I'm looking for a decent recorder for recording sessions and came across the zoom h2 in my local music shop. i bought one of those cheapy mp3 recorders of ebay, and the noise level is unforgiveable.
Does anyone here have any experience with this device? and how does it fair out in a noisey pub session?
It's really the best way to learn those contrary tunes....
The Zoom H2 is superb for what you want it to do; either with the build-in mics or externals.
Take time to read the instructions and learn its little foibles, like defaulting to switching mic power off, meaning you have to enable it every time you use external mics without a battery box.
Never, ever, switch on any of the sound effects or features like AGC when recording. Switch them off and put tape over the switches so you can't accidentally switch them on.
Similarly, tape over the on/off switch when using - it is easily moved.
Don't use the line-in to record from a line-out source (e.g. CD player or sound board) as you need an attenuator. The manual doesn't tell you this. Maplin sell one for the Microtrack recorder, which will also work on the H2. For about £2 you can modify the lead you get with the H2, but you need to be handy with a soldering iron.
None of this is meant to sound negative. It is a jack of all trades device with some compromises in the design. Understand the basic rules and the quality is excellent.
But you ask a different question regarding noisy pubs. Unless you have very good right hook, you'll never get rid of all the noise. No recorder will. Very expensive directional mics will help, but if you could afford them you'd be buying a much better recorder!
Don't confuse the H2 with the terminally awful H4! Don't even ask, just stay away.
I've been using an H2 for almost a year now, and like it very much. There's been a discussion about the device on the "Mudcat Cafe" forum recently. Check that out if you want some more opinions.
Thanks for those hints above, "bigdee".
I have it and LOVE IT. I've tried many other devices (various types of digital recorders and minidiscs) and this is by far the best. Easy to use, easy to get music off, and great sound quality for a portable recorder.
I was considering gettting something like this or the Edirol recently. I have a HD minidisc and mic but never use it. It is such a bulky and conspicuous thing to use with the large mic. As such the battery is always flat, even if I wanted to use it.
On the recommendation of another musician I got a Mikey from Blue. You just plug it into an iPod and away you go. I have only had it for a week but the recording quality seems great. If you have an iPod Touch or something similar (I don't) then you can download the free recording app and it is meant to be even better.
The best thing is the price - around £50. It is a lot cheeper an option than a seperate MP3 recorder.
I have heard a lot of good things about the Zoom h2
I have also used the digital recorders from M Audio
which are quite good, however if you have a smart phone
like an iPhone or Android, you can download free apps
that also record quite well. Not as good as the other digital
recorders ,but there free and I use mine so I can
capture the basic melody, also the session I attended. Was not that noisy to begin with.
John
I've borrowed a friend's Zoom H2 on a couple of occasions to record (non-trad) concerts for a school. The audio results were superb.
What I find difficult about this machine is that the digital display is so tiny -- very hard on aging eyes -- and working the menu, jog dial, and central control button takes some practice to get proficient. Don't expect to pick it up and run with it within 15 minutes out of the box. I'm sure, though, that it would become second nature with regular use.
Apart from recording workshops and the occasional pub session I use the H2 mostly in my practice room for recording my violin practice (and I always use the mains unit for this or it will eat batteries!). If you do this you can afford to have the H2's display backlight on all the time. I have it on an extensible tripod so that I can position it a few feet away at a height of about 6-7 feet. This takes advantage of the room acoustics, minimizes "close-up" noises from the violin, and gives an acceptable recording.
If you're using the H2 for recording a pub session my best bet would be to have it in the middle of the session table; there will still be background noise, but it will be slightly less obtrusive because the noise source will be outside the circle. In the worse circumstances try to locate the mic close to the loudest and best players (hopefully they are one and the same individuals) for the optimum results.
One of the first things I tried with the H2 was to see if it could record the inaudible (to us) ultrasound from a rodent scarer which plugs into a mains socket and emits a very high frequency which the little critters hate. I set the H2 to the 96khz WAV setting - you've got to do that in order to record frequencies above 20khz, and 96khz will allow you to record up to 48khz - put it a few inches in front of the rodent scarer and recorded for a couple of minutes. I copied the WAV file onto my computer and used my sound editor's spectrograph function to reveal those high frequencies on screen. It turned out to be a saw-tooth slow oscillating signal in the 40-45khz range, and to mice ears it must have sounded like a police car siren would to us right up close.
