Using the Edirol R-09 portable digital audio recorder

Turn on the power

Press the power button on the left side top for a couple of seconds. The display will come on.

Set the recording level

Press the REC button. It will flash. This means you're in record-pause mode. Adjust your recording level using the + and - buttons on the left side of the unit. Watching the meter at the bottom of the screen, you want the bars to be at least half way across the screen, but never all the way to the right.

Begin recording

Press the REC button again. The light will stay on and the time counter on the display will begin counting. You are now recording.

Stop recording

Press the stop button (rectangle below the REC button)

Playback

Connect the headphones to the headphone jack on the right side top of the unit. Adjust the headphone level using the + and - buttons on the right side just below the headphone jack.

Getting your recordings onto a computer

option 1: Gently open the bottom cover half-way (see the note about opening the cover included in the carrying case). Push in on the SD card to pop it out. Flip open the bottom half of the SD card to reveal the built-in USB connector. Insert the card into the USB port on your computer. The card will show up as a removable drive. Drag the files from the card to your computer. Eject the card, close the flip-out cover and put it back into the recorder

option 2: Gently open the bottom cover half-way (see the note about opening the cover included in the carrying case). Get the USB connecting cable from the pocket inside the lid of the carrying case. Connect the USB cable from the port on the recorder to a USB port on your computer. Turn on the recorder power. The recorder will show up as a removable drive on your computer. Drag the files from the recorder to your computer. Disconnect the cable, close the cover and turn off the recorder.

Erasing all the files (formatting the SD card)

Press the menu button. Use the front panel buttons to scroll down the list to SD card and select format. Press the REC button to execute the format command. This will erase all the files on the SD card.

All the switches on the back of the recorder

AGC stands for automatic gain control. It automatically adjusts the recording level for you. I prefer not to use it because it adds a lot of noise (clicks and pops) to the recording.

Stereo/Mono external mic. Set this to match what kind of external mic you've connected to the recorder.

Using the AC adapter

If you're going to be using the recorder in the same place for a long time, you can power it using the AC adapter (in the front pocket of the carrying case) to preserve battery life