I am thinking of purchasing a Zoom H2 digital recorder for picking up tunes at sessions however I am wondering if I will be able to transfer recordings to my iPod. Please help a ludite today!! Thanks..........
I use the iTalkPro on my new nano, and it works fine. If it's a noisy session, I have to go into the menu and adjust it to low gain, but it works just fine.
As for the Zoom H2, I must say though that I've been impressed by the reviewed I've read elsewhere but never saw mention of transposition onto iPod.......not sure if it's possible.......
The Zoom records in mp3, so you would be able to put stuff on your iPod. I know a couple people who use them, and like them. But if you're just needing to pick up tunes, the iPod microphones aren't a bad way to go.
If you set it to high quality recording, it's a decent stereo sound, but you're still relying on the tiny mics, the iTalkPro has a stereo mic input as well, so you can use good quality microphones with it, but I've never tried it.
But I am used to picking up tunes from old session recordings that were done on cassette players and such, where the quality is seriously lacking. But quality isn't necessarily what I'm after, as long as it's not distorted and I can hear the instruments.
oh, and you can get the iTalk pro for about $25, as opposed to $200 for the Zoom... You just have to make sure it works with your ipod. They work with the last few generations of iPod. I used it on an iPod video before I got the nano, which fits in the banjo case better...
You can't go from H2 to iPod directly need to go through a computer. You also need something to add mp3 tags otherwise the finding specific stuff on your iPod is hard.
I download from my H2 onto my PC, use Audacity to tidy up the recording and mp3TAG to add tags both are free
The Zoom H2 is really overkill, if all you want is to record tunes to learn at home. I have a cheap Samsung MP3 player with voice-recording capability that I bring to sessions. The sound is surprisingly good, and it transfers to the PC through USB.
I have the TuneTalk for the iPod, and it's pretty good for what it is.
Be careful using the iPod microphone units with hard-disk based iPods; they tend to pick up the sounds of the hard-disk spinning up and down. I use an external mic with mine which gets around that problem, but the quality of the preamp on the unit isn't all that great. There's a noticeable hiss in the recordings.
The other downside of iPod recording is that all the units (except for the TuneTalk) do not allow you to use external power while recording; you can run the battery down in a hurry if you're not careful.
All in all, you will probably get better quality recordings using the Zoom H2 than with an ipod. If the sound quality isn't all that critical (you're just trying to nick a tune) either should be fine. My ipod is usually pretty full, so I end up having to delete a bunch of things when I want to take it to a session to record, which is a bit of a pain. That's one of the reasons I'll probably buy a dedicated recorder one of these days.
Belkin has supposedly announced another recording option for the iPod called "Podcast Studio" that will cost ≈$100 and be available in June
Just came back from a harp festival where a friend was using the Edirol R09, which did the most amazing recordings Meanwhile I took my big Sony DAT and AKG414 mics.
For sound quality the pro stuff wins hands-down, but the Roland did an amazing job and is so tiny. The main biggie about these little recording machines is the ability to transfer stuff so quickly. But they allow you to do recordings which would be such a pain otherwise: his machine went round Africa for two months and he has the most amazing recordings - amazing not just for the audio quality but also because the tiny size of the recorder didn't get in the way of the things he was recording.
Yes he did - for both the harp festival and for the Africa trip. I think he had the odd problem setting levels when he was first getting used to it, but listening to what he brought back I thought the actual recordings were pretty amazing - a nice detailed sound without being fatiguing to listen to.
I'll see if I can get a snatch of one of the recordings to put up a link to.
Here's a bit - it's a wav file so is not suffering from mp3 bandwidth limitations. Bear in mind this was recorded while roving around a harp workshop (there's a Nyckelharpa in the background) - the sound is typically what you might get while holding the recorder up in the air at a session in amongst instruments.
The extract is about 20 secs, 4.5MB. But I think it gives an honest idea of how it works handheld in a biggish hall.
I use the Edirol R-09 and it's excellent quality both mp3 and wav format. It's not cheap approx £250- but it's so easy to use small and light. I think the Zoom maybe slightly heavier and bulkier- Mike Keyes has one and I think he's mentioned it on this site or on Melbay's Banjo site
H2 is very versatile 3 mic settings including surround sound .I guess it depend on what you want to do with it.,if its just to learn tunes a sansa is fine and the refurbs are very good and inexpensive.If your building a collection you may enjoy listening to ,you can.t go wrong with the H2. I have both of these and like them very much.
Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
I am thinking of purchasing a Zoom H2 digital recorder for picking up tunes at sessions however I am wondering if I will be able to transfer recordings to my iPod. Please help a ludite today!! Thanks..........
# Posted on January 16th 2008 by curtina
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
why not just get a mic for your iPod?
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/italkpro
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=277661
I use the iTalkPro on my new nano, and it works fine. If it's a noisy session, I have to go into the menu and adjust it to low gain, but it works just fine.
# Posted on January 16th 2008 by Reverend
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
whats the quality like rev?
# Posted on January 16th 2008 by jig
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
Thanks Rev! I'll check that out.
As for the Zoom H2, I must say though that I've been impressed by the reviewed I've read elsewhere but never saw mention of transposition onto iPod.......not sure if it's possible.......
# Posted on January 16th 2008 by curtina
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
The Zoom records in mp3, so you would be able to put stuff on your iPod. I know a couple people who use them, and like them. But if you're just needing to pick up tunes, the iPod microphones aren't a bad way to go.
If you set it to high quality recording, it's a decent stereo sound, but you're still relying on the tiny mics, the iTalkPro has a stereo mic input as well, so you can use good quality microphones with it, but I've never tried it.
