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Valley Arts Kid
New member
On the market for a hand-held, and seeking feedback about any of the popular models. Thx.
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Richard Monroe
Well-known member
For current practical use, it's hard to beat Zoom H4n. 2 XLR/1/4" combijacks in with phantom power, plus 2 onboard coincedent mics adjustable for 90/120 degrees. The combijacks can be configured as a high-z input, and a 3.5mm stereo mic in, which disables the onboard mics. Supports up to 32 gig SD cards, although 16mb is plenty. 4 simultaneous tracks recording, as long as 2 of them are the onboard mic or a stereo mic. Stereo resolution can be set for everything from MP3 real stupid to 24bit/96kHz Wav. Exports Wav. or MP3 by USB, and can rip WAV. to MP3 onboard. In 4 track mode, it is 16bit/44.1kHz with onboard EQ, compression with all the parameters, reverb, amp and cab models, and a slew of assorted FX. It can also be configured as a USB powered interface, recording direct to computer, supporting most audio editing software, and comes with Cubase. Available remote control card and mic stand mount adapter. The only fx in stereo mode is rudimentary compression and a rather effective limiter.
It can be configured for economy mode, which extends battery life, and has separate configurations for alkaline/lithium batteries and NiMh. In short, the little bugger rocks. Good metronome, kind of cruddy guitar tuner.
One caveat emptor- It's predecessor, the H4, does all the same stuff, for less money, very badly. The switches are low quality, the limiter is in the wrong place in the signal chain, and it's fragile. The H4n seems to be a deliberate attempt to correct everything that was wrong with the H4. It can make really good recordings, especially when it is fed with higher end mics.-Richie
It can be configured for economy mode, which extends battery life, and has separate configurations for alkaline/lithium batteries and NiMh. In short, the little bugger rocks. Good metronome, kind of cruddy guitar tuner.
One caveat emptor- It's predecessor, the H4, does all the same stuff, for less money, very badly. The switches are low quality, the limiter is in the wrong place in the signal chain, and it's fragile. The H4n seems to be a deliberate attempt to correct everything that was wrong with the H4. It can make really good recordings, especially when it is fed with higher end mics.-Richie
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moresound
Loud Sun Studios
I to am a owner of the H4n and have nothing bad to say and everything good to say about the unit.
The only thing Richard forgot to mention was the incredibly low price for all that you get ....don't know if one can quote prices on HR but it's under $350. closer to $300...........It doesn't get any better than that!!
The only thing Richard forgot to mention was the incredibly low price for all that you get ....don't know if one can quote prices on HR but it's under $350. closer to $300...........It doesn't get any better than that!!
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Valley Arts Kid
New member
Thanks very much for the info.
VomitHatSteve
Hat STYLE. Not contents.
I'll offer a dissenting opinion. I was touring with a band this summer, and we tried to bootleg all our shows. We had an H4N and a Tascam DR-1.
The Zoom probably had better technology and sound, but we mostly used the DR1 because it was simpler. It was much easier to just throw on a table, point at the mains, and push record. We got pretty decent results. Not professional results by any means, but coherent bootlegs.
Though, when we spent time doing serious (home) studio recording, we did end up going with the H4N.
The Zoom probably had better technology and sound, but we mostly used the DR1 because it was simpler. It was much easier to just throw on a table, point at the mains, and push record. We got pretty decent results. Not professional results by any means, but coherent bootlegs.
Though, when we spent time doing serious (home) studio recording, we did end up going with the H4N.
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Richard Monroe
Well-known member
That's odd- I find the H4n very simple to use, particularly for straight-up stereo recording. But what the hell? YMMV.-Richie
VomitHatSteve
Hat STYLE. Not contents.
I think it was mostly a time thing. The H4N took a few minutes to power on and be ready to go. That, and it didn't come with a battery, so we had to find an outlet for it. (Which is a pretty trivial problem; it's not too hard to buy the battery, but we were borrowing ours.)
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Richard Monroe
Well-known member
Yeah, it does take about 30 seconds to boot up. It is a computer, after a fashion. Oh no! You couldn't come up with 2 AA batteries?! That's pretty weak.-Richie
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moresound
Loud Sun Studios
Vomithatsteve.............I've got one AA battery that you can have but you'll have to come up with an other somewhere else. 