ppayette - Posted - 03/25/2011:  09:42:11

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I bought the ZOOM H2 back in January and have recorded several practice sessions of our 5 piece band (Guitar, Bass, Fiddle, Mandolin, Banjo). I thought I would give my thoughts.

The sound quality is great. The only thing that can be a problem is balancing the vocals and instruments. It is sometimes hard to hear the vocals over the instruments. We played around with putting the vocal guy closer to the mic and backing the banjo/fiddle away and it did help. The height of the H2 is also important. If you put it at instrument level (waist - chest high) that's all you will hear - instruments. We actually got a better overall mix placing the H2 at about 6.5 feet. The vocal balanced better.

The overall use of the H2 is a piece of cake, except that I have fat fingers and the buttons are small.

I had no problem downloading the files into my PC and mixing with Audacity. I am not an expert by any means but you can get a nice mix with the 4 channel surround - splitting the tracks - mixing and then exporting to an MP3.

While the construction is kind of cheap, if your careful, should last a long time.
I will try and figure out how to upload some music samples in the next couple of days.

Again, the sound is great and it is easy to use.

SaggyBottom - Posted - 03/25/2011:  10:17:30

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I have one also. The display is way too small for me. If you need reading glasses you may want to look for something with a bigger screen. Agree with everything above

SaggyBottom - Posted - 03/25/2011:  10:17:54

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I have one also. The display is way too small for me. If you need reading glasses you may want to look for something with a bigger screen. Agree with everything above

MarkRB - Posted - 03/28/2011:  08:57:32

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I also have one. I have done nothing but record myself and so far so good. I do agree with some of the above, flimsy outer case and a small display, but good otherwise.

rudy - Posted - 03/28/2011:  15:27:32

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I picked up an H1, which is the less costly little brother because it has a true 1 button record function. There are a few things to easily set the first time through, then you turn it on and hit the large center "Record" button. Same mics and converters as the H2, and sounds great.

RB-1 - Posted - 03/30/2011:  17:59:25

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quote:

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Originally posted by ppayette

The only thing that can be a problem is balancing the vocals and instruments. It is sometimes hard to hear the vocals over the instruments.

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This is what you really sound like.
It's not the recorders fault'.
This is the general observation I also make at jams.
People playing their instruments way too loud, as compared to the vocals.
Either sing louder or play quieter. I prefer the latter.

Disclaimer: playing round our H2 gives a recording quality that is not much less that when using a good large membrane condensor mike.
So it's an ideal tool to work on balancing a band....

njwater - Posted - 03/31/2011:  03:53:46

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looks like a great little recorder... based on this thread went off to look up reviews and it gets a fantastic overall rating.

got it on my list to replace my current old olympus ds-2 for sure!

ppayette - Posted - 03/31/2011:  09:43:20

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RB-1 I agree with the sing louder or play quieter and we do. However, I was just noting that it is easier to get vocals balanced if the H2 is higher in the air. I have been looking for ways to get the vocals louder by playing around with distances from the H2 with the various instruments. For general practice it is fine. If you want to work at getting a better balanced recording...you have to work at it.