Excellent Recorder and Productivity Enhancer

I bought the R-09 to record live jam and practice sessions. I my specific case, the instruments are a hodge-podge of acoustic and electric strings, woodwinds and drums with amplified and non-amplified vocals. In the past, I needed to mic everything, mix it down and record two or more stereo tracks using a 4-track or CPU-based recording application (with a USB interface). The problems with this scenario begin with needing to mic everything but the real bummer was never getting what everyone in the room was "hearing" recorded so that the playback bore some resemblance to what we all remembered hearing.

This is where the R-09 shines. Firstly, it is dead-simple to set up and operate. The optional case and tripod were a must in my situation, and I also bought one of those articulated tripods (with the multi-jointed legs) that I wrap around a mic stand. The R-09 is just like having another set of ears in the room. It will "hear" the room and play it back with uncanny precision and low "noise." The built-in mic's are very sensitive and transparent. The use of SD memory cards makes working with the resulting files a snap. I use Cubase 4 for multi-track recording and it handles the stereo files seamlessly.

I have also used the R-09 to record natural events like thunderstorms and it performed well there as well, capturing the subtle changes in rain intensity as well as the thunder claps and echoes.

I bought the R-09 based on features, reputation and price in that order. I looked at the Sony PCM-D50 and the Zoom H4 and H2 recorders. The Sony was a bit more than I wanted to pay and didn't allow the option of MP3 recording. I was happier with the fidelity of the R-09 versus the Zoom H2, although the lower price was tempting. At the end of the day, I purchased the R-09 because it fit neatly in the sweetspot of my requirements: "A simple to operate recording device for capturing live performance and rehearsal sessions that I could trust to deliver enough fidelity to be considered a reasonably accurate representation of what we all heard." I could have paid double for for more sophisticated metering and higher sample rates, or I could have paid half for a decent recorder with only decent sound, but the Roland unit was a perfect fit.

If you are looking to make studio-quality recordings with this hand-held unit, you are probably going to be disappointed. You would probably be happier with higher-end gear. If your requirements are similar to mine, and you want to spend more time playing music than messing around with the recording gear, but still want a rich-sounding playback, you'll be happy with the R-09. Edirol, and Roland have a terrific reputation for quality and innovation and they haven't disappointed in this case.