Incidentally, the rodent scarer does everything it said on the packet. The resident mice vanished overnight, and elephants, which the manufacturers forgot to mention, haven't been seen either.
Something that doesn't often get mentioned with the H2 is that it's quite a good quality mp3/wav player in its own right. The only criticisms I have is that you're restricted to the 10 pre-named folders, which can't be modified, sub-folders aren't allowed, and you've got to pre-select from the menu which folder you want to use. It will then remain with that folder for everything until you tell it otherwise. However, within the folders you can use whatever file names you like, and any number of files of any size subject to memory and OS requirements. I find the best way to use the H2 as a player is to use it to listen to a large number of stored tunes coming up at random (best way to listen to tunes, I reckon).
I use an H2 a lot, I think it's one of the most useful bits of kit I have.
Apart from recording sessions and workshops I often plug it into the mixing desk at performances to take CD quality live recordings, I've also plugged it into the inputs of the desk and used it as an ambient stereo mic - the microphone quality is excellent - better than most dynamics and as good as some fairly expensive condenser mics.
Using it for sessions and workshops, I get very acceptable results just sticking it on a 6" tripod under my chair. With the wide angle mic configuration it takes in the whole circle quite happily.
As someone has already mentioned, the AGC function is pretty useless - it reacts too slowly, producing odd level changes. So it is best to select either the limiter or one of the compression settings, and set the gain manually (I tend to use the limiter in sessions, where only the music matters, and the compressor in workshops, where I want to bring up the level of the tutor talking).
The only slight drawback it has aginst some other recorders for practicing with is that it doesn't have built in speakers, so you can't immediately play stuff back, other than through earphones or separate powered monitors.
I got an H2 for my birthday last spring and have been happily recording our sessions with it since then. It would be nice if the display was bigger for aging eyes, but it makes very good recordings w/o too much difficulty.
In a session, I just set it in the middle of the players on a 6" mic stand with front and back mics active, and start recording. I then transfer the files to my mac, slice them up, and do some minimal editing in Garageband (fades in and out, light reverb). You can hear sets from sessions I've recorded with the H2 at http://www.Irishinthe NRV.org.
The only caveat I have about the unit is that recordings aren't saved to the SD card until you stop recording. For this reason, it's useful to stop the recording every now and then start back up. You'll lose everything if the H2 runs out of juice while recording, or if someone manages to bang it during the session.
I have an H2 for sale, cheap ($90 USD). It doesn't interface well with my mac laptop. So I bought a Sony PCM 10 instead, and that works a treat--drag files as needed. The H2 i a nice machine, just doesn't synch with mac.
My H2 is new, used once to record a 30 second track. If you're interested, pm me through my member profile. Shipping in US only, please.
One thing that has been hinted at but not outright said... the H2 is a battery eater. They won't last longer than 1.5 hours, 2 hours max. That, and that it isn't very intuitive to use, are the only problems I have with it. The sound quality, and the ease of moving the files to a PC more than makes up for these drawbacks in my book, though.
Jeff: Use the auto-record function - that way each time there is a silence between sets it will save the last tune and start recording a new track, so everything stays safe without you having to keep manually stopping and starting it, and the slicing is already done for you when you get home.
fiddletreegypsy: I'm assuming you are using alkali (non-rechargable) batteries, in which case the problem isn't so much that it eats batteries, more that it spits them out before they are finished.
The solution is to switch to re-chargable Ni-Mh batteries, which will last 6-8 hours between charges.
The reason being that the Zoom has a very high cut-off voltage, and with alkali batteries their voltage drops progressively as they are used, so the Zoom cuts off when they are only about 1/3 used. Rechargable batteries hold a steady voltage until they are almost totally exhausted, so the Zoom keeps working.
Skreech: Thanks for the tip about auto-record. I'll try it though I'm nor sure the noise levels drop enough in our sessions for it to automatically start and stop (we generally have a lot of crowd noise and between tunes banter during our sessions).
