R16 , built in mics quality? clear?

[guitar fan]

Hi all

I would like to order one.
Owners, could you do me a favor : could you record just one chord (two seconds) of acoustic guitar with the built-in mics ?

[gtaus]

I'd like to add another request, since I too am considering purchasing a R16. Has anyone tried to record live bands at a venue using the R16 built in mics? I'm not talking about coffee house volume, I'm talking about recording local cover bands at full volume. If so, what kind of results did you get? I am also looking at the Zoom H4N for live "open air" recordings at gigs, but the R16 has many more features that I could also use at home. I've heard great reviews on the H4N and live recordings with its mics, but I'd like to know how the R16 handles the volume level of a live rock band. Looking forward to your opinions. Thanks.

[jasonbrianmerrill]

this quickie was done with only the onboard mics

http://www.unrealityrecords.com/jasonbr ... velove.mp3

[guitar fan]

Thanks a lot Jason, I appreciate and I'm convinced.

Off topic : great voice(s) and playing, very nice.

[brandon]

Nice one Jason - that's a good sound did you record it in more than one take as it sounds like it has been mixed slightly i.e. the guitar is more prominent in the left speaker and the female vocal in the right?

[tudanski]

http://2090.org/zoom/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=14059

This was recorded direct onto R16 at my funk bands rehersal, all 4 songs , got all levels finally right with Black box song, Bigger picture was first recording and it is a bit lower than the others, this will give ytou an idea of how the r16 sounds recording a practice.

cheers

[jasonbrianmerrill]

Nice one Jason - that's a good sound did you record it in more than one take as it sounds like it has been mixed slightly i.e. the guitar is more prominent in the left speaker and the female vocal in the right?

vox/rhythm were recorded at the same time, i overdubbed the "female vocals" (my own voice still), and 2 other tracks for different leads.

it is panned out yeah, but its all the internal mics.

[selbalicious]

Wow Jason! That was SO cool! I am very impressed not only with your content (very nice song!) but with the recording quality. Reminds me of the surprise I felt when I recorded my Baldwin 6.5' grand piano with the Zoom H2's 120-degree mic's. Blew me away! They certainly aren't large-format mic's, but darn it if they aren't plenty good enough for recording certain things. Your guitar was clear as a bell! Way to go! I'm inspired man! Guitar soloing was also killer. This box is amazing! I think it (the R16) has the same condensers as either the H2 or the initial H4 (not the newer H4)...isn't that true??

Oh...and once I redo some crappy vocals, I'll share a tune I did completely on the R16 with drums, bass, guitars, piano, and vocals. Turned out great for what I was after.

[guitar fan]

Looking forward to listening to your tune, Kevin.

[gtaus]

jasonbrianmerrill, nice song. Really sounds clean. Love those background vocals. To think you did all that with the built in mics! I'm wondering if you have used the built in mics to record a live rock band at a local venue? You have sold me on the R16 mics sounding great for a project such as yours, but I wondering if they work just as well when recording a much louder source? Or, do the mic's distort at high volume levels? If I get the R16, it would be to record local live rock bands at higher volumes and not so much like the nice project you put together.

Also, can you record with the built in mics and still record direct on the other channels at the same time? Just thinking it might be fun to use the R16 built in mic's for capturing the music/audience response and yet still have direct out from the mixer into the R16 channels for recording to capture all those individual tracks direct.

[jasonbrianmerrill]

this is an STP song, btw.

[jasonbrianmerrill]

Also, can you record with the built in mics and still record direct on the other channels at the same time? Just thinking it might be fun to use the R16 built in mic's for capturing the music/audience response and yet still have direct out from the mixer into the R16 channels for recording to capture all those individual tracks direct.

sure you can! but tracks 7 and 8 would be the onboard mics, and you would have 1-6 for recording direct

[gtaus]

...tracks 7 and 8 would be the onboard mics, and you would have 1-6 for recording direct

Cool. That's a nice feature. I've heard some people using a mix of built in mics and direct recording to punch up their live recordings. They claim it gives some extra atmosphere to the recording from the built in mics while preserving the music for editing on the direct lines. Best of both worlds, I guess. I'm glad the R16 can do this.

[richiedoc]

The built in mics are killer. Jason's quick example proves it. The R16 is a dream machine for acoustic guitar players, and for songwriting in general.

[selbalicious]

If memory serves, when recording engineers mix a "live" album they will sometimes stereo mic the audience and blend it in with the tracks off the soundboard. I think it's called a "matrix" recording because you're blending two different matrices of sound. When it's done right it sounds superb. We've always just relied on whatever audience sound bleeds through the vocal mics, however, the quality of the equipment these days is getting so good and "noise-free" that you end up not getting ENOUGH of the audience. That's where my Zoom H2 will come in. I'll throw it somewhere out in the audience and record in 4-banger mode (both stereo mics) and then blend that stuff in with what I'm getting directly off the R16.

Yes, we will be using the R16 as our live mixing board. Why not!!

[gtaus]

...the quality of the equipment these days is getting so good and "noise-free" that you end up not getting ENOUGH of the audience.......

we will be using the R16 as our live mixing board. Why not!!

I totally agree that our live recordings are not getting enough of the audience. Our direct inputs on the guitars are extememly quiet. Our mics are good at blocking out background noises so we only get a small signal bleeding through on the our stage mics from the audience. I thought it would be cool to record both direct into the R16 and using the built in mics to capture more of the audience response.

I suppose you could use the R16 as a live mixing board. I recently talked with a local DJ and he used a multi-track recorder as his mixer. Same principle I would think. As long as your input needs are 8 channels or less, why not indeed! Having said that, my band has grown to 5 members and we use about 12 channels live plus a few extra channels for break music input. I currently use a 32 channel mixing board and it does give us lots of options and flexibility that the HD16 or the R16 can't compete with, but I understand your position. Different bands have different needs. If the R16 as a live mixer works for you, I so go for it.

IMHO, the main focus should be on the music and our performance, and not on our gear. Unfortunately, in my case, it's a whole lot easier to buy new and better gear than to improve my playing and singing. There is only so much I can do with my limitations. The last gig, when it came time for me to sing my lead vocal song (I only have one, so far), I asked our soundguy for more talent in the monitors, please. Took him by complete surprise. - Look on his face, priceless. - Then he realised that I was only joking and there was only so much he could do for me at the board. Well, it's only Rock 'n' Roll and we can't take ourselves too seriously, I guess. Take care.

[yairisan]

If memory serves, when recording engineers mix a "live" album they will sometimes stereo mic the audience and blend it in with the tracks off the soundboard. I think it's called a "matrix" recording because you're blending two different matrices of sound. When it's done right it sounds superb. We've always just relied on whatever audience sound bleeds through the vocal mics, however, the quality of the equipment these days is getting so good and "noise-free" that you end up not getting ENOUGH of the audience. That's where my Zoom H2 will come in. I'll throw it somewhere out in the audience and record in 4-banger mode (both stereo mics) and then blend that stuff in with what I'm getting directly off the R16.

Yes, we will be using the R16 as our live mixing board. Why not!!

I can give you a BUNCH of reasons why you wouldn't want to use the R16 as your live mixing board. But each to their own.