Tascam DR-100 Driving me crazy....

I

indigo

Well-known member
I've only owned this piece of kit a few hours but having read the manual I'm a little frustrated that I can't get anything like decent audio out of this unit. I know it is possible as in my research on the unit I heard it.

Right, I'm sat upstairs in a Starbucks (Barnet, London) there's some light background music a bit of traffic noise from an open window and 1 other person on the opposite wall talking softly into a mobile.

I've turned the unit on and set the mic to "uni". Pressing the record button to monitor the pick-up generates 'nothing' without the gain switch (on the back) set to H(igh). Using M(edium) even with the input level dial set to 10 the level meter struggles to get out of the first block.

So, recording on high gain with the mic's 6 inches from my mouth produces a recoding where the background noise is almost equal to my voice.

I've been through a number of other settings but nothing seems to give a distinct sound of my voice without every setting being on maximum.

Can anyone give me any pointers on this??
Cheers

Indy....
 
Indigo,

The DR-100 has both hyper and omni mics, from what you describe, you will want to use the hypers. IMHO, the mics on the DR-100 aren't really very good, this device should be used primariy as a recorder with external mics.

In places like coffee shops, the background noise can be very loud, so what you are describing is no surprise.

You will always need to use the high gain position on this recorder unless you are doing something like loud music.

Grant
 
Thanks ggrantly.... after an hour I thought I was going crazy. On the way home I recorded the Tube (metro/subway?) train and I got a pretty good recording but the the noise levels would have required me to ask an interviewee to scream their answers!

My intended use is voice overs for video and a small number of interviews also a friend want to record a Podcast!. I'm going to be using a BeyerDynamic M58 XLR Microphone. Can you offer any advice for getting the best possible recordings?
Cheers a million

Indy.....
 
It is ok for DR-100.

I think they did this intentionally.
Preamps have very low maximum gain.
Even with XLR mikes it is so (you need hot one).
You need external preamp for DR-100 (in reality, for Z4n also).
Look at my suggestion - you can use cheap ART Dual Pre.
It runs off the 9v battery and has plenty of gain.

All "cheap" digital recorders are fine in their digital part.
But analog one is lacking badly.

P.S. And omni's are just useless crap :-)
 
Vitaliy, Thanks.... I'll check out the ART Dual Pre

"Omni's are just useless crap" I hear you, I hear you!

Indy....
 
Folks should keep in mind that the DR-100, H4n and similar products are actually aimed at musicians who tend to work at much, much higher volume levels. The low input levels are not a fault of the unit but an indicator of its true intended purpose.
 
unclebob6958 said:
Folks should keep in mind that the DR-100, H4n and similar products are actually aimed at musicians who tend to work at much, much higher volume levels. The low input levels are not a fault of the unit but an indicator of its true intended purpose.
Click to expand...

Thank you for pointing out the emperor's new clothes! I believe those recorders are basically intended for audio notes and sketches, recording lectures in a classroom, recording rehearsals by a band working up a song who want to hear it from the audience perspective, garage bands who want to send mp3 of their music to friends, etc. While they may be capable of more serious work under certain circumstances and in skilled hands, IMHO they were never intended for professional level production recording of either music or film/video location sound and many people trying to use them as such as trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. They are to true production-oriented recorders what a point-and-shoot still camera is to a professional SLR or medium format camera. Sure, someone who really knows what he's doing and is in the right place at the right time might be able to shoot a publishable news photo with a $100 consumer camera but a working journalist would probably reach for a Nikon D3 or D700, a Canon EOS, or a Leica as his preferred tool of choice.
 
Last edited:
FWIW,

In my experience, any of my phantom powered mics do fine with the DR-100. You will need to use the high gain position and crank the trim up to 6-8, but it works fine. That list includes Oktava, 4053b, NTG-3, AT897. Dynamic mics suck when plugged in directly, but with a mixer in front, work fine with the added gain.

What UncleBob said is true, but the DR-100 is a capable little recorder if you work with its limitations.

Grant

Grant
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top