Roland R26 Portable 6 Track Audio Field Recorder Stereo Case Bundle

I do a lot of recordingin the studio, at home, on location. But I had the challenge to record my daughter's high school choir in churches and halls in Europe. Knowing that I needed the least amount of equipment possible (I would have to carry it with me), I began researching last summer.

At one pro store, I was asked the odd question of "do I have good mics". I said "yes". He said that if I didn't, this one would be the best choice. I was confusedI never thought of using the internal mics (I figured they wouldn't be good enough). As I continued to research, I found some online sources to listen to samples. As I presumed the internal mics were a joke with substantial hiss, but several had decent preamps. I was leaning to one of these medium-low($200-400) priced recorders. I decided to check out the next level up ($500+). Their preamps were much better, but I wasn't sure it was worth the extra money. Until I went to the Roland site and listened/downloaded their samples. Wow! Now I know what the guy had talked about. The internal mics were great! Long story short, i bought this one, recorded 5 concerts (XY + omni onlywill mix to taste at home) without cables and mics (only this unit mounted on a small tripod), and they sounded great!

some of my favorite features:

+ record 6 channels at a timevery flexible

+ up to 24 bit/96 k

+ independent volume controles (do read the manual on this onenot exactly what you would think, but works)

+ touch screen is greatat first I was pushing too hard because I pushed the wrong thingsif it doesn't do it easily, read the manual for what to push.

+ XY and omni mics are excellent and do their job beautifully

+ the mic pres are great toobut for the extra money you now have 2 stereo pairs of additional micing.

+ I used eneloop rechargeable batteries. The first pair I put in did over 6 hours without any issue (says it will do 10)

+ good headphone amp and volume controlmore than enough power for my studio headphones.

+ I bought this bundle because it included a 16 gig card and several other accessories, for same price.

+ loved dropping markers on the fly. They were visible in Sound Forge when I brought them in.

Do be aware when using the internal mics that the slightest touch can be audible (on the unit or tripod). So don't plan on tweaking a lot as you goand be careful when/how you do it. I did find by using the baby tripod that came with it as a hand grip that I could hand hold without noise. Or for short periods of time I could just hand hold itany sliding or movement will be heard.

Wish list

* I wish there were a remote to control this without making noise (wired or wireless)

* I also wish there were some way to suspend the unit (like a studio mic) so that even touching the tripod wouldn't be so audible.

Regardlessthis is still an amazing unit that I now use in a variety of waysway more than I thought I would!