Customer Reviews

Roland R-1 Portable 24-Bit WAVE Recorder & Player

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't care about the looks or display brightness.
I need the results.
Here are the reasons why I have returned EDIROL R-1 so soon:
1. The batteries (fresh AAs) last only 1 hour 10 min of recording (in my tests), which is only half of promissed 2.5 hours.
2. If you use the provided power supply - then you get really strong humming (60Hz + harmonics).
3. Even on batteries, the device seems to pick up a lot of 60Hz interference (works as antenna).
4. The built-in notch-filter is digital and is not very helpful.

My solution - I returned the EDIROL and bought Marantz PMD 670 with RB1100 Rechargable Nicad Battery and 1 GB flash card. It is about 30% more expensive, but results are better like day and night.
I now get very clean recording even with connected power supply. Even if I record from the phone (recorder and phone both have power supplies - thus we get a ground loop to pick up stray signals. Marantz somehow have solved this problem - recording is clean). Many hours of recording on one battery charge. Many options to use stereo/mono, different signal level, preamplifier and prefilter, etc. etc. etc. Marantz is a bit bigger, but it is light, and it is convenient to carry around.

How many years have we all been waiting for this?

This recording device is a little bit larger than your hand and is designed to record sound onto compact flash memory cards (up to 2GB--the included card is 64MB). It can use a number of MP3 formats as well as uncompressed WAV files up to 24-bit. No driver disk included--you just plug in the USB cable to your computer. Your Windows or Mac OS should simply detect this unit and make it appear like a drive, just like a digital camera. This device has built in stereo microphones that are near professional quality.

What an amazing set of features in the guts of this unfortunately cheaply built "plasticy" device. Dropping this unit seems like it would be a tragedy--plastic knobs and casing seem quite flimsy.

This recording device operates silently since there is no tape mechanism or internal moving parts of any kind (solid state!). It can use 2 AA batteries or the included power supply. Dynamic or plug-in-power condenser type microphones can be used instead of the unit's built-in ones. Input level is controlled via a knob and level monitoring occurs on the display of the unit. All audio jacks are 1/8" stereo mini: Mic, Line In, and Phones/Optical Out. The unit does not have digital input, only output. The unit sports some effects, a metronome, and a tuner. The 20 x 2 character display is conservative but effective, and has a controllable backlight.

Although playback features are somewhat limited, this first generation recorder is currently a one-of-a-kind in terms of size and quality. Future generations are sure to have greater capacity and smaller size, hopefully as good audio quality as this unit, and hopefully heavy duty metal casing!

With external mics I've made some great recordings with the R1. I took this unit with me on a recent trip to Europe and I really love the results. The mic preamps seem to be reasonably quiet. The 4 star rating is a result of the great sound quality alone. Sound quality for the price, I just don't think you can beat it. In other respects, there is room for improvement.

The unit is relatively small and light weight. The case is plastic and prone to scratches, so be sure to keep it in the protective carying case.
It is sometimes nice to have the built in mics so that you don't have to worry about cables etc, but the sound quality is nothing like what you will get with external mics.

Here are some thing I wish they'd do better (maybe the next version):
1) The meters are horrible. It is so important to get the levels right on digital recordings and the meters on this box are really bad.
2) I wish the unit had an internal clock because its really hard to sort the recordings after you record them. If they had a proper time and date it would be much easier.
3) The naming is a bit broken. If you rename a file, it changes teh file name, but not the internal MP3 name. This means that when I import the files into iTunes or any other MP3 savvy app, the name reverts back to the original. This is really annoying.
4) If you change the name of a file, the system will reuse the original name - ick. Imagine this you record something, rename it, record something else, rename it, record something else, rename etc. When you import the files into an MP3 savvy program, they are all named R1_0001 and have no time information associated with them.

Bottom line: With external mics it sounds great. The management of recordings leaves something to be desired. I'm sure they will improve this with time, but for now, if these features are important to you, you may want to wait for another version or a different unit all together.

BTW, this unit with a little portable iPod speaker system such as the InMotion I from Altec Lansing make a nice combination. I have a little portable studio to carry around with me that sounds quite remarkable.

