Advice on best device to record gigs on & audio editing?
 

Hi guys,

I've been recording gigs on my MiniDisc for years now with a pretty good Sony mic. Results have been good, but I have two issues with the way I do it now:

Firstly, the size of my pouch containing the MD, mic & spare discs can sometimes get quite bulky. And for venues where they pad you down, obviously increases the risk of being caught out.

Secondly, the swapping of tapes takes at least 20 seconds. Therefore, I can sometimes miss the start of a song if I'm not quick enough or don't time the swap right in the set.

Does anyone have any suggestions re: a new device to purchase?

Ideally, I'd like the following features but am unsure where to start looking:

A very small sized recorder
Solid state (probably some sorta flash I guess)
Records in WAV or some sort of lossless file type
The above which enables me to just transfer/download the results onto the PC rather than having to playback/record them
One with a good battery - my MD battery is some kinda Lithium & it's still going strong since I got it in July 2001
Possibly backlight so when starting to record it in the gig I can see what I'm doing

And in short, my productivity & quality of gigs recorded will certainly improve!

Finally - I'm currently editing the SP gig I recorded last week (Manchester 15/2/08). One of the channels is noticably louder than the other (crowd positioning & mic direction I guess). Basically, I need a quick/simple programme which enables me to increase the volume one channel alone??

Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated.

Leo

hop onto zzsounds or musciansfriend or whatever your preferred online gear store, and check out the plethora of new and old solid state recorders coming out. i really, really like sony's offerings. its really up to your budget. you can get pretty much all that you mention in a 300-500 unit. you shouldnt have a problem finding what you're looking for what you need and meeting all that you're looking for above.

grab an illegal copy, or buy soundforge. if you also plan on making your own multitrack recordings or mixing, i'd reccomend logic or cubase sx, but for your needs soundforge is powerful, easy to use and gets ze job done on alot of audio editing needs above and beyond what you mention. otherwise you could go with something freeware like cooledit or something like that, but im not up to speed on what is out there for free.

good luck!

Edirol R-09. Can't go wrong with it. Takes AAs.

as far as the program, get Audacity (www.audacity.sf.net). Its free.

you should come post around on www.taperssection.com, lots of very helpful people there