Sturdy or decent low-end gear for mobile laptop recording

Castronova · Post by **Castronova** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 12:20 pm

I want to be able to travel to different areas around China (and later other parts of Asia) and be able to set up my computer to record/produce bands there, as well as recording traditional instruments and vocalists to use in my own EDM productions.

I'll need an audio/MIDI interface, a couple different microphones -- actually I'm starting from scratch on this, so all recomendations are helpful. If there are any kind of ultra-lightweight microphone stands, or ones that fold up really small, I'd like to know about them too! I use Ableton on a PC, if it makes any difference.

The only thing that makes this a little different from the typical "recommend gear" request is that I'm 90% sure this stuff will eventually either get broken in travel, or stolen by someone the second I take my eye off my suitcase. So, I'm either looking for stuff that's got a reputation for being sturdy, or something inexpensive [i.e. - disposable] that's not THAT crappy. I don't mind buying low end gear in this project.

Basically imagine that you just got kicked out of your house, and you need to record music while living in your car -- and you park your car in a shitty ghetto with lots of carjackings. What gear would you want?

G3rard · Post by **G3rard** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 12:56 pm

Sounds like your better off buying second hand gear than anything new, especially the laptop.

Theres always loads of second hand Shure SM58 mics on ebay for between £10 - £30 each. I know their mainly designed for live applications but they are the industry standard, tough as old boots and loads of studios use them for recording aswell.

If you are recording bands shouldnt they have their own microphones and equiptment such as mic stands? Save you carting it halfway across Asia.

laza · Post by **laza** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 2:49 pm

buy one of the more expensive portable recorders. you get excellent sound and you can carry it always in your jacket...
but if you need more channels its not easy to find a good but cheap interface, especially when you already are planning to get your stuff stolen

hydrogen · Post by **hydrogen** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 4:21 pm

get some condensor mics and some nice padded cases for them. There are lots of different types of condensor mics though... it all depends on what you are recording.

Don't know of any portable stands though.

livecollective · Post by **livecollective** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:40 pm

Binaural Microphons, record what you hear, and they are tiny, you could potentially make some yourself for really cheap as well...

http://www.google.com/products?q=binaur ... hone&hl=en

http://www.core-sound.com/mics.html

hydrogen · Post by **hydrogen** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 6:54 am

livecollective wrote:Binaural Microphons, record what you hear, and they are tiny, you could potentially make some yourself for really cheap as well...

http://www.google.com/products?q=binaur ... hone&hl=en

http://www.core-sound.com/mics.html

fck yeah... thats awesome... the heads to model these are generally pretty expensive... have you used some of these?

laza · Post by **laza** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:13 am

this one isnt tha expensive.. afriend of mine use this to record little atmos for postpro.
http://www.soundman.de/
but if you also want to record instruments in good quality, its maybe not the best choice

agodi · Post by **agodi** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:21 pm

The Zoom H4 looks like it would be perfect for what you need. I use the Zoom h3 and the quality is excellent.

Zoom H4
Fits in the palm of your hand
Ideal for infinite variety of mobile recording applications
Records 24-bit/96 kHz digital audio as well as MP3 format with bitrates up to 320kbps
Two studio-quality X/Y pattern condenser microphones for true stereo recording
Two combination XLR-1/4-inch input jacks with phantom power
On-board studio effects compression, limiting and mic modeling
1/8-inch headphone jack provided for monitoring
512MB Secure Digital (SD) card included.
Using a 16GB SD memory card provides 24 hours of stereo WAV file recording in 44.1kHz/16-bit mode with CD Quality sound
Up to 280 hours recording in MP3 stereo mode
USB mass-storage interface
Four hours of continuous recording operation from 2 AA batteries
Back-lit, 128×64 pixel LCD provides the visual interface
AC adapter, windshield cover, USB Cable and tripod adapter included

4-Track Recording
4-track audio in CD quality 16-bit PCM, 44.1 kHz sampling
Combination high-impedance phone inputs for vocals, guitars, bass or keyboards.
Built in guitar amp modeling equivalent to the Zoom G2

Audio Interface
Records directly to your computer as a USB audio interface
Bundled with Cubase LE, 48-Track Digital Audio Workstation software

http://www.samsontech.com/products/prod ... rodID=1901