Zoom H4

I have to write an article about the Zoom H4 Handheld Recorder. This handy little grey box is one of the best investments I have made as a live sound engineer. I have used it in many formats and in many places and it never lets me down. I have recorded rock shows, radio interviews, acoustic performances, and even ambient nature sounds and it has worked marvelously every time. I use it mostly for recording the live shows that I mix to play back to the artist for them to critique. They usually critique thier playing more than the mix though which is a good sign for me. Either way its a valuable tool to have in your gear collection. Its a great way to record your shows without having to spend a few thousand bucks on a pro tools rig, and the fact that it fits in your shirt pocket is a bonus too. Its impressive the amount of features that you get out of this little thing all for for less than $300.

The Zoom H4 a handheld recorder can be used by a musician, sound engineer, or hobbyist. It features many recording options including built in condenser mics, combined XLR and 1/4” line and mic inputs, and it can also be used as an audio I/O interface with your computer. It has various recording formats including .WAV in either 96, 48, or 44.1 kHz, as well as .mp3 format up to 320 kbps. It also uses an SD card for storage. My 2GB SD card can record up to 14 hours of audio in mp3 format at 320kbps.

The built in condenser microphones are very good quality considering the actual cost of the unit. They pick up a lot of low end, as well as crisp highs. They can be set to 3 different gain settings to suit whatever recording situation you are put into. A wind sock is also included with the recorder for outdoor and close up vocal recording. You have the option of either using the built in mics, or the XLR / 1/4” inputs. Not only can you plug in a sound board or media feed, but the recorder's built in phantom power allows you to use virtually any microphone as well. The cherry on the cake is the ability to plug in any instruments which uses a 1/4” connector. The unit also has built in effects to give you all kinds of tones including, phasing, chorus, fender amp emulations, distortion, reverb, and many others.

You can use either the stereo recording format, which records a stereo mix using either the built in mics, or the inputs, or you can use the 4 track option which allows you to record up to 4 seperate tracks of whatever you want. In 4 track mode, you can play back a previous track while recording a new one as well. After your 4 tracks are recorded you can mix each one down to a stereo track. Its a portable demo maker! Heres an example of what you can do:

On a rainy day you are noodling on your acoustic guitar in your living room. You find a cool chord progression and you want to remember it. You pull out your handy H4, plug in in to your guitar (or just use the built in mics), throw on a nice warm fender amp tone and record your song. You play it back and pick up your guitar and play a neat lead guitar part over top. Why not record it! Once thats done you decide to add a vocal track to it by plugging in your favorite microphone (hopefully not an SM58 :P) and your headphones and singing your heart out.While your at it you might as well pull out your old Keyboard out of your closet and throw down a quick key solo. Use the onboard mixer and save it as a stereo mp3 file. Plug in the H4 to your laptop and e-mail it whoever you want! Awesome...simply awesome...

Oh and did I mention that you can buy one for under $300?! Awesome...

You can listen to a sample of what the built in mics sound like HERE. I recorded Inward Eye at an outdoor show in New Jersey. The recorder was sitting on top of the sound board from about 40' from the stage.

The official website for the Zoom H4 is HERE

Thanks for reading,

Matt