Like i said, the internal microphone is garbage. At the very least buy a Sony ECM-MS907 digital stereo microphone. Then it will sound wonderful. Also get a 4 gig compact flash, or forget getting a whole show at 24 bit (got mine for 220 on ebay). The effects are absolutly useless. But the sound quality with the better microphone makes up for it all.

The size, and quality of sound with external microphone is all its about. Everything else is garbage. But Thats ALL I care about. Its great and all my musician performer friends are jealous. Also, with my mp3 mode, on the 4 gig flash card, I can record 32 hours of rehersal without stopping. Try to beat that.

I use this recorder to record research interviews and meetings. Bear in mind that I am using this primarily as a voice recorder, so I can't comment on music quality when using the internal mic. The internal microphone sensitivity is great for voice recordings, even in large meetings. I can pick up voices at the other end of a big room and I get over 8 hours of recording on a *cheap* 256MB Compact Flash card. The media cards are swappable, so I can record as long as I need on a field trip without needing to upload to a PC in-between. The unit works on batteries (AA) or an included power supply. Battery life seems pretty good (it has lots of power saver functions).

The Edirol R-1 can record in MP3 or WAV format. Settings are completely configurable, so you can get any quality of recording you want. Great USB upload to PC, with no copyright hassles (for example, a Minidisk won't allow you to copy files once uploaded, even when you recorded them yourself -- this recorder will, it's just a file).

The only drawbacks are that the menu system is clunky, the display is dim, and the recorder is slightly larger than a handheld should be. Apart from these small things, this recorder is excellent: the sound quality and ease of uploading more than make up for any niggles. You just need to keep the (thin) manual around the first few times you do anything, the display needs to be viewed from the right angle, and the unit is small enough to fit in a small handbag (purse). It *is* a first-generation removable media recorder, after all!

I've had my(actually my companies) Edirol for about 2 weeks and have since recorded several Submachine guns for a contract, a FPS computer game. When I sent them the sounds they loved them. Yes, if you turn down the input levels (I used the built-in mic) you can safely record firearms. I was worried the AK-47,etc would blow out the mic. Nope. They are fine and the sounds recorded with headroom to go.

The sounds are simply fantastic without any enhancements other than cropping, volumes or a small amount of noise reduction, etc.

The Edirol comes with a 64Mb Compact Flash which works great but only 3 minutes of high quality recording so I buy a 2 GB CF for extra recording time. Here's the deal. It all records fine but when hooked up to the computer to upload the sounds. Nothing. It all keeps freezing.
The moral of the story. Stick with small CF and you will love the Edirol. However, there's a twist.

I had about 15 minutes of machine guns on the 2Gb Compactflash that I was unable to upload using the Edirol. So in a flash of inspiration, I just take out the flash and plug it directly into my computers CF port. The sounds are all there and I upload them. So no problems.

The Edirol is a worthy purchase. I definitely recommend it.

I love the Edirol R-1.It's a great recorder for hassle free recordings.Much better then the Mini Disk days and having to put in another 80 min disk half way through the show.It also has the input control right on the unit (hello Sony).The book says you can record for 2.5 hours but I use Lithium batteries and easily get about 4 hours recording time.So, no more threat of dead batteries.The 2GB Compact Flash I use records about 3 hours and 3 mins at 16 BIT Mode.You can also make 24 BIT recordings.After the show is recorded it has a easy to use USB cable for transferring you WAV file directly to the PC.I love this recorder it does it all.I have recorded several Rock Concerts with stunning results.Like the previous reviewers said.Avoid using the internal MIC they are garbage.Buy some nice external MIC.

Does what it says well - I like the in-built stereo mic which saves mesing around with external mics and cables most of the time. I very much like having a recording level dial - much better than most minidisc recorders where guesswork is normally needed to set the level. I like the effects and the half speed feature.

If I have to be critical the looks and engineering quality of the unit seems a little antiquated compared to IPODs and current MP3 players and the like. As mentioned by someone else you can name tracks but the names are not carried over when you transfer the files to a PC which means you end up searching through your tracks for the right one.