[Harp-L] Zoom H4 first impressions



I bought a Zoom H4 "Handy recorder" Saturday, and have spent a few hours working with it since.  My first impressions follow.

The device retails for about $300, and includes a hefty list of features: 
- 2 track mode for stereo recording
- 4 track mode for multi track recording
- built in stereo condensor mics
- combination inputs for hi-z 1/4" instruments like guitar and bass and XLR (with phantom power)
- WAV (up to 24 bit/96 kHz) and MP3 recording; will do up to 190 minutes of 16-bit 44.1 kHz WAV recordings with a 2 GB Secure Digital card
- USB connection to computer; device can serve as an audio interface and a mass storage device
- built in equivalent of a Zoom G2 amp modeling/effects pedal

That's a lot of stuff for the money.  When you open the package, you see immediately that costs were kept down in part by building the device out of lightweight plastic.  I would be very concerned about dropping this thing from waist height onto a hard floor.  

Fortunately, the list of serious issues stops there.  The device's operating system is fairly straightforward, and within an hour I was navigating confidently.  The recording quality is simply excellent, even with the built-in mics.  It runs for four hours on 2 AA batteries; I haven't hit this limit yet, but it's been over three hours for my first set of batteries, and it's still going strong.

It's a great unit for recording a band live, either with the built-in mics or via feed from a mixer; the only cause for concern here is the potential for the unit getting knocked over or stepped on in a live situation, serious issues given the plastic case.  It's also a great unit for catching ideas on the fly, given its quick startup, excellent sound quality, and high storage capacity.

In short, this is a pretty potent package for $300, and well worth consideration by anyone in the market for a small, high-quality recorder.

Regards, Richard Hunter
hunterharp.com






This archive was generated by a fusion of Pipermail 0.09 (Mailman edition) and MHonArc 2.6.8.