Review: Zoom H4 Handy Recorder
Pages: 1, 2, 3

Here Today, Gone to Maui

As fate would have it, I received my review unit just days before I left for Maui. What a stroke of luck! Now I could test the H4 in exactly the same conditions as the MicroTrack and R09.

One day I wandered down to the beach to capture the sound of the surf. The usual gentle trade winds were blowing, so I popped on the windscreen and hit Record. I chose 44.1kHz at 16 bit resolution. The file is big, but listen to it with good headphones and you'll think you're there. I like the sense of space the little internal condensers give and the nice balance between the low rumble of the waves and the hiss of the sand:

• Maui Beach (6.1MB WAV)

Fig. 3: Robyn Mahealani Kneubuhl of the Hula Honeys.

Next I visited Robyn Mahealani Kneubehl (Figure 3) for an afternoon jam session. Thanks to the mini tripod adaptor, positioning the recorder was fairly easy, though I would have liked a real mic-stand socket so I could move the recorder closer to her voice. (Roland makes an adapter for the R-09 recorder that should work.) I recorded the following example as an MP3 with a bit rate of 128kbps. At that resolution, the bundled 128-meg memory card offers an impressive 133 minutes of recording time.

• Female Vocal (1.5MB MP3)

Robyn handed me a guitar and I fumbled along, playing her beautiful song "Pua Pakalana." I recorded this in 44.1/24-bit WAV format but converted it to an MP3 to save space here.

• Vocal-Guitar Duo (2.3MB MP3)

My next test involved some stealth taping. Slack-key guitarist Kevin Brown was filling in at the Royal Lahaina luau. He invited me along and I offered to record the show for him. (See Figure 4.) Given the H4's size, it was obvious what I was doing. (If you're considering a career in audio piracy, look elsewhere.) Fortunately, I'd asked permission. Here again, I was glad for the huge amount of data you can cram on a memory card using MP3s. (See the "Maximum Recording Time" table.)

• Live Concert (2.5MB MP3)

Fig. 4: Fire dancers at the Royal Lahaina Luau. Ah, the things I put up with to bring you these reviews.

Effects in stereo mode are pretty basic: You get models of a handful of popular microphones plus a limiter and an extremely heavy-handed compressor. This last is more like an old-fashioned auto-gain control—best used for voice recording around a conference table or similar applications. The mic models won't win any awards, but they offer quick and dirty tonal adjustments.

Despite the H4's large size and unwieldy navigation, I'm really impressed with it as a field recorder. The large variety of recording resolutions lets you make the most of the memory cards, and the internal mics give a nice stereo image. Of course, you have the option to use better mics through the H4's XLR jacks (connectors the MicroTrack and R-09 lack), but phantom power will greatly reduce battery life. Both the batteries and the memory are fairly easy to access, though you'll have to de-Velcro the little tripod adaptor to do so. It'll handle SD cards up to 2GB.

Four Tracks, No Waiting

One day a huge rainstorm blew in so I was stuck inside, the perfect opportunity to check out the H4's multitrack capabilities. Once again, operation is simple once you know how. I had to read the somewhat disorganized manual a couple of times before I got the hang of it.

To begin recording, select Overwrite or Always New mode. Overwrite is just like using tape. Every pass erases the previous one. Always New creates a new virtual track each time. Although it's not immediately obvious, you can change modes in the middle of a Project, Samson's name for a multi-track song. For instance, you can record a passel of vocals using Always New mode, choose the best, and then switch to Overwrite to auto-punch in a fix on a guitar track.

Oddly, the basic transport functions operate differently for each mode. In Overwrite, you need to use the transport controls after pressing Record. In Always New, pressing the Record button once puts the recorder in standby while a second press begins recording.

The effects in four-track mode are considerably more varied than the stereo choices. You get everything from guitar multi-effects to bass amp simulations to vocal effects. What's more, each effect offers fairly deep editing possibilities.

A rudimentary mixer helps bounce down your opus to stereo. (Check out the example below.) All the effects you hear are from the H4. (Sorry, nothing could help my vocal.) Some of the grunge you hear is the sound of rain pelting the palms outside; some is a result of the effects. As with most of the other audio examples, I've converted it to MP3 here to save you download time.

• Multitrack Recording (1.4MB MP3)

Sadly, common track-editing features such as splitting, moving, copy, paste, and fade-in/out are missing. And only 44.1, 16-bit WAV files are supported. But for more mixing options, you can drag the files over to a computer.

Four-track recording on the H4 points out the shortcomings of the Swiss Army Knife approach. Just like those tiny little saw blades nestled between the screwdriver and scissors, it'll get the job done...after a fashion. I wouldn't suggest buying the H4 solely for this feature; there are far better mini studios on the market.

Studio Paradiso

Using the H4 as a USB audio interface is another kettle of fish altogether. Even better, all of the multi-effects patches from the four-track mode are there for your pleasure.

Not only can you record via the H4 to the DAW of your choice, you can use either the internal mics or mic/line inputs with phantom power. Because the H4 will run off USB bus power, you can toss it in your laptop bag for a truly portable recording rig (Figures 5 and 6). This is extremely cool.

Fig. 5: Using the H4 as a USB audio interface is a piece o' cake. It shows up as a new set of inputs and outputs on Mac and Windows.

As with four track mode, you can't take advantage of all the audio file resolutions; in this case only 44.1 and 48kHz at 16 bits. I don't consider this a serious limitation, however. For me, the convenience of having a bus-powered interface with built-in mics far outweighs the limited sample rates. Hey, remember DATs?

Here's a little ditty I concocted in GarageBand one afternoon. Once again, all the effects come from the H4:

• H4 as Audio Interface (1.5MB MP3)

One Size Fits All?

Once home from Hawaii, I did a bunch of tests with the same AKG mics and guitar I'd used to test the MicroTrack and the R-09. How does it stack up? Listen to this 24-bit, 44.1kHz WAV file and make up your own mind:

• External Mics (6.5MB WAV)

After spending the better part of a month with the H4, I have to conclude that it's handy indeed. It does a fine job as a field recorder, though level setting is a chore. I like the convenience of the built-in mics, and the dual-purpose inputs are a solid plus. Even better, Zoom includes both a windscreen and a groovy little mini-tripod mount, features you might otherwise pay extra for.

On the downside, navigation is just plain clunky. The display is too tiny and the two-handed approach gets confusing. Basic recording functions operate differently depending on which mode the recorder is in. It's difficult to check levels with the mics pointed at your instrument. In addition, I consistently had problems getting enough gain with external mics. I boosted some of the examples in my DAW to bring them in line with the other audio files. The mic pres are not up to professional standards, but then, look at the price.

The four-track mode is plainly weak. You'd do better with any one of a dozen mini studios. But the USB audio interface is terrific. To tell the truth, I'm considering buying an H4 just for this feature. I can't tell you how many times I've wished I had something like this when I was away from home.

As a field recorder, it's dandy for capturing tunes or environmental sounds. And it has some surprisingly sophisticated features—for less than three hundred bucks.

In spite of its quirks, the Zoom H4 Handy Recorder is a winner.