PreSonus Forums

I have my project all recorded except for vocals. I live in an apartment and I sing loud, so I thought about recording vocals sitting in my car. What would be a good portable recorder that will allow me to hear the music I previously recorded and sing/record over the top of it? Not sure if I need anything specific for S1. Still new-ish to this.

Thanks,
Andrew

Since this is a PreSonus forum maybe use one of their bus-powered interfaces/microphones in combination with an iPhone or iPad. That allows you to record anywhere

If you can swing it a decent laptop could run your S1 song (or a cue mix version) with a decent mic. You could collaborate with yourself (your main daw). Likely more than a portable recorder but way more versatile. Just food for thought.

I agree. A laptop would be a far better choice than a protable recorder. And, as long as you're not running tons of tracks and lots of effects, even a very modestly specced laptop can be used.
Plus you can likely buy a used laptop for quite a bit less than a portable recorder. There are TONS of them for sale on eBay. I very often do live mobile band recordings with a laptop in S1 and then transfer the project to main home DAW also running S1 for overdubs, mixing, mastering etc.

Yeah, I thought about that, but I was wondering if one of those $150 portables would do the job, rather than spend $400 on a cheap laptop. Maybe they are less these days. I'll look...

Do those e-machines do the same thing or do i need a full PC? (not even sure what an e machine is).

Thanks.

Something like a Zoom R8 so you could have multiple tracks. 2 bills at GC. I had the R24 for a long time. Worked great.

https://zoomcorp.com/en/us/digital-mixe ... orders/r8/

Recording vocals in your car will cause a horrendous "room" effect on your voice and you will have no way of removing it.
Try setting a room reverb to tiny dimensions and putting that on a vocal recording. It will sound extremely "boxy".
Rather ask a friend with better isolation in his apartment/house if you can do a few sessions there. Avoid empty cellars, for a similar reason.

Blame Karma wroteRecording vocals in your car will cause a horrendous "room" effect on your voice and you will have no way of removing it.
Try setting a room reverb to tiny dimensions and putting that on a vocal recording. It will sound extremely "boxy".
Rather ask a friend with better isolation in his apartment/house if you can do a few sessions there. Avoid empty cellars, for a similar reason.

Nah.....
It's not a vocal booth but it can work if you consider its limitations:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://stampsound.com/can-you-record-vocals-in-a-car-lets-find-out/&ved=2ahUKEwjCnee2ovL9AhVJATQIHXYuBtwQtwJ6BAgNEAE&usg=AOvVaw0rVAHHpRFCTcNqmRUr2NZJ

BobF wroteSomething like a Zoom R8 so you could have multiple tracks. 2 bills at GC. I had the R24 for a long time. Worked great.

https://zoomcorp.com/en/us/digital-mixe ... orders/r8/

Thanks. Exactly that is what I was wondering. I was looking at one of those Zooms and a few others. Just wondering if it was compatible with S1.

And I figured recording in a car would be like recording in a vocal booth wouldn't it? My singing always seems to sound "best" in the car lol. Of course I would add effects, later.

Biggest potential gotchas are the hard surface (glass!) Sit in the centre of the back seat if available, or bring some sound absorbers with you and pack it against the qlass to reduce the slapback.

AAV wroteBiggest potential gotchas are the hard surface (glass!) Sit in the centre of the back seat if available, or bring some sound absorbers with you and pack it against the qlass to reduce the slapback.

This was my main worry when I advised against it.
Also, I find it hard to imagine singers can sing well in that compact sitting position, but if OP claims he does well in a car, it is actually a motivation to try it out.

Or find somewhere quiet and roll down your windows

FWIW, I like the simplicity in Switchbacks suggestion. A descent digital recorder like a Zoom or Tascam with those off axis condenser mics ( I forget the model), and just a phone and earbuds. That could put the vocalist in a comfortable place. Set up some loops so the vocalist can concentrate on some back to back repetitive verses, choruses, and so on.

Just keeping it simple.

Oh, I've fully done the laptop thing in the car, before work (and a lot, recently). I work on mixes, sing, and during lunch too. It's either a dash to the car, or at my desk, but I dont sing there. . I'm also aware of the car acoustics and those trade-offs. But some corrective DSP can help, maybe a few car type gobo's if it makes the vocalist feel it's serious. In other words, just groove with it, being the point. Let the acoustic logic which yes is an issue, be a little lesser on the side of functionality. I don't doubt it would produce some great takes!

Here's one for $90 from Tascam.
They also make a DR40X for $200.
This one has a peak LED and and comes with a built in SD slot. Could be cool! Also good for capturing samples and better than ones phone which is OK in a pinch. Only not desirable for better recordings.

Lokeyfly wroteFWIW, I like the simplicity in Switchbacks suggestion. A descent digital recorder like a Zoom or Tascam with those off axis condenser mics ( I forget the model), and just a phone and earbuds. That could put the vocalist in a comfortable place. Set up some loops so the vocalist can concentrate on some back to back repetitive verses, choruses, and so on.

Just keeping it simple.

Oh, I've fully done the laptop thing in the car, before work (and a lot, recently). I work on mixes, sing, and during lunch too. It's either a dash to the car, or at my desk, but I dont sing there. . I'm also aware of the car acoustics and those trade-offs. But some corrective DSP can help, maybe a few car type gobo's if it makes the vocalist feel it's serious. In other words, just groove with it, being the point. Let the acoustic logic which yes is an issue, be a little lesser on the side of functionality. I don't doubt it would produce some great takes!

Here's one for $90 from Tascam.
They also make a DR40X for $200.
This one has a peak LED and and comes with a built in SD slot. Could be cool! Also good for capturing samples and better than ones phone which is OK in a pinch. Only not desirable for better recordings.

Thanks. I think I'm going to buy the Tascam model or something similar and give it a try. Only a hundred bucks. Thanks everyone.

andrewhogue1 wroteThanks. I think I'm going to buy the Tascam model or something similar and give it a try. Only a hundred bucks. Thanks everyone.

I've had the DR-05 for a few years. I don't use it often, but when I do I'm quite happy with the sensitivity and fidelity.

The reason I suggested the Zoom unit was because you can use your favorite mic if you don't like the built-ins.

BobF wrote

andrewhogue1 wroteThanks. I think I'm going to buy the Tascam model or something similar and give it a try. Only a hundred bucks. Thanks everyone.

I've had the DR-05 for a few years. I don't use it often, but when I do I'm quite happy with the sensitivity and fidelity.

The reason I suggested the Zoom unit was because you can use your favorite mic if you don't like the built-ins.

Can I take the tracks I recorded on S1 and then hear them on the Zoom while I sing over the top of it? Probably a dumb question, idk...

andrewhogue1 wrote

BobF wrote

andrewhogue1 wroteThanks. I think I'm going to buy the Tascam model or something similar and give it a try. Only a hundred bucks. Thanks everyone.

I've had the DR-05 for a few years. I don't use it often, but when I do I'm quite happy with the sensitivity and fidelity.

The reason I suggested the Zoom unit was because you can use your favorite mic if you don't like the built-ins.

Can I take the tracks I recorded on S1 and then hear them on the Zoom while I sing over the top of it? Probably a dumb question, idk...

The R24 was able to do that. I could put a WAV on the SD card and assign it to a track, then play that back while recording other tracks. I **assume** the smaller track count unit can do the same, but I would do research on the Zoom site before buying one. Also make sure they have phantom power when operating on battery if you want to use an external condenser.