Don't worry, this is unrelated to the recent transcription thread!
I have been transcribing with my trusty Marantz PMD-201 for about six years
now. I've been able to get good transcriptions using its half speed
capability for guitar and most horn solos, but bass solos and low piano notes
drop down to muddy notes when I half speed them because of the octave drop.
Also when teaching transcribing to my students they often have trouble
comprehending which instrument made what noise when hearing it all an octave
lower.
I am contemplating buying one of the digital machines which keep the pitch
accurate and want some input of which ones you have found the most
successful.
I am concerned about the digital white noise, pops, and looping imperfections
I have been hearing about them. Reed, I read that you didn't like the Akai,
what were your problems with it specifically? I just tried it out at a store
in Seattle and found the "note grabber" a little strange, is this one of your
complaints about it?
The units I have heard of are: Ibanez Digital Rock and Play (I have owned and
disliked the analogue version of this), Riff Tech Riffmaster, Akai U-40, the
Digital Slo-Mo, and some computer programs (it's not practical to drag my
computer around to all the places I like to transcribe or teach).
I want to make the right decision the first time, my budget isn't big enough
to buy them and discard the ones I don't like.
My needs in a unit are:
Portability (I like to transcribe on vacations as well)
Option of using Batteries (the Akai didn't have this)
Relatively free of extra pops, clicks, and buzzes (as free as current
technology allows, I know there will be some unavoidable noises)
Ease and speed of use, intuitiveness of controls (the less manual reading the
better, I'm dyslexic)
Since I want to make the right choice once, the price is less important than
the quality.
Thank you all in advance for any help you can give me.
Brian Oates