ZoomH4 - way more of a fun toy than I expected
Published by on May 26th, 2007
The Samson Zoom H4 can be a little tricky to find in online stores these days, but there are enough on ebayto offer some good prices. I purchased this as a field recorder and alternative recording method for podcasts, after being disappointed by the limitations of using a mini disc. What I was not expecting was just how versatile and just plain fun this little baby would turn out to be.
I’ll not go into detail on the spec - you can get that here. This is both a stereo recorder and a 4-track recorder in one, with - and this is what lifted it up above its competition for me - standard jack and XLR inputs, with 48V phantom power, in addition to its in-built stereo mics.
I knew that it had the ability to take a guitar input straight in, but was not prepared for just how great it would sound when recording a guitar through its range of preset simulated amplifier models. It took a little fiddling due to the small screen, but within a few minutes I had recorded a couple of tracks of rhythm and lead guitar, each sound modelled differently and mixed using the built-in mixer. It even has it’s own guitar tuner and metronome. This device is going to be a lot of fun!
On the podcasting front, it can either record (WAV or direct to mp3 with adjustable settings for each) to an SD card, or as a direct USB audio interface into the Mac - or PC of course - using its own mics or any connected to the inputs. Built-in Limiting or Compression helps to dramatically increase quality, and it has a number of mic model emulation settings for different audio environments (not played with those yet, more on that sometime).
Pretty much each time I pick this baby I discover something new. It is always a delight to be happy with a gadget purchase only to realise it does far more than one anticipated, does it well, and opens new possibilities previously not considered.
For an example of what it does, I’ll be recording the next MinorTechnicality podcast with the H4’s own mics rather than my usual AKG condenser and Tascam interface combi.
UPDATE: some hiccups using this unit as a straight audio interface into the Mac. Haven’t figured out exactly what the issue is, but Übercaster was not happy. I’ve come across Übercaster fitting over an audio problem then creating all kinds of problems with audio thereafter until a reboot sorts it out. More info to come as I experiment.
7 Responses to “ZoomH4 - way more of a fun toy than I expected”
May 26th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Thanks for the write-up Neil, looks like one of these is definitely in my future
- Neil.
May 26th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
Both cute and shiny!
By the way, please stop showing my Neil more shiny things to buy and play with, I am trying to stop myself buying drawing books and art materials all the time as it is! ;-p
Just kidding. *hugs* my Neil…
May 27th, 2007 at 8:53 am
Natalie… you know he pays me to do it just to redress the balance, right?
May 28th, 2007 at 12:21 am
LOL!
- Neil.
May 29th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Interesting you also have one of these. I got mine in the US last year when they came out, and was very impressed by the quality.
It works perfectly as an input device on Vista, although it took them a little while to get the drivers out.
The controls are definitely a weak point - you need small fingers and a warped mind to navigate them. That said, once you know what you need, it’s straight forward enough.
Without the windshield it looks a bit like a taser.
May 29th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Hey phil! Delighted to see you still frequent this little backwater of the interweb now and then. Hope you are well and life is good!
May 30th, 2007 at 8:29 am
just wanted to say, we picked up one of these a couple of weeks back. we wandered into SoundControl, asked if they had any in stock and they produced a whole heap of them.
i think the casing’s a big dodgy and the PMD 600 offer better build quality though. tis a fine bit of equipment though.