But I am used to picking up tunes from old session recordings that were done on cassette players and such, where the quality is seriously lacking. But quality isn't necessarily what I'm after, as long as it's not distorted and I can hear the instruments.
# Posted on January 16th 2008 by Reverend
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
oh, and you can get the iTalk pro for about $25, as opposed to $200 for the Zoom... You just have to make sure it works with your ipod. They work with the last few generations of iPod. I used it on an iPod video before I got the nano, which fits in the banjo case better...
# Posted on January 16th 2008 by Reverend
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
You can't go from H2 to iPod directly need to go through a computer. You also need something to add mp3 tags otherwise the finding specific stuff on your iPod is hard.
I download from my H2 onto my PC, use Audacity to tidy up the recording and mp3TAG to add tags both are free
# Posted on January 16th 2008 by goldfrog
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
Yeah, I know what you mean.I had'nt realised the H2 only did mp3... my h4 records wav, +mp32 24bit up to 98khz, and is a sound card as well!
# Posted on January 16th 2008 by jig
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
The H2 does not do only MP3, it can record WAV up to 24/96 as well, just like the H4.
Hmmm... can iPods play better-than-CD-quality WAV files?
# Posted on January 16th 2008 by Sol Foster
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
Another caveat about the H2 - it only plays certain mp3 formats (likely the same ones it records in). Both the wav and mp3 recordings are nice though.
It would be cool if we could put up recording & exchange tunes here...
# Posted on January 16th 2008 by Gzeg
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
>> Hmmm... can iPods play better-than-CD-quality WAV files?
No... iPods will play uncompressed WAV files, but only up to 44.1 kHz (cd quality)
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61476
# Posted on January 16th 2008 by Reverend
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
The Zoom H2 is really overkill, if all you want is to record tunes to learn at home. I have a cheap Samsung MP3 player with voice-recording capability that I bring to sessions. The sound is surprisingly good, and it transfers to the PC through USB.
# Posted on January 16th 2008 by crookedtune
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
I have the TuneTalk for the iPod, and it's pretty good for what it is.
Be careful using the iPod microphone units with hard-disk based iPods; they tend to pick up the sounds of the hard-disk spinning up and down. I use an external mic with mine which gets around that problem, but the quality of the preamp on the unit isn't all that great. There's a noticeable hiss in the recordings.
The other downside of iPod recording is that all the units (except for the TuneTalk) do not allow you to use external power while recording; you can run the battery down in a hurry if you're not careful.
All in all, you will probably get better quality recordings using the Zoom H2 than with an ipod. If the sound quality isn't all that critical (you're just trying to nick a tune) either should be fine. My ipod is usually pretty full, so I end up having to delete a bunch of things when I want to take it to a session to record, which is a bit of a pain. That's one of the reasons I'll probably buy a dedicated recorder one of these days.
Belkin has supposedly announced another recording option for the iPod called "Podcast Studio" that will cost ≈$100 and be available in June
http://www.tuaw.com/2008/01/11/belkin-podcast-studio-makes-ipod-recording-easy/
# Posted on January 16th 2008 by jeff_willner
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
Just came back from a harp festival where a friend was using the Edirol R09, which did the most amazing recordings Meanwhile I took my big Sony DAT and AKG414 mics.
For sound quality the pro stuff wins hands-down, but the Roland did an amazing job and is so tiny. The main biggie about these little recording machines is the ability to transfer stuff so quickly. But they allow you to do recordings which would be such a pain otherwise: his machine went round Africa for two months and he has the most amazing recordings - amazing not just for the audio quality but also because the tiny size of the recorder didn't get in the way of the things he was recording.
# Posted on January 16th 2008 by Mark Harmer
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
Wow! That's a lot of great feedback - plenty of food for thought. Go raibh maith agaibh go léir.
# Posted on January 17th 2008 by curtina
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
Mark, did your friend use the built-in stereo mic?
# Posted on January 17th 2008 by Bob himself
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
Hi Bob
Yes he did - for both the harp festival and for the Africa trip. I think he had the odd problem setting levels when he was first getting used to it, but listening to what he brought back I thought the actual recordings were pretty amazing - a nice detailed sound without being fatiguing to listen to.
I'll see if I can get a snatch of one of the recordings to put up a link to.
# Posted on January 18th 2008 by Mark Harmer
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
Hi Bob,
Here's a bit - it's a wav file so is not suffering from mp3 bandwidth limitations. Bear in mind this was recorded while roving around a harp workshop (there's a Nyckelharpa in the background) - the sound is typically what you might get while holding the recorder up in the air at a session in amongst instruments.
The extract is about 20 secs, 4.5MB. But I think it gives an honest idea of how it works handheld in a biggish hall.
http://tinyurl.com/2mxpmc
# Posted on January 18th 2008 by Mark Harmer
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
Very nice!
# Posted on January 18th 2008 by Bob himself
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
I use the Edirol R-09 and it's excellent quality both mp3 and wav format. It's not cheap approx £250- but it's so easy to use small and light. I think the Zoom maybe slightly heavier and bulkier- Mike Keyes has one and I think he's mentioned it on this site or on Melbay's Banjo site
# Posted on January 19th 2008 by banjoian
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
H2 is very versatile 3 mic settings including surround sound .I guess it depend on what you want to do with it.,if its just to learn tunes a sansa is fine and the refurbs are very good and inexpensive.If your building a collection you may enjoy listening to ,you can.t go wrong with the H2. I have both of these and like them very much.
# Posted on January 20th 2008 by edorian
Re: Zoom H2 Digital Recorder and iPod
But someone on another site said that Edirol had ToD stamping whereas Zoom doesn't....seemed to be a crucial thing....any comment?
# Posted on February 5th 2008 by SueSinger