Zoom H4 Handy Recorder Reviews

Probably the best 300.00 I have ever spent. I have used it for lectures, band practice, writing, film sound scapes etc....This thing packs a great punch for the money. As an interface it works great too. The built in effects are easy to use and work well. Running two LDC is no problem either. The converters aren't as good as my Apogee, but they are very usable. When working on parts of songs, I load them as a stereo file on the SD card and use the four track mode with a click to practice against. There are so many uses for this thing, buy one!

I was not expecting much from the H4. I bought this mostly as a quick and easy two-track recorder for an outdoor film shoot. I then tried it with a pair of Earthworks QTC-1 mics and was floored by just how good the built in preamps and converters were. I get stunning results with nothing but the H4 and my QTC-1's. I am now able to setup and record a 2-track session in about 15 minutes.

Also note this is mostly with live classical recitals. The onboard preamps and converters are good enough for that kind of environment!

My only gripe is the battery drain that happens when running phantom power, but it's no surprise when you are doing 48v phantom power with two 1.5v batteries. Too bad there isn't an add-on lithium battery. Regardless, I use the included AC adapter and I'm good to go.

Using 48/24, this recorder provides great, low-noise recordings. The built in mics are nothing to scoff at either. Definitely the best bang-for-the-buck recorder right now!

As a singer in a men's chorale, our director needed to record rehearsals so he can prepare for the following rehearsal. Little did we know that this little jewel of a recorder did so much. I set it up on a mic stand and hit record and let it go. A 2GB card gives me 3+ hours of CD-quality recording time. Just for kicks we started using it to record performances so as not to require a "sound guy" to manage recording. The built-in condensers do an adequate job in a good room. Having the OPTION to record from the phantom-power-capable XLRs is a huge plus. I'd like to hear them with a pair of Neumann or Mojave condensers, but on a tight budget, you can't do much better than the H4.

Thanks to my sales agent, Jeffrey Green, for the recommendation. When your agent owns one, you know their recommendation is solid.

When I bought my H4, I thought I'd just use it for field recording, but then I realized that not only could I use my AKG phantom powered mics with it's 2 mic inputs, but the H4 also punctions great as a usb audio interface. My projects sound like they were recorded in a pro sound studio and I didn't have to spend a lot of money.

totally killer tool!
i use this on my couch with an acoustic guitar to get ideas down. bring it out to record a rehearsal quick and easy, or a gig at a local bar. just make sure you set the mic gain to lo (-40db) and get some distance. the autogain and limit feature are decent for capturing a jam to keep ideas around. finally -- i've set the input to 1/2 - set the gain on lo - and run direct XLR line level feeds off a well balanced stereo bus mix and presto -- great basic recording - watch your levels. For the price point this is an amazing tool -- i get about 2h45m on a 2GB card at 16/44.1 -- at that encoding you can drag files right onto any computer or burn a demo disk with no further mixdown. insane tool for the price point. And everyone things it looks like a tazer. Yes!!!

When I first looked at the Zoom H4 I thought it was too good to be true. I mean stereo recording, built in effects, audio interface capability, AND good sound quality all packed into something the size of a big deodorant stick?

Well...it's totally true!!! This thing is amazing! For me being a singer/songwriter I can't tell you how invaluable it is to be able to record my song ideas at a moments notice while the inspiration is still fresh! NEVER FORGET A SONG AGAIN! With the Zoom h4 I can just sit down, place the h4 in front of me, press record and GO. Not only is it amazingly convenient and compact it sounds great as well! Plenty good enough to put out acoustic demos of your songs. The built in effects aren't too shabby either! The only thing I would recomend is that you buy a high speed sd card to go with it, as this will improve the audio quality. I 100% recomend this product!!! Every songwriter should have one.

This unit is awesome! I opened it up and within minutes I was recording. The sound quality and ease of use greatly surpassed my expectations for this price. I love this thing!

I have the NEW H4- for what it is, and the cost,it is an AWESOME little 4 track recorder, the size of a shampoo bottle!
It has two and 4 track modes, it is very easy to use, and, it's great for live recording of your band as well, w/ built in mics, and XLR ins that even offer phantom power(!!!). It comes with a pwr supply too.


Great for capturing stereo live jams, from about ten feet away from the band, with the really nice built in condenser mics! It is also a PC audio interface for using with the included 48 track software, and an mp3 player.... what will they think of next?

This little recorder has quality above and beyond. I was using it right out of the box - it is very user-friendly. I play saxophone in a concert band so I wanted to record band rehearsals as a practicing tool for me - the recordings are superb! I experimented with different recording modes - all were CD quality. It's small size makes it extremely easy to carry and attach right to my music stand. Extremely affordable and a great product! Highly recommend.

