"Handheld" recorders..

[markstuk]

Does anyone have experience with "Handheld" recorders like the Zoom H4N or Tascam DR1/DR100/DR07 ?

As a standalone rehearsal recorder they would seem to be a great idea, assuming they work as advertised..

Thoughts/Opinions welcome ...

Cheers


Mark

[Happy Jack]

Zoom H4 is excellent, but has enough bells'n'whistles to be a pain if you're not into that sort of thing.

Zoom H2 is simpler and cheaper. Easily good enough for rehearsals and I also use mine for gigs.

I have the H4, the H2 and the Q3. The H2 gets ten times as much use as the other two put together.

[Low End Bee]

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=69620&view=findpost&p=992691"]Zoom Q3[/url]

I'm really finding this very, very useful at rehearsals. Plus it's got acceptable video for sticking stuff up on youtube.
Sound quality is excellent.

[keeponehandloose]

Had loud gigs recorded with a zoom and it sounded great

[slobluesine]

Tascam DR-1 is amazing, really is, i record all my gigs with it, settings need to be right, vol around 5, gain low, limiter on

i can get 3hours, 16bit WAV @48K on a 2Gig card
just need a little bit of post EQ work

very robust, great battery, my only gripe is the lack of a Mic stand thread, you have to put it on a shelf/table or somethin, makes it VERY nickable at certain dodgy gigs, ALL of my gigs in fact

[51m0n]

I have a Zoom H4n, and its the canine undercarriage IMO.

[markstuk]

Cheers folks. Sounds like you've had pretty positive experiences overall..

So i'll keep my eye out for a second hand H2, H4N or DR1/DR100

Thanks again...

Mark

[peted]

I've had a Zoom H4 for a few years and it's invaluable for capturing rehearsals and live gigs. The controls can be a bit fiddly but well worth putting some time in to get familiar with. It's got a bucket-load of functions that I don't need, so the H2 might have sufficed, but that wasn't around at the time I purchased my H4

[andyonbass]

[quote name='markstuk' post='997260' date='Oct 22 2010, 04:29 PM']So i'll keep my eye out for a second hand H2, H4N or DR1/DR100
Mark[/quote]

For about the same price as a used H2 you could get the new [url="http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Zoom-H1~ID~13779.asp"]Zoom H1[/url]

Edited October 22, 2010 by andyonbass

[markstuk]

Cheers - I'll go and compare specs... Anyone got any experience of the H1?

Mark

[quote name='andyonbass' post='997315' date='Oct 22 2010, 05:23 PM']For about the same price as a used H2 you could get the new [url="http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Zoom-H1~ID~13779.asp"]Zoom H1[/url][/quote]

[razze06]

Damn i've got gizmo GAS now

[markstuk]

Sorry... :-)

[quote name='razze06' post='997340' date='Oct 22 2010, 05:44 PM']Damn i've got gizmo GAS now[/quote]

[MoonBassAlpha]

Our guitarist had an Add-on microphone thing for his Ipod which worked quite well. Might be a cheaper route if you already have the pod....

[Bass Culture]

Apologies if this is a slight hijack but does anyone have any experience of the M-Audio Microtrack II? There's one available for a very good price through a friend (i.e. less than the new Zoom H1 that was linked to) and I was just wondering how it compares.

Cheers,

Mark

[Mog]

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/swissonic_mdr2.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/swissonic_mdr2.htm[/url]

We record every practice session on one of these, its usually just left down on the pooltable. No strtegic placement or any of that. They're fantastic and dirt cheap.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='Mog' post='997541' date='Oct 22 2010, 09:14 PM']... its usually just left down on the pooltable.[/quote]

That must be seriously robust - I'd have thought it would get damaged when you break.

[Mottlefeeder]

Some information, and some thoughts -

The Tascam DRI gets good reviews, but the DR7 has noisier microphones - may not be an issue for an amplified band, but may be if you record an acoustic set.

The Microtrack II is a different animal - its main advantage is that it has phantom power if you have and want to use condenser microphones for your recording. Its disadvantage is that it does not have built in microphones.

Battery life and battery changing/recharging might also be worth considering. The H2 and the DR7 take AA batteries, so they are a quick field swap. The Tascam DR1 and the M-Audio Microtrack II have a built-in lithium batteries, so when they run down, you have to power them externally.

David

[Happy Jack]

+1 on the batteries - I should have thought of mentioning that.

[Mog]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='997554' date='Oct 22 2010, 09:34 PM']That must be seriously robust - I'd have thought it would get damaged when you break.

















[/quote]

Theres usually a protective line of beer bottles waiting to go the the recycling centre so its safe enough. Actually, that reminds me........back in a mo.

[derrenleepoole]

The Zoom H2 is by far the best bit of kit I've ever purchased. Absolutely invaluable and I would replace it in a heart beat.

The Zoom H1 is exactly the same as the H2 in essence, but doesn't do 4 channel surround. It's worth noting that the Zoom H1 is armed as soon as it's switched on, and all features are accessed by buttons on the unit and not with menus. Other than that, the H1 and H2 share the same recording quality etc.

The H1 is stupidly cheap at £85 too, so it's worth a punt into this market and is nothing to replace if the worse should happen. If you like the whole field recorder thing, then go for something big and better.

Edited October 22, 2010 by derrenleepoole

[dangerboy]

I've got a ZOOM H4 and the Edirol R-09HR. The Zoom's best feature is the two phantom-powered XLR sockets so that you can plug some really nice mics into it and record in setups other than X-Y. I would say that the Edirol has slightly better usability, size and battery life though.

[OldG]

I'm another H2 user,

Great for live recording using the mics - even better using tape out from the PA

I like to use it as a studio mic for vocals,cabs, ambient etc - standalone or into the interface

It can be used as a USB mic or interface if you wish too...

[dan670844]

[quote name='markstuk' post='997174' date='Oct 22 2010, 03:18 PM']Does anyone have experience with "Handheld" recorders like the Zoom H4N or Tascam DR1/DR100/DR07 ?

As a standalone rehearsal recorder they would seem to be a great idea, assuming they work as advertised..

Thoughts/Opinions welcome ...

Cheers


Mark[/quote]


+ 1 for the zoom H2 its a great bit of kit, simple and its easy to achieve good results, fast and quick to set up which is the whole point of these things, a guitard mate has an H4, it has some amazing features but if you just want to press record. You won't go far wrong with the H2 or the H2 for that matter.

[dan670844]

[quote name='dan670844' post='999170' date='Oct 24 2010, 07:23 PM']+ 1 for the zoom H2 its a great bit of kit, simple and its easy to achieve good results, fast and quick to set up which is the whole point of these things, a guitard mate has an H4, it has some amazing features but if you just want to press record. You won't go far wrong with the H2 or the H2 for that matter.[/quote]

[dan670844]

[quote name='dan670844' post='999170' date='Oct 24 2010, 07:23 PM']+ 1 for the zoom H2 its a great bit of kit, simple and its easy to achieve good results, fast and quick to set up which is the whole point of these things, a guitard mate has an H4, it has some amazing features but if you just want to press record. You won't go far wrong with the H2 or the H2 for that matter.[/quote]


or H1 sorry I have been on the wine........ hic