digital recorder vs USB microphone

[kep67]

I need a bit of advice. Christmas is approaching.
I have a 14 yr old daughter who loves to sing and is just beginning to get a few chords down on the guitar. I'm sure she would enjoy recording herself singing and playing, she is trying to write her own songs. I would like to get her either a small portable digital recorder or a USB microphone, she has a laptop to plug into, she is computer 'savvy'.
I just don't know which way to go. She would probably use it at home, but she may want to take it over to a friend's house or to the school talent show. I really don't know how either device is used.
The Blue Microphones Yeti USB Microphone looks to be a good choice, found it on Amazon. What software would it need? I would consider spending ~ $100-200 total.

I really don't know what to consider here as far as the device or potential future applications as I just play the guitar at home for fun and don't ever plan on an audience.
She does.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers and Merry Christmas!

Erik

[buddy]

I have owned both and you will, without a doubt, get much more out of the digital recorder than you will the usb mic. The ease of use and sound quality of the digital recorder are far superior to the other option. I use a Tascam DP-008 and I love this little device. You can use it with or without a mic and you can plug your guitar in directly as well. The other advantage to the Tascam is that you can mix it right on the device and you don't have to rely on any computer software for mixing the song or adding effects. Good luck with your decision.

Bud

[willem]

Have a look at the ''Boss microBR'' digital recorder'''you can multi track with it,,it has a build in mike and you can also put in a extern mike...the build in mike is a good one to use... I bought for 180 euro... you can also download a mp3 in it and slow it down were you can practice with..

Watch here AL(AcousticAl) he used it a lot on his vids .

[neverfoundthetime]

Good advice above! I was going to suggest the Tascam which Buddy uses and gets fabulous results.
Williams suggestion is also good, Al uses it and gets good results too.
I have a singing 14 year old daughter too and a mobile device is a good idea.
If she has Audacity (free software) on her computer she will be able to edit and record on that to... you get surprisingly good results just recording from your laptop and editing in Audacity.

[tombo1230]

kep67 wrote:

I need a bit of advice. Christmas is approaching.
I have a 14 yr old daughter who loves to sing and is just beginning to get a few chords down on the guitar. I'm sure she would enjoy recording herself singing and playing, she is trying to write her own songs. I would like to get her either a small portable digital recorder or a USB microphone, she has a laptop to plug into, she is computer 'savvy'.
I just don't know which way to go. She would probably use it at home, but she may want to take it over to a friend's house or to the school talent show. I really don't know how either device is used.
The Blue Microphones Yeti USB Microphone looks to be a good choice, found it on Amazon. What software would it need? I would consider spending ~ $100-200 total.

I really don't know what to consider here as far as the device or potential future applications as I just play the guitar at home for fun and don't ever plan on an audience.
She does.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers and Merry Christmas!

Erik

Hi Erik,
you have heard what the other guys have recommended and although I have a good microphone, USB interface (Guitar Rig) and I use Guitar Rig 4 Pro and Cubase software I would say it is much easier to go down the digital recorder route. The main reason is that there is a steep learning curve to being competent at using the USB DAW software. The results you can get from the DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) are professional quality production, but you may never get near that without a lot of learning. In other words if you want something of good quality that you can have fun and get good results from quickly, then I agree with the others, get a digital recorder.

I looked up the Yeti USB Microphone, it doesn't come with software so you would have to get some software to record and edit with it, if you went down that route.

Hope this helps.

Tom N.

[wiley]

[kep67]

Thanks, much appreciated advice.

[kep67]

Thanks to all for the advice. I was really considering the Blue microphones Yeti, but now I see that a Tascam digital recorder is likely the best option.

[sws626]

I also get a lot more mileage out of my digital recorder than I do with the laptop setup. I have a Zoom H4n, but the Tascam and Boss units are nice too. In addition to being easy to use and carry around for spontaneous recording, it gives the flexibiliity of using the internal microphones for convenience or experimenting with higher quality input. I also have a nice USB digital interface going into Sonar on the laptop, but I find it quite complicated to setup a overkill for most of what I would consider posting here. If I had to choose only one, I'd go with the digital recorder.

-Stuart

[webtvdan]

I’ve got the Blue Yeti USB Microphone and its far superior to the microphone included in my webcam. No software is included or required. Simply “Plug & Play”.

There are many times I’ve wished for a digital recorder.

I need both.

Suggestion: A friend uses her iPhone as a digital recorder. I have not heard the recordings but she insists it works.

I plan to switch from my Blackberry to an iPhone shortly. Holding off on a digital recorder until I get a chance to evaluate the phone.