Portable Digital Recorders

You guys with your gadgets! I use this one and it packs up nicely in the pick up truck and with the extension cords and hand truck is portable and versatile.
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Just kidding. I have the H2 and it's great. I recommend it. It definitely shed light on some sloppy playing but it has helped me improve.
 
I've also been thinking about the Zoom H2.

Would anyone be able to post up links to either of these?

1) Audio of their kit recorded with the H2
2) Audio of a band rehearsal with the H2

I wanted to hear the clarity over the less expensive mini disc / walkman type recordings.

Thanks in advance.

Yeah, not great performances but I've got a vocalist audition in the "my playing" section right now, a brief clip of my kit in the garage in the "my gear" section and a 3 piece song writing snippet in a previous zoom H2 post. I don't know how to make the links to this thread but I'll go and try it now. Non of these are recording performances so there's no attempt to get the best recorded sound. They were never designed for anything other than personal reference.
 
I've also been thinking about the Zoom H2.

Would anyone be able to post up links to either of these?

1) Audio of their kit recorded with the H2
2) Audio of a band rehearsal with the H2

Cuban, here's a warm up jam before practice last Thurday recorded with the H2 Zoom using the back speaker (120°) setting. It stopped working a couple of hours later :(

http://www.sangrea.net/rijidij/mp3/bm_make-it-up-as-you-go-along24sep09.mp3

With a bit of post-prod EQ and volume normalising you end up with a clear record of what was played but not much more. To be fair, it can do better than this; I had the recording level was far too low (about 10dB) because I wasn't used to its levels.
 
I've also been thinking about the Zoom H2.

Would anyone be able to post up links to either of these?

1) Audio of their kit recorded with the H2
2) Audio of a band rehearsal with the H2

I wanted to hear the clarity over the less expensive mini disc / walkman type recordings.

Thanks in advance.

Ok, managed to do it the long way round.

1st one is vocalist audition in practice room (back of pub)
2nd one is backing track arranging, same practice room
3rd one is kit sound sample in dead room above garage
 

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Cuban, here's a warm up jam before practice last Thurday recorded with the H2 Zoom using the back speaker (120°) setting. It stopped working a couple of hours later :(

http://www.sangrea.net/rijidij/mp3/bm_make-it-up-as-you-go-along24sep09.mp3

With a bit of post-prod EQ and volume normalising you end up with a clear record of what was played but not much more. To be fair, it can do better than this; I had the recording level was far too low (about 10dB) because I wasn't used to its levels.
Thanks Pollyanna
That sounded very clear (and was also nice to listen to!)

Naturally there are not too many sound layers in that track, so do you, or does anyone else, have anything that is a bit 'busier' musically?

Also, does anyone have a sound file of their kit on it's own recorded on an H2?

Thanks again.
 
Ok, managed to do it the long way round.

1st one is vocalist audition in practice room (back of pub)
2nd one is backing track arranging, same practice room
3rd one is kit sound sample in dead room above garage
Hi KIS

Excellent, that was just what I wanted to hear.
Could you tell me did you do any work on the sound after recording?
Also, on the kit only sample, what was the position of the H2 in relation to your kit?
Height, distance away etc?

Great playing by the way!
Thanks again
 
Hi KIS

Excellent, that was just what I wanted to hear.
Could you tell me did you do any work on the sound after recording?
Also, on the kit only sample, what was the position of the H2 in relation to your kit?
Height, distance away etc?

Great playing by the way!
Thanks again

Ha ha ha. Ok, no post recording adjustment whatsoever and no effort put into sound quality. Only a band rehearsal reference.

The kit on it's own was recorded with the H2 about 6ft in front of the kit, placed on a chair, so about 18" to 20" off the ground. The garage room is very dead so everything comes out a bit flat sounding. Again, no adjustment / EQ.

Hope this helps.
 
Ha ha ha. Ok, no post recording adjustment whatsoever and no effort put into sound quality. Only a band rehearsal reference.

The kit on it's own was recorded with the H2 about 6ft in front of the kit, placed on a chair, so about 18" to 20" off the ground. The garage room is very dead so everything comes out a bit flat sounding. Again, no adjustment / EQ.

Hope this helps.
Thanks for the information and again for the samples, they really helped.
Hope I am not hijacking this thread, but it would be good to hear any others?
 
Here's a recording done with our keys player's iriver at a recent gig.

http://www.sangrea.net/rijidij/mp3/bm_thrill_15sep09sando.mp3

However, the instruments were mic'd and put through the PA. At band practice the iriver's recordings sound similar quality to the H2. So if the sound quality / room is good then I expect the H2 would also deliver a decent recording.
Thanks, do you know the position of the iriver in relation to where in the room you were playing?
 
Thanks, do you know the position of the iriver in relation to where in the room you were playing?

I didn't see, Cuban. I'll have to ask.

Down KIS! Easy boy! :) It makes for a good contrast of what the H2 can handle - you're belting the tripe out of the kit and I'm going tappidy-tap. When I recorded at the default setting of 100 and afterwards the tracks needed to be boosted 11dB before the peaks clipped I realised the H2 was purpose-built to handle loud playing.
 
I'm not sure why this was moved? Especially to off topic. Oh well.

I appreciate all the ideas, suggestions and experiences everyone has shared. The h2 seems to be the most common, but also comes with the most potential problems. With a trip to guitar center tomorrow I check out what they have to offer and listen to what their salesperson suggests. One thing I have found from the googling I've done is some work in conjunction with an ipod for storage, and my mp3 player isn't an ipod. I'm not going to make a second purchase of an ipod just to get a recorder. Although those ipods do come in some nice colors for their price.Thanks to all again.
 
Hi Cuban, I got the word from our keys player about the iriver gig recording I posted. It seems that the unit needed a bit of help to achieve that sound. This is his reply:

It was just about 4 metres back from the stage beside the mixing desk with 1 AKG vocal mike plugged into the line in (but it needs a small preamp to boost the signal). Remember to switch settings to line in and not the default voice in.

I tried to get it as close to centre as possible but it was closer to the keyboards and drums but still got a reasonable balance thru the PA.​

The H2 recordings, on the other hand, were done without using external gear.

Donv, it might be a bit early to say if the H2 has more probs than others because it seems that most members have used them without bother. If as many people had a different recorder they may well be reporting just as many probs ...?
 
My believe friend has a Zoom H4, its has great quality from what I've heard from it.
 
I'm using a JVC Everio which really works for me. I think it is about $350 though.
 
I am going to take the plunge and get the H2.

Can I ask which mic settings do you each record using?

Front 90°
or
Rear 120°
or
Full 360°

Also, which format do you use?
24bit/96kHz linear PCM WAV files or do you just use 128kbps for MP3s or even perhaps something in-between?

Can anyone also tell me the recording times in these formats on a 1GB SD memory card?

Finally, is the advertised 4 hours of battery life accurate?

Thanks in advance.
 
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