Zoom H4n

[fhames]

I just got a Zoom H4n. What a cool piece it is. I'm using it for a sketch pad replacing a mini cassette. Plug in guitar,bass or mic a piano, acoustic guitar, vocals or whatever. Four tracks of 44.1/16bit WAV to SD card.

[Doublehelix]

I am looking to pick up one of these guys too for some quick and dirty recordings with my live rig. Two room mics (the built-in x/y pair), and then maybe add in a stereo 2-buss feed from the board into the other two inputs. What a great price for a digital 4-track.

So, the question that we all want to ask is "How does it sound?"

[skiltrip]

I just ordered an H4n from Sweetwater, should have it in a couple days. I'll definitely post back with some results, thoughts, and samples. Seems like there is a LOT of stellar reviews on the H4n, but not a lot of buzz on forums like this one. Perhaps the market for this type of recorder isn't very big.

I mostly use Pro Tools, but I don't always have time to go hole up in the studio to work on song demos, so I figured the H4n would be perfect to just track quickly wherever I am, the kitchen, living room, bedroom, back deck, hotel room, in a parking lot, etc.
I can always dump whatever I've done into Pro Tools should I need to later.

[fhames]

In 4 track mode, it only records 16/44.1 but it does sound quite good through the mics and direct.

[jono_3]

i been a user of the regular H4 for a few years. Use it for songwriting and recording live shows. Big fan, always works as it should. The H4n is supposed to be an improvement.

Great for taking a board mix of your own show, or recording a rehearsal too.

[greatgreatriver]

Me and my girlfriend bought the H4 to use for demos etc. I haven't upgraded the SD card but we have all sorts of problems with the audio being recorded. Glitches etc. Does anyone had the same problems with their H4? Maybe the SD card is bad?

[Corran]

Never heard of ongoing problems like that. My H4 has always performed perfectly. Either you've got a bad unit or a bad card, though I've not heard of a bad SD card. But I never use the dinky ones that come with some devices.

[skiltrip]

Originally Posted by greatgreatriver

Me and my girlfriend bought the H4 to use for demos etc. I haven't upgraded the SD card but we have all sorts of problems with the audio being recorded. Glitches etc. Does anyone had the same problems with their H4? Maybe the SD card is bad?

Sounds like an incompatible SD card problem. Is your card on Zoom's approved/tested card list? Your glitches could be the H4 having trouble reading and/or writing to the card.

[Corran]

He said it was the card that came with the H4. Surely they didn't put an incompatible card in the package?

[6strings]

Originally Posted by fhames

I just got a Zoom H4n. What a cool piece it is. I'm using it for a sketch pad replacing a mini cassette. Plug in guitar,bass or mic a piano, acoustic guitar, vocals or whatever. Four tracks of 44.1/16bit WAV to SD card.

Got an H2 for this. I download the scratch ideas to the computer and import the juicier nuggets into my DAW for fleshing out. Works great.

[skiltrip]

I got my H4n late last week and I love this thing. It's got a million and one uses, seriously. MTR multitrack mode is actually real easy and seamless to use. I was afraid it would be cumbersome and awkward to work in and therefore prove useless for this, but it's very nice. I've quickly and easily laid down a bunch of guitars one after the other with no problem.

I also picked up a RedHead Windscreen for it ( RedHead windscreens for your Zoom H4n — Zoom H4n windscreen for your handheld recorder ). Very sweet addition. Looks cool as hell too. Definitely a significant step up from the included foam windscreen.


I'll post some kinda review when I get around to it, but for now, I just wanted to say this thing is top notch. So if you're on the fence about the H4n, and you seem to think the feature-set is up your alley, it will not disappoint.

[hey_mavis]

how are the mic pres?

[skiltrip]

Originally Posted by hey_mavis

how are the mic pres?

I haven't yet done too much with the onboard pres. I plugged my Bluebird in quickly to just check to see how it works, and it sounded very clean, but I didn't record anything or spend any more than a few minutes messing with it.

I'm definitely going to give them a good run soon though. Somewhere in between feeding my 1 month old daughter (who feeds like every 1.5hours now. haha). If you ever need a break from gear, have a baby. That'll do the trick.

[caotico]

Originally Posted by hey_mavis

how are the mic pres?

I've only messed with the pres on mine once, but when I did, they sounded pretty good with my tube mic plugged on on vocals---although I set the levels too hot. I'll let you know if I get a chance to try it again.

[cyjanopan]

it is quite common problem with h4n to fail at saving files, I heard also it has big problem to handle files bigger than 2GB, owners can confirm ? I`m sure it is purely software problem so sooner or later everything should be fine

[StereoPari]

Here's an improvised joke song we did last sunday at our band rehearsals with Zoom H4.

It's called "Knife of life" - and it's totally tasteless. We only used H4's internal mics and pre. The drums and the bass were recorded straight onto a single mono track...lol.

Then 2 guitars and the vocals were added. So it's 4 mono tracks with 200$ gear. However I just had to add some Waves plugs to the vocals when I got home. Nonetheless I think the H4's pretty amazing considering the price.

Enjoy

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/1302877/K...The_Ingmen.mp3

[skiltrip]

Originally Posted by cyjanopan

it is quite common problem with h4n to fail at saving files, I heard also it has big problem to handle files bigger than 2GB, owners can confirm ? I`m sure it is purely software problem so sooner or later everything should be fine

I've never had any problems saving files on my H4n. It's rock steady stable.

There is no 'problem' per say handling files over 2GB, it just doesn't DO files over 2GB. So you plan accordingly.