Zoom H4 PWNS 4-track Recording

So I've had this Zoom H4 for a little while now. At first, all I used it for was to record some band practices and a couple of shows. It performed pretty alright. I would always just use the built in mics which actually don't sound all that bad. More recently I've been using to record field sounds and fx for a movie and couldn't be happier with the results. I feel kinda funny plugging my U87 into it but damned if it doesn't sound great.

So a day or two ago I had some free time and decided to try out the four track function. I ended up recording about eight projects. Mostly they were just quick recordings of ideas but it couldn't have been easier.

My GF brought me an mbira back from her trip to Hawaii so I recorded a quick track using the built in mics. It isn't anything special but I think it speaks for the overall quality of the recorder.


The best thing is that when you hook up the H4 to your computer via USB every project appears in its own folder and it is simple as pie to bring them into your DAW and mix there. The built in mixer ain't bad though. The other best thing is there is no save function. When you lay something down, it's there, and stays there even after power down. I felt a lot like I was recording to tape, which was a very good thing.

The H4 records onto flash media and I highly recommend getting a 2GB card. Although recording at mp3 bit rates will never fill this up I recommend sticking with wav files because the quality is a lot better. You will especially notice this when in 4-track mode where resolution imperfections will only multiply track upon track.

Battery life is very impressive. I haven't done any scientific measurements of how long the two AA batteries will last but under the conditions I've been using it under I have no complaints. A nice addition is that the display will prompt you when battery life gets low. You can also use the adapter, but that kind of takes away from the charm of walking around your apartment humming four part harmony with yourself.

I only have two gripes. First, there doesn't seem to be a way to add effects. They can only be applied to an incoming signal so you can't change them after recording. Also, the metronome is not perfect when I tried punch-ins. The click was at the same tempo but fell between beats. I got past this problem by either turning the metronome off or starting from the beginning of the project and waiting for the section I wanted to punch in for.

You can also use this as an audio interface apparently. I've still yet to try that. Bottom line is the Zoom H4 Handy recorder does a lot of things and does most of them very well. At $300 it is something many people can afford. For me, it will be a way to get my ideas quickly recorded. The ease of integrating these tracks with my DAW will make the path from my brain to finished product much shorter. That alone makes it worth it.

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