Dear Dr. Bob: As a radio producer, I'm looking for a small, broadcast-quality digital recorder that will let me transfer audio files in .wav format to a PC for editing. Does such a beast exist? - Isaiah Duong, Santa Ana, California
Dr. Bob: For a cheap option, try the method favored by Deadheads, those cultural pioneers of patchouli oil, lost puppies, and broadcast-quality bootlegs. Toward the end of the Grateful Dead's touring career, tech-savvy Deadheads started bringing pocket-size DAT recorders to concerts, later downloading the data to a computer's audio card through a standard SP/DIF cable. A good DAT recorder for both PCs and Macs can be had for about $1,000 from Terrapin Tapes (www.terrapintapes.com), and a good card for $500 to $600 from Digigram (www.digigram.com). Once you've streamed your audio data into the computer, one of several two-track editing packages (ranging in cost from a free download to a couple hundred dollars) will help you get the final output right. Once the audio is edited, simply port the file back to the DAT for use on the radio.
A faster but more expensive route involves getting your hands on a digital recorder that lets you quickly drag and drop gathered sound files to your PC. Digigram, for example, has a device in beta. Already in the field is the Sonifex Courier (www.independentaudio.com/sonifex/sonifex1.html), a 3-pound gadget Maine Public Broadcasting gives its producers. The book-sized device, which costs $2,675, can record dozens of hours of audio on a removable PC card, which snaps out for quick downloads to a laptop. So far, the Maine broadcasters' only complaint is that the Courier's LED display dims after about five hours in subzero weather. Sounds more like a problem with Maine than the recorder.
Got a tech question? Ask Dr. Bob at askdrbob@wiredmag.com.
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