Some of the other palm type recorders on the market now do not offer the 4 track capability Plus the XLR input with Phantom Power. These features alone sold me on the H4. Quality of recording using the onboard condensor mics is quite acceptable and I still have not used the Phantom / XLR's. Didn't feel I needed them yet. Onboard effects Plus Mic Modeling also included. My two negatives are first the Stand Attachment is generally tied on using Velcro. I feel it needs something more substantial here. Also the Menu Control is really cheaply made. It looks and feels like it will break off or wear out over time. Probably a better wheel based input method would be better here. No issues syncing with PC since it recognizes the recorder as a generic hard disk, so anything can be copied over. Did I also mention this could record at various sample rates and also Compressed MP3? This is also a bonus. For the money, there is not a small recorder that can compete with this unit.

Great unit, I have been looking for such item So far have only used 2 track mode in MP3 setting. Audio quality is top notch, clean and quiet, no noise.

Using for recording live audio from church service.

Down side, tiny display is difficult to read when backlight turns off. Input levels are hard to adjust in menu. Stop button seperate from the menu button would be nice to have.

Awesome unit for the price!

Would love to see something like this made that could rack mount like CD/Tape units.

I got the H4 for Christmas and have been pleasantly suprised with its performance and sound quality. My main goal was to be able to record my very loud 3 piece rock trio, and so far I have been able to make great clean recordings at 24 bit 96K in the confined space of my drummers living room. I was concerned we would overload the unit since it can only be about 5 feet away from the front of the band, but setting the mic gain to low and then fine tunning the levels in the onboard software is all we needed to do. Great!! The only negatives I can find with the unit are the slow USB transfer(I agree with one of the other reviewers that an SD card reader will fix this) and the 2GB SD card limit (Which I hope will be addressed with a software update. I can not comment on how the unit sounds with external mics or with the built in phantom power, as I have not tried this yet, but in all honesty, I feel that defeats the purpose of this unit, and that is to make quick-easy recordings that sound great. For $299 this little recorder delivers in spades.

Doing sound design work, I've used a number of other field recorders over the years and have hated most of them. This one has its issues, but I like it quite a bit.

Pros:
* I like the SD card format. Upgrading to a 4GB card only set me back $30.
* the card format is also ideal for downloading to a computer. The USB connection isn't too slow, but it's still time consuming for large files
* Being able to use my own mics (with phantom power) is great
* The mics that come built into the recorder weren't as bad as I feared. Usable for some applications
* The UI is very intuitive. It was very easy to figure out all of the modes and navigation.
* It serves as a PC audio interface and portable mp3 player in a pinch

Cons:
* The built-in mics aren't moveable. While the configuration is ideal for recording things in front of the recorder, it's not ideal for ambient recording, where the goal is to keep the center of the stereo image clear
* The four track feature is nice, but it can only record two tracks at a time. It would have been useful for recording live gigs if you could record all 4 tracks at once (2 from the board, 2 from mics)
* I wish it had a recording gain knob instead of the 3-position switch. I haven't missed this feature as much as I would have thought, but it still would have been nice.

This unit is definitely worth the money.

Cons first: Compared to the H2, it's ugly! lol' Window tiny to the eye, The 4 track part of it is hard to understand, the power chord should have been on the side instead of in the bottom of it because it can't stand up on it's own with the chord in the way. Make sure u watch the blinking sound test red light because it's the same color when u start to record-looks the same from a angle. To record live, Make sure to u assign the inter. mics back ON or u will record nothing after all that work! -did it/mad at myself! Recording your band reh? -keep it near your instrument or it will be drowned out by the others! Especially the bass players amp!
Pros: It sounds real good. The bigger the SD card the longer record time, (2g is great!)SD card popps out-right into your xp computer-reads it very well (make u a file called H4 in your computer my music section for a easy find)-it's easy to change name titles then, has the 4 track feature if needed. I transferred my sqen. song from my keyboard to computer for email or ipod quick using it! I done a mp3 voice over drop for a radio station easy with it too. For those reasons, it's nice to have!!!

Just got the H4 about a 2 weeks ago, and used it to record a gig over the last weekend. Overall, it's easy to use and the quality of the recorded sound is good. The manual is easy to follow and I was able to start using the H4 quickly. I'm having some trouble figuring out how to transfer songs to my computer and burn them onto a disk, and the manual is not very helpful in that regard, but overall I'm pleased with the H4 and do not regret purchasing it.

