Yamaha Pocketrak 2G

Portable recorders are hot products these days. Whether you want to record a rehearsal, guitar lesson, song idea, grab some samples, or even take audio notes at a class lecture, today's
portable recorders are small, durable, and efficient.

But a portable recorder won't do you much good if it's so bulky that you have to think twice about whether you want to carry it around, nor will it be very useful if its battery isn't charged. And you probably want to carry only a recorder - not a lot of wires, mics, and other accessories unless absolutely necessary.

The Pocketrak 2G looks as if some engineer at Yamaha knew that someday, the above paragraph would appear in this newsletter and wanted to make sure none of those objections would crop up. And they don't - the 2G (presumably named for its 2GB of internal RAM) is the smallest, lightest, and most portable of the dozen or so recorders I've tested recently. In many ways, it's also the slickest: Underneath that shiny black exterior lies some pretty clever engineering.

Unlike some recorders, where the question is how are you going to fit the thing in your shirt pocket, the question here is how do you keep it from falling out of your pocket. It's so light that you can hardly even feel it in your hand. If nothing else, the 2G passes the "I don't want something that's a hassle to carry around" test with flying colors.

Battery life is a big deal, because what good is a recorder that doesn't record? Some portable recorders have an internal rechargeable battery that is not user-replaceable - so when it loses its charge, you're out of action until you can recharge it, which may take several hours. On the other hand, Yamaha has taken the "have it your way" approach with the 2G. There's an internal, rechargeable battery using what they call "Eneloop" technology, with a quoted battery life of around 19 hours at the lowest fidelity recording rate (about half the time for 44.1/16-bit PCM). Playback times are comparable, unless you're playing back through the built-in speaker, which shaves about 1/3 off the maximum time.

But if that runs out, the battery is an AAA size, so you can slip in a standard alkaline battery (for some reason, Yamaha advises against NiCads). Yes, stick just one extra battery in your pocket, and you can record for almost a day of MP3 audio at 128kbps - and use up only about 2/3 of the available memory. That should hold you.

One more thing before we get to the operational features:Once you've recorded your files, you need a way to get them from the 2G to something else, like a digital audio editor or DAW. Most recorders include a connector for plugging in a USB cable, but the 2G has an ingenious little slider button on the back.

Slide it toward the bottom of the case, and a USB connector pops out - you can plug the 2G into your computer, no special cable required, and transfer data much faster than real time. However, if for some reason that's not convenient, the package comes with a USB extension cable so the 2G doesn't have to be right next to your computer.

When recording, you can set three basic mic sensitivity levels, and there's an automatic level control option that minimizes overloads. There's also an optional "gating" function so that if the level falls below a certain threshold, recording stops until the audio returns above the threshold. Note that while there are meters for setting the record level when paused, these are not visible while recording; returning to pause mode displays them again. And, there's a 1/8th-inch input for either an external mic (or line-level signals), so you're not locked into the using the on-board mics. Several levels of quality are available for recording, from low-res monaural MP3 (16kbps rate) to 128kbps MP3 to standard 16-bit/44.1kHz PCM.

Note that the stereo mics can rotate 90 degrees, so they can point up if the 2G is lying flat. On the other hand if you're holding the 2G in your hand, you can have the mics point straight ahead. For a stationary setup, the 2G comes with a mic stand adapter that also can work with a tripod (not included).

Two slide switches on the back handle power and playback speed (slow, normal, fast). The Hold option maintains the current settings even if you hit other buttons by accident.