Zoom H2 Hand Held Recorder

[Bob Minner]

I just wanted to give a little heads up and plug to what I have found to be a great little recorder for flatpickers. It is the Zoom H 2 recorder. It is simply an amazing little piece of gear, and for us flatpickers, it is a quick and quality sounding way to capture our ideas and performances.

It uses an SD card to capture files / folders, plus it has a number of mic combonations you can use. It comes with a table base and a nifty micstand adapter. And it is really affordable ($179.00 at Sweetwater Music).

I take it to my songwriting sessions and used it alot on the road playing bluegrass this year. It records bands in jams like a dream. I carried a pair of Sony headphones to use while recording some jam sessions, and it was amazing how good it all sounded. I also like to record my rhythm tracks to it to practice to.

Just wanted to introduce you all to it. I know there are others out there that cost more, but for the bang for buck ratio, this thing takes the cake. Here's a link to it:

http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1916

[Willie Hustad]

which tune(s)?

thanks

[Peter Giffin]

Hi. I agree. I've had my H2 for over a year and after trying many other devices and methods it's the easiest way I've found to capture ideas and record practice sessions. Quite an amazing experience to hear "what is" vs what you think it sounded like and use that as a basis for improvement. Easy to drag and drop files into Garage Band or Protools.

[Hugh Owens]

I'll second this. I bought an H2 a couple of years ago, and it's the best $200 I've spent in a long time. I can even run it thru my desktop via USB and have a high quality mic for multi-tracking. Great product.

[Roger Ferguson]

Hi... another fan here... I've had mine almost since they came out (i know my "version" is probably outdated) and I also use it for everything!

Here are a couple of other uses...

As a card reader -- I take recorded examples for students and dragging them into their email - This way the lesson is there waiting for them when they get home and... they have a clear reminder of what to practice on - and how it's supposed to sound.

As an audio interface -- when I do SKYPE lessons. Just USB it into your PC or mac and set it for I/O interface and it serves as a nice stereo mike.

Truly a useful tool. With this (with the slow downer and band in the box) there should be nothing stopping us but time.

Roger

[ganon]

I have an Edirol R-09HR which I like very much, but it costs considerably more than the Zoom H2. Also the USB of the Edirol is 'passive' - i.e., works like a disk drive for transferring files. But, it is my understanding the the Zoom can also work as an 'active' USB microphone/interface for multitrack recording with, e.g., Audacity. Have you used it in this mode, and if so, does it work well? If this does work (little /no latency), seems like a tremendous and advantage.

[Ted]

I use my H2 at my lessons. When I listen to the file during the week, I find much that I missed in the heat of battle!

Has anyone noticed getting a 'glitch' or very brief 'screech' in their files? It can be quite disconcerting when listening with headphones. I have mine set for 160 kbp mp3.

Maybe I need a software update?

Ted

[Willie Hustad]

I have the Edirol 09 (not the HR) as well. Has anyone compared this to the zoom H2? I find the Edirol sound to be tinny and antiseptic. I'm wondering if the zoom would have better sound quality. Other than that, Edirol is small and very easy to use and manage files with.

[Michael Johns]

Hey, Bob, Got one too! Just recd it and has great features .......it's really a good tool, for listening to your practice sessions......good buy! I'm in the Martin Group, also.....see ya