No more laptop to schlep to location recordings! Forget the FX, bounce, etc. -- I can deal with that back at home base. For grabbing the raw audio with few compromises (even the built-in mics are a cut above decent)this is perfect. Even for more complex setups, a stereo mixdown is usually what I go for, and having an affordable, SMALL device to capture output from my mixer is almost too good to be true. For the price, that's plenty; the rest is gravy. That said, there ARE drawbacks -- the tiny display, the lack of simple level control (although in the digital domain, low input is not the issue it was in the tape days). An unheralded feature is the control lock, which makes it impossible to ruin your recording by accidentally brushing a button. I also wonder why Zoom went for a tripod mount, but I found a way to graft the unit onto a mic stand: Visit your local hardware store and get a 5/8" brass pipe cap. You'll find that even though the thread pitch is wrong, you can screw it carefully onto a standard mic mount for a couple of turns (it's secure, but don't strip it). Drill a 1/4" hole through the cap, then run a short 1/4" machine screw up through the hole and into the H4's cradle mount tripod fitting. You'll probably need a spacer (a rubber faucet washer is good, as it provides a bit of vibration insulation) between the head of the screw and the brass cap to keep the screw from touching the unit when it's strapped in place. It works, and it unscrews to let you revert to tripod use.

Waiting for something like this (USB,multitrack,small,digital w/24bit recording
easy to hit record and go...) to come out for a while now. I knew it was only a matter or time. The h4 fit the bill for me. Sounds good. Still experimenting with the various effects and such. so far so good. My biggest complaint is you need reading glasses to read the screen. THe font is clear but tiny. The 24 bit recording is only in stereo mode. The unit is light weight plastic but feels solid enough. I like the fact that the on/off switch is hard to move. You could easily loose all your data on an accidental bump of that switch. Not tried the preamps yet...
an adapter to mount it on a mic stand instead of a tripod would have been cool. Can't beat it for the price though.

Built in decent quality condenser mics, lots of features, XLR inputs, phantom power - everything I needed for a handheld recorder at a reasonable price. This is my "go to" recorder for recording on location (on the road, outdoors, out in the forest, etc.) for sound effects, musical events, interviews and much more.

The things that could be improved are: time stamp for recordings, variable gain control, improved windscreen, dedicated transport controls, more massive body to minimize handling noise.

I bought this as an improvement over minidisc. It is
more dependable but has its drawbacks. Built-in mics
are fair but inferior to external stereo mics in the $80 range. With external mics the sound is fine.
There is a tendency for the machine to get stuck in
"Key Hold." There should have been a miniplug input
for microphones but you can build one for less than $15 with Radio Shack parts. It's very versatile if
you study the operation manual. Best not to handle it while recording because it picks up noises.

At first glance by reading the review, I thought this recorder was the answer to all. While it does a decent job, it does have some shortcomings.

On the plus side
• The ability to use balanced XLR inputs is nice, but for a portable recorder, not first on the priority list.
• The functionality is quick and easy to learn. Button layout is adequate.
• Sound quality is good through the attached mics, better using the XLR with good quality mics (although this defeats the portability and convenience of the size)
• The sound is relatively clean.

On the negative side
• There is no internal time source. What does this mean, all the files have the same time and date stamp when viewing them from any computer. How could ZOOM have missed this one?
• The batteries and SD card cannot be easily changed when the unit is in the tripod mount since they are on the bottom side of the unit. The SD cards is difficult to change anyway due to being recessed into the opening too far.
• The gain settings are weak in my opinion. When recording an acoustic jam session in a small circle (16 feet across at max), I would have expected good volume at the lowest gain setting. When compared to other audio sources, the level is much lower, requiring adjustments in the output to compensate.
• The USB connection is slow. A High Speed card reader is a must.
• Does not appear to be a way to insert a track point between songs when doing a live session. Although not difficult, this requires a another piece of software for the average person to edit the .mp3 files

Overall, I am unsure if this is the unit I will stay with as I intend to test the R-09 and possibly the Korg MR-1. Of course, cost is a factor since these units are higher in price.

Hope this helps,

Bryan

On the plus side, this product is very easy to use, light weight, small, and works intuitively out of the box-- point and record. The sound is nice and crisp. Caveats: 1) Be sure to get at least a 1GB flash card if you want to record in wav format. 2) There is a noise problem when recording with MP3-- the blinking access light makes a beeping noise in the recording loop with every blink which is audible even with the least sensitive mic setting. This may not be a problem if you use your own mics. Recording in wav format makes the sound quieter, but it is still there.

If you want to use the H4 to it's full capacity you will need to be running WIN XP. There is no driver for WIN 98SE and apparently doesn't work on WIN 2000. If you are running WIN 98SE or 2000 you will need to get an SD card reader to get your files to a PC. The switches feel a little sub standard. The jog dial gets used a lot so I'm not sure if it will hold up over the long term.