Will: Probably moot since you bought another recorder, but I've had no problems transferring things to my 13" Mac Pro. The newer ones have an SD slot into which you can just plug the card from the Zoom and transfer away. Alternatively, a card reader that plugs into your USB port would work just as well. Also, check that the software/firmware on the Zoom is up to date. There have been a number of updates to the software since the H2 was released. I know that you're supposed to be able to transfer files by connecting the Zoom directly to the USB port, but that is dog slow compared to the other methods I descibed.
Fiddletreegypsy: I have no problems recording a four hour session at a high bit rate using standard alkaline batteries on my H2, but they are mostly depleted by the end of the evening. Just another datapoint.
Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
I'm looking for a decent recorder for recording sessions and came across the zoom h2 in my local music shop. i bought one of those cheapy mp3 recorders of ebay, and the noise level is unforgiveable.
Does anyone here have any experience with this device? and how does it fair out in a noisey pub session?
It's really the best way to learn those contrary tunes....
# Posted on February 5th 2011 by bjd
Re: Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
The Zoom H2 is superb for what you want it to do; either with the build-in mics or externals.
Take time to read the instructions and learn its little foibles, like defaulting to switching mic power off, meaning you have to enable it every time you use external mics without a battery box.
Never, ever, switch on any of the sound effects or features like AGC when recording. Switch them off and put tape over the switches so you can't accidentally switch them on.
Similarly, tape over the on/off switch when using - it is easily moved.
Don't use the line-in to record from a line-out source (e.g. CD player or sound board) as you need an attenuator. The manual doesn't tell you this. Maplin sell one for the Microtrack recorder, which will also work on the H2. For about £2 you can modify the lead you get with the H2, but you need to be handy with a soldering iron.
None of this is meant to sound negative. It is a jack of all trades device with some compromises in the design. Understand the basic rules and the quality is excellent.
But you ask a different question regarding noisy pubs. Unless you have very good right hook, you'll never get rid of all the noise. No recorder will. Very expensive directional mics will help, but if you could afford them you'd be buying a much better recorder!
Don't confuse the H2 with the terminally awful H4! Don't even ask, just stay away.
But the much cheaper H1 may be worth considering.
# Posted on February 5th 2011 by bigdee
Re: Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
I've been using an H2 for almost a year now, and like it very much. There's been a discussion about the device on the "Mudcat Cafe" forum recently. Check that out if you want some more opinions.
Thanks for those hints above, "bigdee".
# Posted on February 5th 2011 by Kenny
Re: Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/15379/comments#comment317754
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/18836/comments#comment393658
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/19072/comments#comment398729
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/20841/comments#comment433973
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/16405/comments#comment344384
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/16922/comments#comment351603
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/19072/comments#comment398546
# Posted on February 5th 2011 by domhnall.
Re: Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
I have it and LOVE IT. I've tried many other devices (various types of digital recorders and minidiscs) and this is by far the best. Easy to use, easy to get music off, and great sound quality for a portable recorder.
# Posted on February 5th 2011 by fiddletreegypsy
Re: Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
I was considering gettting something like this or the Edirol recently. I have a HD minidisc and mic but never use it. It is such a bulky and conspicuous thing to use with the large mic. As such the battery is always flat, even if I wanted to use it.
On the recommendation of another musician I got a Mikey from Blue. You just plug it into an iPod and away you go. I have only had it for a week but the recording quality seems great. If you have an iPod Touch or something similar (I don't) then you can download the free recording app and it is meant to be even better.
The best thing is the price - around £50. It is a lot cheeper an option than a seperate MP3 recorder.
http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&xhr=t&q=blue+mikey+2&cp=11&safe=off&wrapid=tljp1296906762469020&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=14215703356766484034&ei=DTpNTfjgOMyFhQfjxtHxDg&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CCYQ8wIwAA#
# Posted on February 5th 2011 by No Cause For Alarm
Re: Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
Also consider the Yamaha Pocketrack - it's less than half the size and easy to use, with good quality.
