Buying advice

[powerbill]

I am surprised that nobody is comparing the MBR to the Tascam GT-R1.  It seems to me to be a more similar machine.  I initially was going to but the Tascam as a field recorder and figured that the added guitar trainer and input would be an added bonus.  However, I stumbled on the MBR and am considering it instead.  I want to know how it would work as a field recorder to record my band when we play out in bars.  I really don't need a portable studio, but think it would be awesome if I could learn how to use it.  I am a guitar player and think I would get a lot of use out of the MBR, but I am afraid that the audio quality might suffer without buying stereo mics for live recording.

I would like some of your opinions to help me decide if this is the better recorder.  Many thanks in advance to you.

PB

[hewhoiscalledj]

The MBR works very well as a field recorder; although I would suggest for recording a live performance, that you use a stereo mic. Lots of folks here including myself found a Sony Electret Stereo mic on Ebay for $10. The results are very good if recording a loud band in a decent sized room. I get mild bass distortion while recording in our practice space but it's a garage with mostly untreated acoustics (we are working on improving this.)

However, if recording live performances at the bars/clubs is your main and only requirement for the unit, I would strongly suggest the Tascam GT-R1 you mentioned for the simple reason that there are fewer buttons to push to start recording. The MBR can get a little tedious to get all the right settings prior to hitting record. Once you have it set for a particular  room/venue, you can save settings but still... lots of button pushing.

I think you can record a decent demo using either unit but the MBR shines with it's editing, effects and mastering capabilities. My biggest complaint about the MBR is that it uses a propietary format for recording so you have to convert it to MP3 or WAV first (which the MBR can do so it's not that big of a deal.)

Good Luck.