Zoom H4 Owners'/WTBuyers' Read. Potential 1st Recording Gear Review haha..

[blueprintstudios]

Ok hello people, yes it's me again. softie "dir" pmed me which I thought it was just about time to go into detail what H4 is about and how it is via tests of it. james(soft) pls create a "Pro Audio/Recording Gear" Review section when you're free. I'll be updating this thread with videos/photos/audio and lots of text.

So what are we talking about?
check out who's using it @ http://zoomh4.net/
and the main site here

the PM goes...

Originally Posted by dir

Hey man, I read somewhere on the forums before that you had a zoom h4. I have a few questions regarding. Have you tried recording with external mics? How is the sound quality? I heard not so good things about the preamps for the external mics. I'm thinking of getting one for a cheap solution to record 4 track drums, but would like to get some opinions first.
Thanks,
Khidir

first of all, in case you get mistaken, when you say 4track drums .. Zoom H4 has a 4-track recorder function, but you cannot record simultaneously 4 tracks you know right? because there's only
Mic Mode : using zoom H4 mics ONLY stereo recording. (16/44.1,16/48,24/96khz)
Input Mode : using zoom inputs ONLY (no mics) stereo recording. (16.44.1)

you can't inter-mix recording one mic and one input or record all 4 at once using 2 mics + 2 inputs simultaneously.

for example, 1) we record stereo drums..
#1-Drums L
#2-Drums R
#3-Blank
#4-Blank
2) we record guitar (MONO) on #3 while listening to #1,2 as "guide drums".
3) we record bass (MONO) on #4, while listening to #1,2,3 as "guide drum/guitar"

so what if you wanna record vocals and listen to all guitar/bass/drums? that's where you "MIXDOWN" all 4 tracks into a new "guitardrumbass.wav(STEREO)" and arm them to :
#1-guitardrumbass (LEFT).wav
#2-guitardrumbass (RIGHT).wav
#3-blank
#4-blank

then that leaves you room to record vocals and back vocals. etc etc, the rest you gotta read the manual. Zoom or citymusic doesn't pay me for this hahah..

and regarding the poor feedback about preamp, yes I've read about it. there's a professional studio or something that actually reviewed INTENSIVELY. running through analyzers and all that weird stuff beyond my understanding, but basically layman saying : noisy preamp. not to replace the real deal preamp.

as a former user of Behringer (EW! EW! I know i know, thats what some of you say) preamp, i think this zoom one can pass la.. sounds okay in my mp3s.
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[blueprintstudios]

yes I've been testing it with a band I've been recording called Rika. first download this link :
http://www.box.net/shared/2fd8xdj40g

[Zoom H4 as a standalone SDcard stereo recorder + onboard H4 XY mics]
TN_2008-06-08 - 03.46.35.jpg = drums recording @ the bassist's workplace, videoproduction studio.. so basically what you're seeing here is a fully 7 miked drumset > my Korg D888 multitrack recorder.
then I added in a zoom H4 in front of the drums to test the sound. I set as stereo recorder mode.

[Zoom H4 as USB audio interface, using the line inputs with a low spec laptop]
TN_2008-06-09 - 23.23.41.jpg = guitarist 1 recording @ his bedroom. in this situation I used H4 as a USB audio interface with an Asus EEE 4G PC (900mhz,512mb ram, and 4GB harddisk) the fender mustang guitars are recorded D.I through a Zoom 505ii. so far preamps as a line input is fine.

TN_2008-06-10 - 20.41.57.jpg = guitarist 2 recording @ guitarist 1's bedroom the next night. same setup, using a gibson lucille. and in case you were wondering, thats my wife behind. we're watching a hilarious stephen chow movie showing on CH8 during recording.

TN_2008-06-10 - 20.59.15.jpg = as above.

[Zoom H4 as USB audio interface, using the XLR inputs with a low spec laptop]
TN_2008-06-18 - 22.48.06.jpg = vocals recording @ same place as the drumset at the videoproduction studio. this time what you see here is a dynamic mic audix i5 + a vocal condenser rode NTK > H4 as a usb audio interface. sounds fine too as an XLR input. but the NTK has its own power supply, and the i5 is dynamic no need phantompower.

to hear the audio of all these photos =
http://www.box.net/shared/pubpwl1mo8

what you hear here is raw H4micsstereodrumsrecording for 1st 19 seconds, then the raw D888 multitrack recording then the Bass D.I into the D888 the same session, then after that as above, the Zoom H4 recordings as an audio interface with the zoom 505ii , and the vocals raw mixed.
although the zoom H4 drums stereo recording sounds "better" than the D888, remember that I have 7 individual tracks of the drums so manipulation of the sound during mixing is totally possible.

[Zoom H4 as a Microphone Emulator/Modeller]
what I've yet to try is, when using the Zoom H4 mics, there's an emulation for SM57/U87/C414 etc. it was too late recording Rika that night. so i was too tired already, next day still got dayjob work. I may arrange with Rika's vocalist to do me one demo vocal track with my fake "Neumann U87". but I will actually try A/B mic up a guitar amp Shure SM57 with the Zoom's "SM57" . i don't have a C414 nor U87. but will try those anyway.