# Posted on February 5th 2011 by Jerry O'Donnell
Re: Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
I have, Great Job. But I recommend You take the Advice bigdee
was saying there big-time - lol.
jim,,,
<The Zoom H2 is superb for what you want it to do; either with the build-in mics or externals.
'' Take time to read the instructions and learn its little foibles, '' >
# Posted on February 5th 2011 by FIDDLE4
Re: Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
I have heard a lot of good things about the Zoom h2
I have also used the digital recorders from M Audio
which are quite good, however if you have a smart phone
like an iPhone or Android, you can download free apps
that also record quite well. Not as good as the other digital
recorders ,but there free and I use mine so I can
capture the basic melody, also the session I attended. Was not that noisy to begin with.
John
# Posted on February 5th 2011 by doley50
Re: Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
I've borrowed a friend's Zoom H2 on a couple of occasions to record (non-trad) concerts for a school. The audio results were superb.
What I find difficult about this machine is that the digital display is so tiny -- very hard on aging eyes -- and working the menu, jog dial, and central control button takes some practice to get proficient. Don't expect to pick it up and run with it within 15 minutes out of the box. I'm sure, though, that it would become second nature with regular use.
# Posted on February 5th 2011 by boxist
Re: Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
Apart from recording workshops and the occasional pub session I use the H2 mostly in my practice room for recording my violin practice (and I always use the mains unit for this or it will eat batteries!). If you do this you can afford to have the H2's display backlight on all the time. I have it on an extensible tripod so that I can position it a few feet away at a height of about 6-7 feet. This takes advantage of the room acoustics, minimizes "close-up" noises from the violin, and gives an acceptable recording.
If you're using the H2 for recording a pub session my best bet would be to have it in the middle of the session table; there will still be background noise, but it will be slightly less obtrusive because the noise source will be outside the circle. In the worse circumstances try to locate the mic close to the loudest and best players (hopefully they are one and the same individuals) for the optimum results.
One of the first things I tried with the H2 was to see if it could record the inaudible (to us) ultrasound from a rodent scarer which plugs into a mains socket and emits a very high frequency which the little critters hate. I set the H2 to the 96khz WAV setting - you've got to do that in order to record frequencies above 20khz, and 96khz will allow you to record up to 48khz - put it a few inches in front of the rodent scarer and recorded for a couple of minutes. I copied the WAV file onto my computer and used my sound editor's spectrograph function to reveal those high frequencies on screen. It turned out to be a saw-tooth slow oscillating signal in the 40-45khz range, and to mice ears it must have sounded like a police car siren would to us right up close.
Incidentally, the rodent scarer does everything it said on the packet. The resident mice vanished overnight, and elephants, which the manufacturers forgot to mention, haven't been seen either.
Something that doesn't often get mentioned with the H2 is that it's quite a good quality mp3/wav player in its own right. The only criticisms I have is that you're restricted to the 10 pre-named folders, which can't be modified, sub-folders aren't allowed, and you've got to pre-select from the menu which folder you want to use. It will then remain with that folder for everything until you tell it otherwise. However, within the folders you can use whatever file names you like, and any number of files of any size subject to memory and OS requirements. I find the best way to use the H2 as a player is to use it to listen to a large number of stored tunes coming up at random (best way to listen to tunes, I reckon).
# Posted on February 5th 2011 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
I use an H2 a lot, I think it's one of the most useful bits of kit I have.
Apart from recording sessions and workshops I often plug it into the mixing desk at performances to take CD quality live recordings, I've also plugged it into the inputs of the desk and used it as an ambient stereo mic - the microphone quality is excellent - better than most dynamics and as good as some fairly expensive condenser mics.
Using it for sessions and workshops, I get very acceptable results just sticking it on a 6" tripod under my chair. With the wide angle mic configuration it takes in the whole circle quite happily.
As someone has already mentioned, the AGC function is pretty useless - it reacts too slowly, producing odd level changes. So it is best to select either the limiter or one of the compression settings, and set the gain manually (I tend to use the limiter in sessions, where only the music matters, and the compressor in workshops, where I want to bring up the level of the tutor talking).
The only slight drawback it has aginst some other recorders for practicing with is that it doesn't have built in speakers, so you can't immediately play stuff back, other than through earphones or separate powered monitors.
