if portability is one of your main issues, the Boss would be a better solution for you. You can pack it up and take it anywhere, and it has built in stereo condenser mics which do a GREAT job in a live recording session with multiple players. Nothing to plug in, works great.

You can email me direct jeff_slevin@msn.com if interested in buying it. I'd also be into trading for an MBox USB interface or equivalent.

[RoundLakeDT]

Boat, either the original H4 or the new H4n will multi-track.  You can play back a previously-recorded track on Monitor (and listen via headphones) while recording to another track.  I think you can record the new tracks in stereo, but don't recall specifically

I have the H4 but have only recorded in regular stereo (2-track) mode.  If you've been looking over the manuals for these things, you can probably find the section that describes what you're interested in.  Happy to provide other hands-on info if that could be useful, but just not on the 4-track mode

As for post-processing, I like Audacity.  Have also used Cakewalk Pyro for simple stuff

Dave

[boat]

I appreciate the information, gentlemen.  Hmmm....  Jeff I'll email you regarding the Boss.  I admit, you have me thinking about a laptop with your comments.  I'm trying to spin up on info about the Macs - have they had this capability for several years or would you need a recent OS version.  Guess if I could do the same thing with a PC laptop and Audacity or Cakewalk?  Then again.... a small portable device would sure have some advantages

[Skyver]

I have a BR600, but not an awful lot of experience using it. I'll try to answer, though.

You can use the BR600 to record 4 separate tracks on tracks 1 through 4, then you can bounce those onto 5/6 or 7/8, and record another 4 tracks. Then you can bounce 1 through 4, and 5/6, onto 7/8. You can keep going until you build a symphony if you want, and there is no signal degradation like there was in the old analog recorders.

The BR600 also has a built-in drum machine. You can play along and record with preset drum tracks, or you can program in your own drum patterns and arrangements. It's a bit fiddly programming a drum track on the BR600, but you can download a free drum programming program from the Boss website that allows you to create a drum pattern on your computer and then download it to the BR600 with a USB cable.

The BR600 has a limited amount of memory on board, although you can install a higher capacity memory card.

However, you can export your song to your computer through the USB connection in one of several formats: mp3, wav or aiff, or back it up in the BR600's native format. If you do the latter, you can work on another song on the BR600, then upload your earlier song to the BR600 and work on it some more.

The BR600 also has a number of effects built in. You can plug your guitar directly into the BR600, play a part, then play it back with one or more effects selected (eg. distortion, chorus, delay, flanger, compressor, etc.). If you decide you like the effect, you can keep it; if not, try a different one.

There are a lot of functions in the little machine, and it's a bit complicated figuring out how to use them. You'll need to keep the manual handy at first. I found the manual a bit complicated to work with, but the online store I bought mine from included a simplified manual called Sound Engineering Made Easy by Stuart Clyde. It would be worth buying separately. Working through it, you can be up and running recording songs in a few minutes.

I bought the BR600 because I was trying to record using Audacity, and the latency was driving me nuts.

[boat]

Very informative Skyver - thanks.   More capability than I realized with the BR600.  I've got to read through this a couple more times.  Would you comment a little further about the Audacity latency - is that when you were adding tracks or?  And I guess the Boss accomplished what you needed?

[Skyver]

There were two issues with Audacity that bothered me. I plugged my guitar directly into the laptop, and played along with the song I had opened with Audacity. I would hear the notes from my guitar about 1/3 of a second after I played them, and about 1/3 of a second after the beat from the pre-recorded track. There is an adjustment to make up for the delay in Audacity. You shift the track to match the pre-recorded track. In order to actually hear what I was playing in sync with the pre-recorded track, however, I couldn't listen through the headphones. I had to play along with the song through the computer speakers and play the guitar through my amplifier, take a line-out, and plug it in to the laptop.

The second issue was that the track I tried to record on Audacity had short drop-outs about once every 15 seconds, so that it seemed that my playing was speeding up and slowing down. Again, I tried all the adjustments in the preferences.

I'm taking an online course at Berklee, and I have to make recordings for my assignments. I was losing marks because of these recording problems.

Several people on the Berklee bulletin board advised me to buy various hardware interfaces, but by that time I was tired of messing with it, and just bought the BR-600, which just worked perfectly as soon as I plugged it in.

One of the omissions from the BR600 is that, although there are about 100 preset drum patterns, they're all in 4/4 time. Yesterday I was messing about and decided to try recording a version of "Sleepwalk", which is in 6/8. I managed to program a basic 6/8 drum pattern in about 15 minutes. Next time it will take about 5.

[boat]

Very interesting.  I have not heard of this being problematic with Garageband (know a couple of people who use it).  ...but I hadn't heard this with Audacity either until now either.  Thanks again for the excellent information.

[Skyver]

I've heard that Garageband is very good, but I'm using a computer bought by my employer (university) and they won't buy Macs.