Best DAT recorder to use with my Rode NTG-3

J

jthabel

Well-known member
Hi all,

Recently upgraded to a Canon SLR and now I'm going to be recording audio outside the camera for the first time ever. I'm looking for a reasonably priced DAT recorder with XLR inputs that produces phantom power. Reasonably priced means under 1000 bucks, but ideally this would be closer to 500-700 bucks. Anyone have any suggestions or positive experiences witha reliable brand/unit? Thanks!
 
DAT? Digital Audio Tape? DAT died several years ago. Any DAT equipment you can find will either be non-functional trash or museum pieces. And good luck buying tape for it.

The equipment of choice these days is a digital audio recorder. Typically recording to internal flash memory (or hard drive) or plug-in media like SDHC or Compact Flash.

Did you read the sticky: "Which cheap audio recorder should I get?"
 
This clearly demonstrates my audio ignorance. :-) I've been using on-board camera audio for the past 5 years, so I haven't had to deal with this until now. But yeah, I meant a digital audio recorder. A few friends of mine use the Zoom H4N. Seems to fit the bill. Is it worth a toss?
 
Strongly suggest reading the sticky. Yours is probably the most frequently asked question around here. It has been asked and answered literally 100s of times here already. Asking it yet again incurs some risk of apathy or hostility.

Probably no other single piece of equipment has been discussed here more than the Zoom H4 (and H4n). There is enough already existing discussion about the H4 to keep you reading until the end of the week. You didn't mention what microphone(s) or other audio equipment you are using, so it is difficult to affirm your proposed choice in context.
 
I recently got the Roland R-26, a 6 channel audio recorder. Works well and has good preamps (a lot of people have problems with the Zoom and Tascam recorders with the Rode NTG2 as the gain needs to be turned way up) - this is not an issue with the R-26 from my tests.
 
Richard Crowley said:
DAT? Digital Audio Tape? DAT died several years ago. Any DAT equipment you can find will either be non-functional trash or museum pieces. And good luck buying tape for it.
Click to expand...

Your point is correct but you are over stating it a bit. I have two fully functioning DAT decks. Tape is harder to find and I don't use either on a regular basis but you can find DAT's in good working order, they didn't go away that long ago.

But you main point is DON'T get a DAT and that is spot on. If someone hands you one for free and you have a way to get some tapes (They are still for sale on Amazon) then it will work fine but it's a dead end and tape etc will just get harder and harder to find.

It's kind of like the black knight. It's missing most of it's limbs but it's "not dead yet".
;~)
 
Richard Crowley said:
DAT? Digital Audio Tape? DAT died several years ago. Any DAT equipment you can find will either be non-functional trash or museum pieces. And good luck buying tape for it.

The equipment of choice these days is a digital audio recorder. Typically recording to internal flash memory (or hard drive) or plug-in media like SDHC or Compact Flash.

Did you read the sticky: "Which cheap audio recorder should I get?"
Click to expand...
Hey now. LOL, I still have my DA-P1, and man, what work I did with it. I recently broke it out to listen to a recording I did of Neil Young live from the board. Sounds amazing still. Granted, it's outdated tech, and tapes are hard to find.........but I still love it. Wish I could find batteries for it cheaply........ Nothing like going back to your roots. Ah, those were the days. And at the time it WAS high tech. 48/16, so technically still usable today for dialogue.

Used it on a short film for a prop a couple months ago as an interview recording device for an interrogation scene.
 
Doc Bernard said:
Used it on a short film for a prop a couple months ago as an interview recording device for an interrogation scene.
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The old equipment makes the best on-camera props. We still see reel-to-reel recorders and analog VU meters moving, etc. The new flash-recorder compact digital stuff isn't big enough or flashy enough to be taken seriously by the public (or the prop master). :happy:
 
I have a 3440 sitting in the corner in a box. The cooler item though is a 238 with synchronizer. I loved watching it catch up and lock to TC, not as fun as a RtR but I was on a budget ;~)

It wasn't till I walked into a mix stage machine room that I realized that all those old movies with high tech computers were actually dubbers.
 
I had a HHB Portadat for a while, it was a lot lighter and easier to work and maintain than my previous R-R Nagra, but the Nagra sounded nicer.. analog or not.
I don't miss the Portadat, I miss the Nagra.
 
Richard Crowley said:
Petrus said:
You mean DAT is NOT a digital audio recorder?
Click to expand...
Not in modern colloquial English language usage in this context.Not in modern colloquial English language usage in this context.
Click to expand...

Oh, boy, a chance to be pedantic! I think "digital audio recorder" has a wider scope that surely includes DAT. So Richard's original use is OK, but I don't think the response to Petrus is. When someone talks about a DAT, they are indeed, in current usage, talking about a specific type of digital audio recorder. But the other way, when one talks about a digital audio recorder, one rarely pictures a DAT these days.

I must be bored.

We really need a good new acronym cause DAT is so easy, and "digital audio recorder" is a pain. DAR somehow doesn't flow. Pocket recorder might mean anything. Help!
 
DAT is digital in the same way miniDV videotape is digital. However, now that we can record to SSDs, CF, SD, etc, why would we want tape and moving parts that wear involved in the equation? Some audio recorders use HDDs but they, of course, have moving parts.
 
PAR - Production Audio Recorder
PseudoPAR - Zoomy, MicroTracky stuff


Noiz, can't I play Pocket Recorder AND be happy to see you?
 
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