# Posted on February 5th 2011 by skreech
Re: Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
I got an H2 for my birthday last spring and have been happily recording our sessions with it since then. It would be nice if the display was bigger for aging eyes, but it makes very good recordings w/o too much difficulty.
In a session, I just set it in the middle of the players on a 6" mic stand with front and back mics active, and start recording. I then transfer the files to my mac, slice them up, and do some minimal editing in Garageband (fades in and out, light reverb). You can hear sets from sessions I've recorded with the H2 at
http://www.Irishinthe NRV.org.
The only caveat I have about the unit is that recordings aren't saved to the SD card until you stop recording. For this reason, it's useful to stop the recording every now and then start back up. You'll lose everything if the H2 runs out of juice while recording, or if someone manages to bang it during the session.
Jeff
# Posted on February 6th 2011 by jeff_willner
Re: Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
I have an H2 for sale, cheap ($90 USD). It doesn't interface well with my mac laptop. So I bought a Sony PCM 10 instead, and that works a treat--drag files as needed. The H2 i a nice machine, just doesn't synch with mac.
My H2 is new, used once to record a 30 second track. If you're interested, pm me through my member profile. Shipping in US only, please.
# Posted on February 6th 2011 by Will Harmon
Re: Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
woah, that's a good deal!
One thing that has been hinted at but not outright said... the H2 is a battery eater. They won't last longer than 1.5 hours, 2 hours max. That, and that it isn't very intuitive to use, are the only problems I have with it. The sound quality, and the ease of moving the files to a PC more than makes up for these drawbacks in my book, though.
# Posted on February 6th 2011 by fiddletreegypsy
Re: Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
Jeff: Use the auto-record function - that way each time there is a silence between sets it will save the last tune and start recording a new track, so everything stays safe without you having to keep manually stopping and starting it, and the slicing is already done for you when you get home.
fiddletreegypsy: I'm assuming you are using alkali (non-rechargable) batteries, in which case the problem isn't so much that it eats batteries, more that it spits them out before they are finished.
The solution is to switch to re-chargable Ni-Mh batteries, which will last 6-8 hours between charges.
The reason being that the Zoom has a very high cut-off voltage, and with alkali batteries their voltage drops progressively as they are used, so the Zoom cuts off when they are only about 1/3 used. Rechargable batteries hold a steady voltage until they are almost totally exhausted, so the Zoom keeps working.
# Posted on February 6th 2011 by skreech
Re: Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
I've been using the H2 with Macs (an old G5, iMacs, MacBooks, and mini) seamlessly for 3 or 4 years. What are you unable to get it to do, Will?
# Posted on February 6th 2011 by GaryAMartin
Re: Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
Skreech: Thanks for the tip about auto-record. I'll try it though I'm nor sure the noise levels drop enough in our sessions for it to automatically start and stop (we generally have a lot of crowd noise and between tunes banter during our sessions).
Will: Probably moot since you bought another recorder, but I've had no problems transferring things to my 13" Mac Pro. The newer ones have an SD slot into which you can just plug the card from the Zoom and transfer away. Alternatively, a card reader that plugs into your USB port would work just as well. Also, check that the software/firmware on the Zoom is up to date. There have been a number of updates to the software since the H2 was released. I know that you're supposed to be able to transfer files by connecting the Zoom directly to the USB port, but that is dog slow compared to the other methods I descibed.
Fiddletreegypsy: I have no problems recording a four hour session at a high bit rate using standard alkaline batteries on my H2, but they are mostly depleted by the end of the evening. Just another datapoint.
# Posted on February 7th 2011 by jeff_willner
Re: Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
I use zoom h4n with
rechargeable batts:
(for example)
http://www.amazon.com/Power2000-2900mAh-Rechargeable-Batteries-Pack/dp/B000GBG9CG
# Posted on February 10th 2011 by dogmageek
Re: Anyone using zoom h2 recording device??
Edirol - 2gb flash drive and 2AA batteries. Lasts for weeks.
Sounds great. No problems with file transfers. Formats onboard.
Gives me a kiss before I go to sleep.
# Posted on February 10th 2011 by Toppish