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    • Best Radio Out There :: Part I August 21, 2009
      Consider this Part I of a three-part post I’ll be doing on my opinion of the best radio options available today. I grew up listening to the local rock/mainstream radio stations alongside classic oldies stations that my dad was listening to. As I got older, I lost interest in the mainstream because I was starting to [...]
    • Upcoming Documentaries To Watch For August 20, 2009
      Over the past few months I’ve become very interested in documentary films. Part of this is that I’m kind of sick of the Hollywood work of late. The same story, the same ending, the same explosions, it’s like listening to mainstream radio- the same thing over and over. I’ll still watch a new movie, but [...]
    • “Time Flies” :: New Single from Porcupine Tree August 18, 2009
      Porcupine Tree has released the first single from their upcoming album, The Incident (due out 9.15.09).  ”Time Flies” is a nostalgic, catchy song in 6/8 that is quite reminiscent of “Trains” (In Absentia). Hopefully this will help to tide us over until the release date. An accompanying music video was created by videographer/visual ar […]
    • New song by Radiohead :: Free download! August 17, 2009
      Following Thom Yorke’s comments about the decision to stop releasing full length albums, Radiohead has released a new song, “These Are My Twisted Words,” for free download. Johnny Greenwood posted on the bands website this morning; “So here’s a new song, called ‘These Are My Twisted Words’. We’ve been recording […]
    • How many speakers does it take… August 17, 2009
      If anyone were to know the answer, it would be sculptor Villu Jaanisoo. Jaanisoo is the creator of an art installation at the Art Museum of Estonia. Wave features hundreds of speakers on poles. All of the speakers are in working condition and are wired up to play sounds of crashing ocean waves. The best [...]
    • SoundCloud :: Audio sharing of a higher quality August 16, 2009
      A glorious day has finally come; WordPress now supports the embedding of SoundCloud sound files. For those of you who aren’t familiar, SoundCloud is a website that allows you to upload audio, embed it, share it (publicly or privately) and interact with other users in a social networking scenario. Not to sound like a fanboy [...]
    • Scenes from a Vermont Summer August 14, 2009
      I’ve been really enjoying my camera this summer and, recently, I’ve been very interested in outdoor photography. I’ve been taking hikes, going for walks, drives, etc. with my camera and taking shots of anything that I thought I might want to look at again. Here are a few of my photos from the past few [...]
    • Movie Review :: The Soloist August 12, 2009
      Last night I decided to watch a movie that I’d heard some great things about but managed to slip past me when it was in theaters. I loaded The Soloist into my DVD drive and sat back. The following 117 minutes were filled by a genuinely honest film about a musician and journalist who were [...]
    • Zappa Plays Zappa Nails it Again | Higher Ground 8.10.09 August 11, 2009
      Last night was a night to remember (and certainly not a night easily forgotten). Dweezil Zappa and the gang of talented musicians known as “Zappa Plays Zappa” performed a 2 hour 45 minute set without break. They were so tight and well rehearsed it was mind boggling. Having seen the group perform at the same [...]
    • A Hot Day in the Green Mountain State August 10, 2009
      Today was likely the hottest day we’ve had this summer in Vermont. I decided to take advantage of the partly cloudy sky (nicely diffused lighting) and do some outdoor photography. I was first inspired by the fresh vegetables in our raised bed gardens. After taking a few photos and swatting off mosquitos, I loaded up [...]

Zoom H4: Awesome Handheld Recorder

Posted on April 17, 2008 by benobriensmith

Last summer I purchased a Zoom H4 Handheld Recorder in order to record live music and spur-of-the-moment ideas without my Pro Tools rig. This was quite possibly the best recording investment I’ve made so far.

The Zoom H4 records to SD cards, just many digital cameras do. It takes standard AA batteries or can use the included power supply. It has a built-in XY stereo condenser mic setup that is perfect for recording live performances, acoustic ideas and the like. In addition, the H4 has two XLR/1/4″ inputs allowing you two use two external microphones or direct 1/4″ connections.

I’ve used all three setups and have been quite happy. I’ve recorded many concerts now with the built in mics. In several instances, I’ve recorded a solo instrument with one close mic and one room mic through the XLR inputs. The pre’s are decent considering the device and the inputs provide phantom power that can be turned on in the event that you’re using external condenser mics. I’ve recorded a direct stereo line from a soundboard with the 1/4″ inputs as well and the results were quite good. One of my favorite uses is to utilize the multi-tracking feature and layer ideas with the built in mics. I can record guitar, bass, some percussion and then a lead line or vocal line if I feel like it; all with just the H4 itself.

I tend to dump the files (recorded as .wav or .mp3) into my Pro Tools software for editing though the H4 comes with Cubase LE which is another piece of digital audio recording/editing software.

For $299, this is an investment worth making. I would suggest it for anyone who needs a nice quality handheld recorder for any purpose. It suits the musician well because of the ease of use for recording ideas and even has some simple onboard effects and mic-modeling. For those who don’t need the multi-tracking or the extra inputs, the H4 has a little brother; the Zoom H2.

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3 Responses

  1. Big update! « Ben O’Brien Smith, on June 30th, 2008 at 11:58 pm Said:

    [...] with many pictures, videos and recordings from my time there. I’ll be armed with my trusty Zoom H4 handheld recorder and my simple (but reliable) Canon digital [...]

  2. Technology changes too fast! :: Zoom H4n « Ben O’Brien Smith, on February 11th, 2009 at 3:59 pm Said:

    [...] it’s my Zoom H4 handheld recorder (reviewed here). It seems that Samson Technologies (the parent company for Zoom as well as the amplifier company, [...]

  3. The July Album Challenge: Day 1 « Ben O’Brien Smith, on July 1st, 2009 at 10:19 pm Said:

    [...] set up my trusty Zoom H4 Handheld Recorder and sat down at the piano to start working on ideas. I soon had some material that was quickly [...]

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