Portable digital recorder round-up

£234
www.Korg.co.uk

Bells and whistles here: amp sims and backing rhythms make this a head-turner for guitarists. There’s no included mains power supply or USB connection (data transfer must be done via included SD card), but there’s guitar input, track looping and speed change without pitch distortion. But what makes this really useful is an easy to use unlimited overdub feature – you can really go to town with trying out arrangements for your band or recording project.

£270
www.Yamaha.com

The name indicates just how compact this is, but it’s not lacking in core features for it. There’s an X-Y confi gured stereo mic and 2GB onboard (expandable) with Peak Limiter and High Pass Filter options. Yamaha claims it’s the smallest 24-bit/96KHz recorder available and can record three hours of audio at that quality.

£108
www.Tascam.com

A two-in-one – the trade-off is this only records in mono. It can hold around 20 minutes of 16-bit
quality sound that can be looped and have speed changed without changing pitch. There’s also a metronome. The PT-7 doesn’t support direct input for electric guitars or effects pedals so it’s more suitable for acoustic.

£59
www.Bluemic.com

Turn your iPod into a digital recorder. Blue’s reputation for studio mics precedes it. Now it’s moving into
the iPhone market, meaning you can save on pocket space without a need for multiple devices. Mikey offers three sensitivity settings and significantly improves upon the iPhone’s own built-in mic. Sample rate is 16-bit, but Apple’s Voice Memo software knocks it down to mp3 quality by default.

£209
www.Roland.co.uk

Offering 16 hours of battery life for continuous recording per charge is the big plus here for this 24-bit
recorder, there’s even a built-in reverb effect if your rockabilly’s lacking. The R-05 also brings phrase training options for guitarists, including tempo changing without changing pitch and loop playback – it will play audio in mp3 and wav too.