[Harp-L] Zoom H4 Recorder

Rick In Davis <rickindavis@xxxxxxxxx> · Tue, 28 Nov 2006 10:09:34 -0800 (PST)

A few observations after using the Zoom H4 to record a jazz big band in a club setting:

After recording an hour and a half set at 44.1, 16 bit wav, the file size was a little over a gig.  It took nearly 20 minutes to download the file to the PC via USB.  It may have been because I used a Lexar standard SD card instead of the 60x version that costs twice as much.  However, there was no  problem with the way the standard card captured the music.

The room was pretty small, with about 120 seats at tables.  I placed the recorder on a beam about 18 inches below the ceiling, three quarters of the way toward the back of the room.   

I had the miss-impression that the Zoom's Auto-Gain and Limiter features made it a "set it and forget it" device. Wrong.  The Auto Gain works independently of the Mic Gain switches on the side of the unit.  They must still be properly set to L, M, or H to avoid clipping.  The Auto Gain feature does not continuously monitor and adjust the levels (as I thought); it only sets the level during the record standby mode.  If what the recorder hears during standby is not the same amplitude it hears while recording, you may get some clipping.   

The Limiter did not prevent clipping when I had gain and levels set too high, but after I got everything properly adjusted the H4 performed very well.  I used the SM57 mic emulation with the built-in mics, and the sound is great.  The stereo image and depth is perfect, even through fine headphones.  When I get back to California I'll post a link to sound clips.

As with any device there is a learning curve, and it pays dividends to read the manual completely even if you are an "expert" like me.  ;-)

It's a keeper.  It solves several problems for me:  I keep it in my gig bag and I'll use it for recording rehearsals, song ideas, lessons, practice sessions, gigs, etc.

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