VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

captain54 · Lucky 700 Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 744 Location: chicago

Here's a tutorial on the use of an H4 Zoom portable digital recorder..

(don't think he's a VO guy, he's using Ableton Live)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tmSgJfJLcs

There's also a cheaper version, the H2.....

this looks intriguing to me for recording auditions and less critical (quality-wise) gigs....you can upload files to a laptop for editing, and also use it as a USB mic to record to your computer audio software.

anyone had any experience with these or others?

todd ellis · Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 2:00 pm Post subject:

i know courvo uses an h4 - i have an h2 that i use as a second audio source on video shoots. i think it's just super.
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Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2281 Location: Atlanta

I've used an H2 to record others. Works great.

I keep procrastinating buying one to set up as a back up deck. My Speck 5.0 has multiple outputs, so I can just run one out to the ZOOM.
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georgethetech · Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:37 pm Post subject:

It's been on my wish list for a while now... I played with it at NAMM, really impressively built unit with excellent display and features. It can also act as a USB audio interface for your computer. Another cool thing is take it on the road, plug your 416 into it and record in a closet with no computer noise. Then plug into the computer and drag the files off and start editing.
It's a total audio swiss army knife.
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Dayo · Cinquecento Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Posts: 544 Location: UK

We've got a Roland Edirol and it's fab. Very useful for doing outdoor spots... outdoors!

localvocal · Joined: 11 Nov 2009 Posts: 9

I purchased the zoom and find the sound quality pretty darn good. Best when not handled as it picks up any contact sound. Foam placed on the handle helps somewhat. The immense number of choices in the menu are a bit overwhelming but the instruction manual is thorough.A great devise for recording sounds like background crowds etc.U.S B. interface a big plus.Great for on the road auditions.Transom. org is a website I recomend for reviews of several portable recorders of this type as well as other great radiohead inspiations

captain54 · Lucky 700 Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 744 Location: chicago

Looks like the H4 is the big daddy, but if the little brother H2 could work, I'd be happy to save a couple hundred dinero for auditions and emergency road gigs...

Doing 5 or 6 auditions daily and looking to find a little respite from the studio and maybe take it to another room... plus, my usb mic and little desktop stand has gotten me stopped in airport security more than once...a big pain..

the H2 has a little mini 1/8" plug for an input so I don't know about using an external mic in that sucker. only alternative with H2 seems to be blowing the VO straight into the on board mic.. and then uploading to the computer for editing....if the quality with the onboard isn't too bad, I'm in....

Bish · Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 6:52 am Post subject:

Hi all... my first post... and in the true spirit of a total noob, I'm jumping on a week-old thread Smile

With regard to the Zoom recorders... I have the H4n, and I've got to say it's serving me well. The reason I bought it was to allow me to record away from my basement office with its computer noise etc. (have any of you heard the sound a Drobo makes!!) and allow me to record in my booth (er, closet). Also it provides for a very portable solution being so much smaller than a laptop.

I record in wav format (overkill 96kHz/24-bit) and am very happy with the sound quality. The fact that this acts as its own USB interface makes life easy for the transfer of files off the SD card (I'm using a 16Mb) and as a real time interface when I'm recording straight into the Mac. It's a nice one-box solution... almost.

The caveats...

The headphone amp is a little on the noisy side, so live monitoring, or local playback of the wav give a false impression of the noise floor. Once transferred, it's all pretty clean. No biggie... just be aware.

However, while it's great to have the XLR inputs, the preamps are not up to driving the signal from a dynamic mic (not an issue for condensers as it provides the usual 48v). When using my weapon of choice (the Heil PR-40), even with the input gain set at max, the signal is way too low (around -24) and consequently the s/n ratio was not exactly wonderful. I solved this problem with a small preamp (the Rane MS-1) which does the job very nicely, transparently and in a very small package (maintaining the portability of the set-u Hobo Happy

.

So, it's a great little recorder, but owners of dynamic mics should be aware that it really needs a little help.

Cheers
Peter

bobsouer · Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 7:37 am Post subject:

Peter,

Thanks for the good insights. And welcome to the VO-BB!
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audio'connell · Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 1:18 pm Post subject:

I very much enjoy my Zoom H4n.

It makes a lovely door stop. (j/k)
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todd ellis · Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 2:26 pm Post subject:

nice review peter ... no the other one ... the NEW peter.
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audio'connell · Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 2:29 pm Post subject:

Cast aside, again!
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bobsouer · Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 3:35 pm Post subject:

Which is better than cast aspersions, Peter. Or cast in concrete if you're planning to swim in Lake Michigan.
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