Zoom H4

[Dunleigh1]

I am looking for a handheld decent qual recorder to take to jams, record on the fly, etc. The Zoom H4 seems to have it all and accepts XLR as well as quarter-inch. Also, it is not so full of features that I will need an EE degree to figure it out (like some of the digital 8 tracks out there including the Boss that I have, egad). Anyone have experience with this thing? There are a few others on the market at the same price point, M-Audio, etc.

The H2 does not ship til August and even that one looks pretty good. But the H4 looks better.

Thanks.

[armanHammer]

http://www.2090.org/zoom/bbs/viewtop...r=asc&start=17

this should help

[CodeAgent]

I've had the Zoom H4 since last fall, and it works very well. I won't go into all the specifics, but I can tell you it serves all my purposes: recording rehearsals, song ideas, and even gigs. It is a 4-tracker with 2-track simultaneous recording, good built-in stereo mics, phantom power for your good condensor mcs, effects, multiple formats, easy to use, and on and on. It is the only small digital recorder I know of with 2 XLR connectors.

I heard the prices are coming down. Buy it! Great product.

[Maxer]

I too have the H4. Great little device. I've used it to record streetscapes and bar conversations, which I've then folded into my various Logic projects. It's also done very well recording my acoustic live off of the floor. Fantastic little gizmo with a surprising amount of audio fidelity.

[Jules6120]

I got one literally today! I set it up a couple of feet in front of my 5 watt Princeton tweed clone. I clicked a couple of buttons and recorded a couple of minutes of me playing.

I then stuck the USB cable into the H4, connected it to my computer, dragged the files off the H4 to my desktop and burnt a CD.

It sounds great and the stereo microphones sound a lot better than I thought they would. Very easy to use!

Jules

[AshlandBump]

For your purposes, I'd definitely get the H4 over the H2 - bonus for you that the prices are coming down. The big selling point for me with the H4 was the ability to use my own mics with its XLR inputs. I'm no recording engineer but I've been perfectly happy with the recordings of song ideas and band practices that I've done with the H4.

[hottub]

this seems like a great little product. does anyone know if you can transfer an MP3 from your PC into the H4? I know you can go from H4 to your PC, but wanted to know if you can download to it.

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by CodeAgent

I've had the Zoom H4 since last fall, and it works very well. I won't go into all the specifics, but I can tell you it serves all my purposes: recording rehearsals, song ideas, and even gigs. It is a 4-tracker with 2-track simultaneous recording, good built-in stereo mics, phantom power for your good condensor mcs, effects, multiple formats, easy to use, and on and on. It is the only small digital recorder I know of with 2 XLR connectors.

I heard the prices are coming down. Buy it! Great product.

So when are the prices coming down and how far are they coming down? Where did you get this info?

[AshlandBump]

Originally Posted by hottub

this seems like a great little product. does anyone know if you can transfer an MP3 from your PC into the H4? I know you can go from H4 to your PC, but wanted to know if you can download to it.

A good question that I don't know the anwer to. Also, can you transfer a .mp3 file into one track and then overdub onto it, or something along those lines? I'd like to exchange .mp3 or .wav files by computer for recording projects, i.e., band mates living out of town send me a .wav file (or .mp3, if necessary) that I then load into the H4 and I overdub guitar parts onto their work. Anyone tried this?

[guitarjo]

yes i believe you can
simply by dragging the file into the h4 folder when it is connected
or the sd card is inserted

[Dunleigh1]

Just got mine yesterday. Can't wait to use it. Seems fairly intuitive but does a lot so I expect a learning curve.