Digital Recorders – A Useful Tool?

Recording 101

Should you throw away that cassette recorder? What is a hand held digital recorder? How does a portable recorder differ from a computer’s music digital interface?  These are some of the questions you may have when you start exploring recording your own music.

Thanks to technology, a student of the banjo, guitar or mandolin has options for recording sound files.  To start, a student can record themselves using a digital mp3 recorder.  The files can be then transferred to the computer and then burned to CD.  Surprisingly, the quality of the recording is quite good.  I once recorded my entire band using a simple digital recorder and one condensor microphone. The condensor microphone (which is powered by batteries connected to the recorder) allows for a better recording option than using a computer’s built in microphone.  While some of the band members were skeptical that the recording would be useful for a demo, they were later surprised at the results.  We at least had a draft demo of some songs recorded at home from one of our many practice sessions..

mp3 digital recorder

When I started preparing instructional materials, I recorded sound files using a single hand held digitial recorder.  The quality of the recordings were surprisingly good.  Yet there are limitations.  You can only recording a single track.  However, for someone starting out, recording a single track, such as your rhythm or your lead, is a start in the right direction.  A student who records and listens to themselves play, will benefit from hearing what others hear.

Stay tuned for more in a series of blogs about technology in recording and the various equipment involved.  Next time, I will address the usb musical interface which takes home recording closer to studio recording sound.