Edirol R-44: Field Recording Gets Quadraphonic, Man
Listen, man, the whole philosophy behind field recording is you want to transport your listener to the same locale as you were when you hit the record button. People don't just hear in simple stereo, man. There's, like, the inner ear, the outer ear, the Organ of Corti . . .
Look, it's too much to get into right now, suffice it to say stereo just don't cut it no more, man. The kids demand something more when they're rockin' out to the sounds of nature: Quadraphonic sound, man. Two-track is the past. If you want your album of country streams and babbling brooks to go platinum, you can't do any less than four tracks, man. Gotta keep up with the times.
That's where the R-44 from Edirol comes in, man. It's got four combo XLR-1/4" inputs, each with their own gain/sensitivity trim and individually selectable 48v on/off switch. What, are you gonna use the same mics for everything, man? Get real. Plus the thing records onto high-capacity SD cards, up to 4G . . . they're computer chips, man! Far out! And it runs on four AA batteries, one for each track I'm guessing. This thing can record for up to four hours . . . that's longer than The Wall!
Plus there's this cool PreRecord function. . . thing has a built in buffer that includes audio two seconds before you even hit the REC button! I don't know how they do it, and man, I don't wanna know.
Look, man, I've said my piece. Ask Edirol if you need more convincing. Just don't say I never tried to help you out, man. I got a session with a bevy of wood-rushes to get to man, I'll check you later.
Quadrophonic, man... Silly reviewer!
Your review gave me a chuckle. I remember when Quad came... and went... it was just as silly back then. But lest some manufacturer or R&D team think you're serious, let me say that I've been absolutely DYING for something that can record more than two tracks at once. Mfrs shouldn't be allowed to call a piece of gear a four track unless it really is a four track... that is, it can record four tracks at once and play back four tracks at once. Like my Zoom H4, which I'll be ebaying shortly to buy one of these. Nice little unit, but it's a 2+2 track, NOT a four track. Thanks to Edirol for developing this... I wish Tascam or Sony would make at a similar price point. I could even go A LITTLE higher for something with real-world, field-production build quality. Lotsa plastic on the R44, but it's way more affordable than the Sound Devices 744, which is about the only alternative for video production.
BG
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