choosing a portable sound recorder and microphone

Question

I am a musician and I want to record pub sessions etc. I am looking at voice recorders on eBay but it appears that all the ones with decent recording quality are very expensive (£100+) and to justify the price they have dozens of features and buttons that I don't want.

I figure it would be more economical to get a simple, cheap voice recorder (the only buttons I want are record and stop!) with a microphone socket, and get a separate microphone.

I don't want a big microphone, but a lapel-size thing. Still, I'm hoping to pick up sounds from ten metres away. I don't know how to choose a microphone, all the reviews seem to be for large studio mics, or pickups with limited spatial range.

Can anyone please reccommend me a microphone and/or a good basic portable sound recorder?

Thanks a lot.

Answer 1

My personal favorite is the Zoom H4. These are out of production, but if you can get a second hand one go for it. The quality is super IMO and you can record up to 24-bit at 96 kHz.

It has a simple record/stop button. It's XY-configured stereo mic setup creates a wide stereo field. At its bottom you can connect one or two either XLR or phono-jack based microphone(s) (it even has phantom power if you need to used condensed mics).

If still out of price range you can check out the H1 series from the same manufacturer.

Hope this helps.