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I've started playing in a band again after a 4 year hiatus due to jobs and personal commitments. I'd like to record each practice in order to work on songs, remember parts, tidbits etc...

Given this scenario would a stand alone digital recorder or laptop be preferable? If a stand-alone, any suggestions?

For that purpose I think either would suffice.
I use this http://www.shure.com/americas/products/microphones/sm/sm57-x2u-usb-digital-bundle plugged into a laptop to record my band rehearsals for the same purpose and it works great, it's just important to check the mic placement and dials each time to make sure the recording will come out clearly.

if you got an ipad or ipod
get a tascam im2
http://www.amazon.com/iM2-Channel-Porta ... B0065GF5VW

its not the best recording you can get
but its pretty close if not the same as a zoom
$25 is a steal
and records right into your program
i want to get a usb-female 30 pin
to try it out on the laptop
ive got over a hundred hours of recordings now
if we kept usin the zoom probly not so many
just because of how easy it is

Thanks for the suggestions. I do have an ipad I could use. Speaking of the ipad, I just ran across this: http://us.focusrite.com/ipad-audio-inte ... ack-studio

Seems pretty interesting.

I get some really great recordings using a couple of cheap condenser mics into a scarlet 2i2.
I would agree that placement of the mics is absolutely key to how it comes out. Spending 20 minutes playing for ten seconds at full volume and then moving the mic away from whats loudest and towards whats quietest is time well spent.

johnnydeformed wrote:Thanks for the suggestions. I do have an ipad I could use. Speaking of the ipad, I just ran across this: http://us.focusrite.com/ipad-audio-inte ... ack-studio

Seems pretty interesting.

I got one of those focusrite interfaces. Had it up in B/S/T but dont think im gonna sell it anymore. Ive used it only with my ipad and have had great results. just wish the cord to hook it up to my ipad was slightly longer. but i like knowing that i can hook it up to my computer when i need too.

my old band used one of these to record all our practices



it worked suprisingly well and was instrumental in our song writing process.

cheap, quick and easy.

i just got a tascam DR07 mostly for field recordings, but it would record band practices really well. i'd say your best bet would be any portable recorder.

it also really depends on what you're trying to do with the recordings... if you just want some thing to reference later on, the portable recorder is all you'll need and you will be able to hear each instrument pretty well. i was in a band where we recorded practices and "jams" for hours sometimes with a very professional recording setup and later released those recordings. which can be really cool in those "man i wish we recorded that" moments.

i'm thinking about getting a fancy smart phone (iphone 5s/galaxy s4) and wondering whether one would be suitable for field recordings/

not sure this is the right thread but HEY why not?

bugzaney wrote:my old band used one of these to record all our practices



it worked suprisingly well and was instrumental in our song writing process.

cheap, quick and easy.

Yes!! I'll never ever play in a band without this thing.

bugzaney wrote:i'm thinking about getting a fancy smart phone (iphone 5s/galaxy s4) and wondering whether one would be suitable for field recordings/

not sure this is the right thread but HEY why not?

it would do the job but I'd recommend a portable recorder like the Zoom over that any day. It's worthwhile being able to adjust the input gain to make sure it doesn't clip if you're holding it close to something.
If you use it correctly you get much more detailed recordings, and you can set it to save files as .wav so they aren't compressed automatically like on the iPhone.

Bon Hoga wrote:

bugzaney wrote:my old band used one of these to record all our practices



it worked suprisingly well and was instrumental in our song writing process.

cheap, quick and easy.

Yes!! I'll never ever play in a band without this thing.

Another H1 vote here! I bought this on a whim and its fanfuckingtastic! You just have to be gentle with it. They are extremely fragile! Trade off- cheap ass build, but excellent recording quality. I highly recommend it

MeSoFuzzy wrote:

Bon Hoga wrote:

bugzaney wrote:my old band used one of these to record all our practices



it worked suprisingly well and was instrumental in our song writing process.

cheap, quick and easy.

Yes!! I'll never ever play in a band without this thing.

Another H1 vote here! I bought this on a whim and its fanfuckingtastic! You just have to be gentle with it. They are extremely fragile! Trade off- cheap ass build, but excellent recording quality. I highly recommend it

Also, it clips easily, so what I do is I set the level very low and then amplify and process the recording on my PC.

Keep in mind that if you set the level very low and then apply gain to it you'll be amplifying the noise floor too. You'll get better quality recordings by testing beforehand and adjusting it so that it's a couple of notches below clipping when you're at your loudest. It can be a pain in the ass but if you set these things up correctly you can get incredible quality recordings, even cheap microphones nowadays are pretty awesome.

I just wish the auto vol. adjust setting was actually useful. I guess it's too slow to respond when the source audio is loud and has sharp/quick transients.