I’m new to all this, so I hope I’m not asking the wrong questions here.
Over the last year or 2 I’ve bought myself some gear which I really love:
Dreadbox Typhon
Elektron Digitone
Elektron Digitakt
Keystep 37
They are all set up nicely (after days of figuring it all out) and I use the Digitakt for the Midi Clock and audio out to my headphones for all the gear.
I love it all being DAWless as I work on computers all day.
I’d like a way to just record to a device or some sort using the Digitakt’s audio out ports and not use Overbridge. For example I took the Digitone (my fav device) to the sofa and became really creative in that space and thought how can I record this. I did try to my iPhone but getting stuff off that is a pain too and it was a video record and not a nice .wav.
I’ve read some use their trusty old Zoom H2 etc and then master the wav in Ableton which sounds great to me. I don’t mind using Ableton to master tbh as I know you can’t be completely DAWless. I only have Ableton Intro though is that enough?
Anyway what other reasonably priced audio recorders would you recommend?
You might not need to have a recorder. You can record a stereo file with Ableton live intro, can´t you?
When I get you right you sum up all your gear through the external ins of the DT & DN?
The Digitakt is the last piece in your chain? Use it as an audio-inferface on you computer and record a stereo file.
I am just mentioning this because you said you want to master in Ableton Live.
Just wondering why you want to go an extra step (via handheld recorder) and have another AD/DA conversion?
A recorder on the other hand is a useful tool in it´s own right.
I use a Zoom H2n.
Collecting samples for further use in your DT is inspirational and a lot of fun.
You could as well sit on your couch, jamming with the DT and put all this to your recorder.
Mangle it in the DT afterwards.
so, thing is, portable recorders mainly exist to offer a convinient microphone solution for outside carry. they work great for recording electronic instrument setups such as yours aswel but they were not designed for that in mind. i think what you are looking for is 1010music bluebox. (6 stereo/12 mono inputs with independent eq, recording and playback, just to name a few)
if you are really into idea of portable/field recorder, then:
you are daisy chaining your devices into one stereo signal - zoom f3
you plan on recording 4 separate stems for later mastering - zoom h5 + 2 additional input head/adapter
i use zoom h5 for just 2 channel stereo, and as a mic for samples.
its a nice device but i wouldnt pay for it more than 100$ in 2022.
EDIT:actually scrap the 4 stems idea for h5, all your instruments are stereo so it wouldnt work. Yeah i really advise looking into bluebox, with f3 as medium price option, and everything else (aka any recorder with stereo input) as budget options.
As a super portable, simple, 2-track, battery-powered device with excellent sound quality and easy USB file transfer I can really recommend the Zoom F3. I always have it close to me when I make music.
I think you used your phone incorrectly… as an example, you recorded to video instead of audio track.
There are dozens of programs that will record 2-track audio and let you airdrop, Dropbox, or just save the wav to a file.
What you want is a small, good sounding interface for your phone that will accept the outputs you have / need on your gear.
I use a Zoom H2n. It’s a nifty little machine, but not so great for line-level input IMHO. I’ve looked into Bluebox and that seems perfect, but I’d love a more simple device just to record 2 channel line level in excellent quality.
I know very little about Ableton and getting my laptop out and connecting up is a pain as I don’t have much space in my house (one day).
I have Ableton 11 Lite at the moment but it’s limited, but will buy ‘Intro’ as I’d like to master my tunes (if you can call them that).
The Zoom H2n looks really cool and not to expensive.
I had all my gear set up last night and I wasn’t being creative at all, so I took the DN to the sofa with a nice cup of tea and headphones and wow things just happened and I thought having a recorder here would be great to capture this rather than a huge laptop to grave the .wav and then at some point stick in Ableton.
Looks like many use the Zoom H2n, so it’s now on my radar
I’ve seen that Bluebox 1010, it looks like an amazing mixer and recorder, I did wonder why you need both?
The Bluebox isn’t cheap but I have on a wish list of the Microcosm, Bluebox 1010 or Syntakt, I can only have 1. (oh and something called the Steam Deck but that’s another story).
I’ve heard mixed reviews on the recording side for the Bluebox, but would like one, but a bit pricey and close to a Microcoms or Syntakt that I’d want. I can only choose 1 really.
How do you find the recording side and how portable is it? For example if I was just sitting in on the sofa with the DN I guess you record to it and then master in Ableton?
Are you already used to the Ableton workflow or intend to use the session view?
Reason I am asking is: There are better options as DAW IMHO (more complete and cheaper).
Bluebox is indeed pricy, but what you get for that price is basically having simple version of ableton in a palm of your hand, that can be powered with a powerbank.
I dont own it but i have Blackbox, its the same formfactor and i can say that its very portable.
That said, you gave example of just, taking DN to sofa and having fun, wishing you could just record it easy and fast. For that F3 is perfect, its the smalles recorder with internal battery. Since its 32bit float you dont even need to set gain up, just press record. Its also twice as cheap.
Id say, choose Bluebox if you want to just, not use pc for your music at all.
F3 if you just want to get audio file as easy as possible.
They are if you are not going through sandstorms in a desert with them.
Some of them have a different feature sets. though. The Zoom stuff works really well.
I also have a dynamic mono mic for my android phone that I always carry with me.
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Its better to have it instead of a great sound not recorded. The quality of all of this is so decent you can easily work with it.
Recording a classical orchester might be another thing.
I strongly dissuade using the h2n for electronic music. It has a steep low cut on both its mic and line inputs, taking the juicy lows out of kicks, bass etc. Very well audible on decent headphones and speakers. I posted audio examples earlier in this thread.