[Zoom H4 as a Guitar/Bass D.I CabinetSimulator]
and onboard the zoom H4 for D.I recording there's Bass amp / Guitar Amp emulation also. equivalent to Zoom G2. so that one not yet tested. since you already heard the Zoom 505ii pedal (which I bought for like $50 2nd hand) later when I cover this aspect you'll be able to compare. so basically there's a chance it COULD be used as a guitar pedal , but that's if you use DISTORTION throughout a song or CLEAN throughout. guitar > zoom H4 > amp. (there's a LINE OUT) this one I gotta test too.

so when I get to cover the "emulations", I'll have one proper final mix + one "purely zoom H4" mix to let you check it out.

[Zoom H4 as a Tuner]
there's onboard tuner in the zoom H4, tested that, it's abit laggy though, like a cheap $20 tuner probably.. great if you "forgot to bring your better tuner"

apart from these, there's more...

[Zoom H4 with XLR input Rode NT3 mics as a standalone SD recorder and "phantom power supplier"]
this one is to make sure no "latency" when recording 2 inputs at once. as we all know stereo overheads are very important. so this is a video snippet with the final mixed audio of a nice young lady playing Liza by george gershwin on the piano recorded and filmed in her bedroom. the phantom power is supplied to both condensers , at first I tested using the 2 x AA batteries to power 2 condensors! it surprisingly works well... for 10 mins hahah. before it starts to show battery flat. so had to hook up the power adapter.

http://www.box.net/shared/h342pvoiso

[Zoom H4 as a field/location recorder using onboard H4 XY mics.]
for plainsunset cd launch at zouk, I was standing like 10 metres away , and I'm concerned with the H4 audio clipping, so it's recorded at low levels. what you hear here for the 1st 25 seconds (DO NOT INCREASE YOUR SPEAKER VOLUME!) it's the raw, then 26th onwards it's mixed/edited/loud-ened. this one must depend on the live sound engineer how he mix la. if he live mix like crap no amount of editing will make it right.

http://www.box.net/shared/bphd2dgysk

[Zoom H4 as a livemixer feed recorder]
from Stage > Live Mixer > 1) goes to the PA speakers 2) goes to zoom H4 via either RCA converted to 1/4jack line input or XLR inputs. this one I've yet to test.will update. most of the live engineers dislike me cos I "get in their way" (seriously i don't know how, but i get attitude problem from em) for tapping ONLY 2 outputs..

[Zoom H4 as a USB Soundcard]
pretty alright. the 1st time installation is abit confusing, need to on/off a few times or something.

[Zoom H4's Battery Lifespan]
uses 2 AA batts. I used Eveready ones.. drained out damn easily within minutes. I use Energizer ones, quite ok surprisingly lasted pretty well. I've ordered Sanyo Eneloop rechargeable ones. will feedback again.

[Zoom H4's "Armor"]
I dropped it twice from a height of 1 metre. I think it's fine cos there's no "moving parts". i'm not selling this H4 ever so i don't mind "admitting" that I dropped it. i'm honest.

[Zoom H4 as an SD Card reader]
depends on your SD card speed, I have a SDHC (yes it reads up to 16gb SDHC) 8gb and 4gb. and a 2gb 50x speed. the reading speed is terrible on the 8gb/4gb but storage capacity is there. i'll probably be saving for a 2gb 150x speed.

[blueprintstudios]

post position reserved for 3rd set of 5000 words if I got more to say.

[dir]

well you don't have to make a whole thread about it now!

haha, thanks for the information dude. At least I can cross it off my to-buy list now. Guess I have to spend serious cash for some decent mics and a good mixer/preamp. Anyone have any good deals to get some good kick drum mics or condensers (d112, d6, beta 52, 91, SM81 et al)

[blueprintstudios]

haha sorry about that. but very much earlier about 2 months back i think, before I bought this new toy, james and I spoke about reviewing the H4 on a more serious scale. not one of those repeated "yeah it rocks, what you can do with it just put there and record" kind of simple reviews. but hands-on detailed aspect. so just nice I was recording rika and I happen to have all the audio + photos etc with me now and you pmed me so I thought what better time to put it all up.

[dir]

it's a great write up and pretty comprehensive information to everyone who ever wanted to know more about the intricate aspects of the H4. Thanks much for it, you're going to save a lot of research time for many people. I would give you my lowly + but it says I have to spread it around before giving again!

[blueprintstudios]

haha thanks. well any other Zoom H4 owners would like to share problems/ask questions/contribute ideas?

[ac]

just off the top of my head.

The zoom h4 has low grade crystals for timing. What it means is that if you're trying to sync up the audio to something like a video cam, you're going to experience some sort of drifting.

The latest firmware upgrades provides battery information.

Never use the in built mic levels to boost or lower. It's all done in software anyway. i.e. if you're using it in a concert and you're peaking, just lower the mic sensitivity.

The inbuilt mics are easily overloaded on bass frequencies.

The h4 is a tank, made of plastic. But compared to quite a lot of other stuff in the price range, it's well worth it.

[jesus]

the zoom H4 is alright but i do own the zoom H2.
i believe is a better recorder than anything else i have owned.
the H2's simple plug and play capability is why i changed my H4 t o the H2.
a 1G SD card allows you to record 1.5 hrs on wav format.
also the mic is 4 way selectable, 90deg, 180deg.
its compact and hardy, i dropped it a couple of times and its still functions well as when i bought it.

[THOA]

I'm never a fan of in-built mics. What makes H4 appealing is the xlr and 1/4" line inputs, which is an improvement from the 1/8" inputs on most MDs and some tape recorders.

Good attempt to kick start a gear review. A little bit hard to read for me though, maybe cos there's a lot of info clumped together. Also, those who are technically less inclined will have a hard time understanding some bits of your write up.