Roland R-4 Pro

I've been running my R4 Pro for the last six years without a single problem. I've used it for hundreds of hours recording on the fly, it's menu system is simple, intuitive and easy to use. All the controls are easy to find and use without looking and one-handed operation is a breeze. My only issue with it is lack of broadcast wave files.

I've used some of the cheap recorders that have come out lately and that's all they are. Cheap. The XLR inputs and headphone jacks have failed on me. The R4 has never had a problem and I've put it through some fair abuse.

With the rise of SD cards as recording media, I get some weird looks from DITs when I hand them the USB cable. It's not the best recorder out there, but it's a workhorse.

Between the five to ten grand eight tracks and the camera-mountable two tracks, there really isn't anything in this range.

The pre-amps are adequate (but you can send them to the OADE brothers for an upgrade). The controls are intuitive. I've used mine for hundreds of hours of location recording without a glitch. The eighty gig hard drive stores many full days worth of recording. Do keep in mind that recording higher than 24x48 limits you to two tracks only (unless you create a single polyphonic sound file which some editing software won't open).

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