Olympus LS-100 multi-track

Hammeron

Hy guys. Anyone got any experience with this Multi-track?
Gotta seriously get myself something decent to record on ASAP!

Ray

Are these Olympus available in SA? I see them advertized and reviewed pretty highly in acoustic guitar magazine. Well, that was a handheld job and I forget the model.

DonovanB

Get a boss. It's like a Boaws...

Seriously the micro br and the br600/800 is amazing and super easy to use. with a lot of built in effects and killer tool kits plus great downloadable software to help you can't go wrong.

Sean

Donovan Banks wrote: Get a boss. It's like a Boaws...

Seriously the micro br and the br600/800 is amazing and super easy to use. with a lot of built in effects and killer tool kits plus great downloadable software to help you can't go wrong.

I recently picked up the BR600. Very nice unit, so far I'm super happy with the quality of the recordings (Although I've not tried the on board mics yet, using SM57's and 58's)
However, I don't find the thing easy to use at all :-[ In general I'm a super lazy oke :-[ I've never tried anything like this before, so maybe without having some sort of background knowledge or experience with other devices I'm finding it more challenging...or I'm just gadget challenged in general, who knows :-[
I've found going through the manual carefully is a must (at least for me) and I'm still trying to figure some stuff out. The user interface is not that great imo. The manual has a "Quick start" section, but I found it pretty useless, I'm just going through everything slowly and in detail now, no point rushing it.

DonovanB

Youtube has tons of instructional videos for them, some of them are mine. (shameless plug ?)

Sean

Donovan Banks wrote: Youtube has tons of instructional videos for them, some of them are mine. (shameless plug ?)

Hmm, then I'm doing something wrong, because I checked and did not find much, mostly demos, not much instructional stuff, but I'll definitely look again, thanks man ?

Sean

Actually Donovan if you can post or pm me some of the links to your vids I'd be really grateful ?

Hammeron

Recall what you guys paid for these units?

Sean

I got mine second hand for 1.2k Seen a couple on Gumtree from time to time.

Tokai-SA

Why not just buy a Soundcard?

Sean

Donovan Banks wrote: Get a boss. It's like a Boaws...

Seriously the micro br and the br600/800 is amazing and super easy to use.

Hammeron, I see Ray is letting go of a micro br. He also mentions an issue with ease of use, but he also says he's pretty lazy, very much like me ? Google the unit and see if it'll fit your needs. Looks like Ray is looking to swop for something like snakes and bearded dragons.

DonovanB

They're not the greatest but you get the idea.
=

Tokai SA wrote: Why not just buy a Soundcard?

There are pros and cons to that IMO.
They're not very portable, you have to find FX plugins or VST instruments and you need a DAW software to work it.
The recorders, especially the Boss ones have it all inside. The Micro BR can only use the preset drum patterns which is why I went for the BR600. (the BR800 is around 6-8k new I think)

The BR800 is a major step up from the Br600 as you can use it as a soundcard and record 4 simultaneous XLR inputs. Very cool item.

Sean

Thanks Don, will check 'em out later in the week. Will probably pm you a couple of questions as well if you don't mind.

exsanguinator

look.... i'll be honest with you ...that olympus is just a field recorder(mic)with a multitrack option... like Zoom and some other companies have on their top end field recorders .
I am not sure what you have used before,what you own at present,what you are trying to achieve and what you want to record in the future.
Ive been using multitrackers since 1998 full time,when they became HDD based and cheap enough to buy.(after playing around with tape machines in the 80's/90's)
Ive tried them all,bought enough of them on ebay,resold to my students if they wanted(I still do this here in RSA) or back on ebay they went.
Im proud to say that students that ive had here in RSA,still phone me for advice,from time to time,on numerous things before they shell out their hard earned cash.
It doesnt cost me anything to pass on this valuable info to anyone else whos interested as well.
Pm me with what you are thinking of doing and price range..and ill give you my advice and opinion on any machine and save you the money,stress and time wasted you will probably definetely incur by just jumping in with both feet on a hunch.
I do not want to answer on here as some products are in the classifieds from time to time and would maybe start a my opinion is better than yours thing
cheers
PS..hey that olympus(among others)is still a good thing to have,its what you you whip out at a live gig and bootleg the show with...i've got one(Tascam) ..wish I had one years ago...but to actaully close mic my amp and/or multitrack my songs at home?...no way bru... LOL

DonovanB

exsanguinator wrote: I do not want to answer on here as some products are in the classifieds from time to time and would maybe start a my opinion is better than yours thing

Y U NO LIKE BOSS? lol

come on, out with it. which do you reckon is better? what are you currently using now? we'll try steer clear of mindless debate...

I remember those tape machines. the old 4 track jobs?

AlanRatcliffe

exsanguinator wrote: I do not want to answer on here as <snip>

Sharing opinions on stuff you know is kinda the whole point of being here... It's not all about Gibson v Tokai. ?

DonovanB

Alan Ratcliffe wrote:
exsanguinator wrote: I do not want to answer on here as <snip>
Sharing opinions on stuff you know is kinda the whole point of being here... It's not all about Fender being cooler than Gibson. ?

Although one can get misquoted from time to time... ?

exsanguinator

First thing you must ask yourself is... do you want to be a muso or an engineer?
A lot of machines you need to be both ...in the opposite order on the fancy workhorses...
For serial trackers like myself...I look for how quick I can route a signal,screen size,trigger recording,scrub functionality,automatic rehearsal and pre rolls on punch in/outs.
Korgs the easiest and quickest and Boss/Roland the hardest and longest
There are dozens of models since 1996 till now and of all brands,bells and whistles
Micro and hand held units are toys which are good enough as gifts to young family,and work well as learning tools for playing/improving guitar skills and a very basic intro to multitracking,which at times can put someone off tracking for life..LOL.
there we are...summerised...and still giving a chance to sell your used tracker in the classifieds...LOL...
I wouldnt hold my breath waiting for the good easy ones to be avaliable on the RSA market anywhere too soon...

exsanguinator

back to the original subject matter...
heres a link to an old comparison...which helped me decide a few years ago on what toy to buy...
http://forums.oreilly.com/topic/843-review-edirol-r09-tascam-gt-r1-yamaha-cx-2g-olympus-ls10/
Nothings really changed other than more models and multitrack features on the top models....
be ready for video units coming soon by all of them big name brands...
They are just toys really...some more expensive than others.....but I definetely wouldve like to have this choice in the 80's..LOL
I eventually went for the Tascam http://oreilly.com/digitalmedia/2008/11/26/TASCAM-GT-R1-review.html
bad points... the effect unit is totally crap for distortion wise.....really its embarrassing...
Good points....uses similar type BL5 battery as old nokia phones,and u can recharge it/them by plugging the usb cable into any ipod or modern smartfone usb charger
Works great as a recorder and as a trainer or just an mp3 player
I still recommend this unit to my students and have actually ordered quite a few this year as well from Amazon..
all took 5 days and under R1800(postage and customs included)door to door... at the worse exchange rate...the cheapest was only R998(damn shouldve bought 50 of them...LOL)
They have been discontinued now...lets see what they replace it with....

DonovanB

exsanguinator wrote: First thing you must ask yourself is... do you want to be a muso or an engineer?
A lot of machines you need to be both ...in the opposite order on the fancy workhorses...
For serial trackers like myself...I look for how quick I can route a signal,screen size,trigger recording,scrub functionality,automatic rehearsal and pre rolls on punch in/outs.
Korgs the easiest and quickest and Boss/Roland the hardest and longest

I'm a little lost, easiest and quickest in what regard?