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Double Bass Zoom h2

#21
Used it for the first time last night with bass, clarinet, oud and flute. Percussion and violin was not available for rehearsal. We will be using it to record for grant application purposes. We are quite surpised with how well it did capturing something as quiet as the oud. We used both mics. Bass on one side and other intruments on other mic. Will record whole band next week and see how that comes out. But for what it is, its an impressive littel box for sure. Once I've moved it over to the PC or Mac will edit and post links.
 
#25
low.eadg said:
I think the H2 is a wonderful device. The mikes are very sensitive, and the sound is great.

Here is a link to a thread in the Zoom Gear & Home Recording forum, which contains very detailed information about setting up the H2 for optimal recording:
How to get the best from the Zoom H2.

The forum also covers other models of Zoom recorders.

Hope this is useful to you.

Michael
Click to expand...

Nice shout out. Very useful. :)
 
#28
Help!
So I have read many reviews and I can't figure out if the H2 will do this while listening on headphones...basically can yo uuse it as a practice amp?

1) Will it record bass->instrument cord->adapter to 1/8" line-in?
How does it sound?

I would like to use the metronome to play along with AND record my mistakes.

2) Can I use it as a practice device, i.e. listen to an MP3 (either line-in OR stored on board already) AND play bass directly Line-in while listening to headphones?

Basically I want to record my band LIVE, and have a practice device playing along with the metronome or MP3's on the road with my bass plugged in while listening thru headphones.


I hoped I explained myself ok, my english is not that good.

Thanks!!
 
#30
derrenleepoole said:
Sorry, I'm partly wrong and partly right. The maximum file size is 2 gig for any recording. If you're recording at 24 bit / 48khz in stereo, that equates to about 110 minutes or so. This varies if you are in 4 channel surround. If you go the option of a lossy format, you'll get a really long recording, but it's still capped at 2 gig.

Hope that clears some confusion. :smug:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification. We both had some parts right! :) Practically speaking, at least for me, 110 minutes is no problem as all it takes is stopping and restarting the H-2 at some point to make a new file.
 
#31
Have been doing some extensive recording using the H2 in live settings recently. These are some of my thoughts/findings when using it live....

1. Using the internal mics set on 'hi' does introduce extra noise IMO, medium mic settings is more than adequate and much cleaner for quieter recordings.
2. The H2 will struggle with very fine, low noise/low detail recordings - it's certainly better at louder level recording.
3. I've recently used the automatic gain control (ACG) feature during an Allan Holdsworth gig, but the result were less than ideal. I found that the sound of the drums in particular (it was Chad Wackerman BTW) came out almost like a really compressed mp3 recording. The SPL of the drums was clearly making the ACG work harder than normal and some over compensation was going on. I propose getting a good level recording with no ACG at all - do all your editing in computer software such as normalizing, limiting and compression if necessary - if you make a mistake you can go back and start again from the original files.
4. Gaffer tape for the microphone LED indicators is a must if you don't want to be found out ;)

Just some thoughts and ideas to throw into the pot, this thing rocks.... bye now :)
 
#33
I have the Tascam DR-1, and use it in a jazz combo setting as well as just recording myself practicing. It works great in both settings, I was really surprised at the quality of the recordings, not much more money either. It might be worth checking out. I've heard good things about the Zoom though.
 
#34
MingusAmongUs said:
An H2 recording demo...
Not a jazz trio, but acoustic, through a quiet PA, bass too low in the mix.

First time I ever used it. Set to all defaults. Unit about 8 ft away from center stage.

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Sound is pretty decent. With a little trial and error, it could be great. With a quiet drummer. Or with the drummer further from the mic. I've read plenty of rave reviews on it.
Click to expand...

Awesome tunes. Just a little EQ brought the bass right up.
 
#35
I just got one and I love it. I personally have no problem with the interface, though some dislike it. It is indeed possible to fine-tune the recording levels by simply pressing the ff/rew buttons while in standby.

I especially like the ability to record in VBR (variable bit-rate), which creates super-small files with quite high-quality audio.

I got mine new at J&R in Manhattan for $169.00.
 
#37
I just got my H2, and I'm plenty pleased. I'd borrowed a friend's H4, so I was fairly convinced of the Zoom/Samson quality at least... very accurate, hi-fi recordings.

I'd only caution folks not to do what I (stupidly) did, and stay away from Audiolines.com. I didn't get royally screwed or anything, and the price + shipping is pretty competitive... $200 including shipping. But they advertised it for $130 as a showroom demo, but then called me to say the showroom model wasn't in good condition. For some odd reason I said I'd get it anyway if they kept the whole purchase to $200, but it was still an obvious bait-and-switch.

At any rate, I'm looking forward to using it for everything from audio interface to live recordings, to practice taping to field recordings while bird watching! Definitely a nice piece of equipment.
 
#38
Rvl said:
I have the H2
Downloaded Audacity for free and I use that to cut up tracks and then put it on CD
Click to expand...
Me too. I actually bought it for doing interviews for my uni research project, but it gets more work at band practice. Having the two stereo pairs of mics (front & back) means that when you get the sweet spot in the middle of the practice room, you get a great ambient recording with lovely stereo image.
I've also used it for several recordings where we did a full mic-up of the band with a mixer and ran this into the H2 for a live-to-stereo reording. Results were excellent.
A bonus of the small size is that it fits surreptitiously in a shirt pocket for recording live gigs, provided you don't shuffle around too much, or talk or cough - taking it to a gig when I had bronchitis was a bad idea!
 
#39
Does anyone have any recommendations for recording live when you don't have a (shall we say) silent, listening audience? I know I can't likely eliminate crowd noise, but are there any placement techniques that can minimize crowd chatter? I'm not talking about a club where people are shouting at each other, but a coffee-house setting where people are chit-chatting & there's clinking glasses and silverware. I've read that getting it up 8-10' on a mic stand helps.

Any thoughts on it?
 
#40
I put mine on a 7ft shelf in our regular gig and I can just barely hear people talking and glasses clinking. The music comes through well,so I always keep it in the same location. My next project is to get a MTR and mic each instrument separately.But band members arent interested in contributing any money , so I'll have to save up

Thanks

Robert VanLane
 

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