BiC Posted March 6, 2011 Posted March 6, 2011 Does anyone have any hands-on time with the Zoom H4n? If so, what are the pros/cons, IYHO? What does it not have that you wish it had.. that is found in similar units? "Treat your wife with honor, respect, and understanding as you live together so that you can pray effectively as husband and wife." 1 Peter 3:7
Caevan O'Shite Posted March 6, 2011 Posted March 6, 2011 Aw, man, first get a good tube-amp, a REALLY GOOD tube-amp, like you were talking about, and DON'T put a Zoom ANYTHING in front of it unless you want it to suddenly sound like a cheap solid-state gizmotron... IF that's what you were thinking... EDIT: D'oh! Y' know, I completely brain-farted and thought- ASSUMED- that you were referring to a Zoom multi-effects unit of one kind or another; I should have realized what you actually meant, Rod! Sorry! I defer to those people here who are MUCH more experienced and knowledgeable than I am on the topic of recording and DAW's... Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _
BiC Posted March 6, 2011 Author Posted March 6, 2011 Seeing that I am still leaning toward the Mark V, what recommendations would you make for recording? Bear in the mind, the last thing I owned was the Tascam Porta 03. I need a crash course in DAW, etc... Aw, man, first get a good tube-amp, a REALLY GOOD tube-amp, like you were talking about, and DON'T put a Zoom ANYTHING in front of it unless you want it to suddenly sound like a cheap solid-state gizmotron... IF that's what you were thinking... "Treat your wife with honor, respect, and understanding as you live together so that you can pray effectively as husband and wife." 1 Peter 3:7
Griffinator Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 <-- major foot in mouth A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends.
Caevan O'Shite Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 D'oh! Y' know, I completely brain-farted and thought- ASSUMED- that you were referring to a Zoom multi-effects unit of one kind or another; I should have realized what you actually meant, Rod! Sorry! I defer to those people here who are MUCH more experienced and knowledgeable than I am on the topic of recording and DAW's... Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _
Griffinator Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 Now that Caevan raised the flag and I went back to look at what exactly you were talking about.... That stereo recorder is pretty much what it is - it'll get you a halfway mediocre room recording. I've used recorders like that as accessories to capture crowd reactions when tracking bands live - with the key music recording happening straight off the board via either a 24-channel hard disk recorder like the Alesis HD24, or straight into a DAW via a MOTU interface like the 2408. A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends.
Larryz Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 Don't know much about science books or the H4n Zoom at $279, but I do know that the two page add on the Zoom Q3hd (ie. Flips are for Kids-GP)sure grabbed my attention...as it has an onboard HD camera...would be worth a look at $299... Take care, Larryz
GreySeraph Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 My question is, who is that model in the advertisements on Guitar Player mag? She's freaking beautiful. My Gear: 82 Gibson Explorer Ibanez 03 JEM7VWH PRS McCarty Soapbar Diezel Herbert 2007 Peters '11 Brahms Guitar Byers '01 Classical Hippner 8-Str Classical Taylor 614ce Framus Texan
Caevan O'Shite Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 Apparently, I've gotta see this ad sometime! Anybody got pics? Links? Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _
BiC Posted March 7, 2011 Author Posted March 7, 2011 No beer for you, Kev... So, I like the idea that this thing is a compact 4-track. If anyone feels my $$$ can be more wisely spent, please make a suggestion. What about this (along with a Sure 57)?: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/R24/ C'mon folks... I gotta keep myself busy in retirement (@ age 42)! "Treat your wife with honor, respect, and understanding as you live together so that you can pray effectively as husband and wife." 1 Peter 3:7
BiC Posted March 7, 2011 Author Posted March 7, 2011 Since we already own this, I would not buy the Q3HD: http://www.amazon.com/Canon-HF-S200-Camcorder-Control/dp/B00322OOXM/ref=sr_1_1?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1299510472&sr=1-1 "Audio For the ultimate home theater experience, 5.1-Channel Surround Sound* allows you to capture audio quality that matches the stunning realism of your high definition video. Since sound is captured from all directions through five different pickup sensors, your home movies will look and sound more lifelike than ever before." "Treat your wife with honor, respect, and understanding as you live together so that you can pray effectively as husband and wife." 1 Peter 3:7
GreySeraph Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 Apparently, I've gotta see this ad sometime! Anybody got pics? Links? do you subscribe to the mag? It was in the last 4 or 5 issues near the front of the mag My Gear: 82 Gibson Explorer Ibanez 03 JEM7VWH PRS McCarty Soapbar Diezel Herbert 2007 Peters '11 Brahms Guitar Byers '01 Classical Hippner 8-Str Classical Taylor 614ce Framus Texan
Guitarzan Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 Rod i am assuming you are wanting a compact 4 track? my Micro Br is quite the unit. it has a pile of Boss amp sims and some decent drum patterns etc ..but the reason i say all this is because of the new Boss BR800. that puppy is loaded and all you need for tracking stuff without being tied to a PC. what are you specifically looking for? quite a few of my soundclick stuff is 100% Boss Micro BR http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=193274 rock it, i will
BiC Posted March 7, 2011 Author Posted March 7, 2011 I used to own this: http://cachepe.zzounds.com/media/quality,85/brand,zzounds/DR-5-ed6972436b8b009e3991308543962c20.jpg I have the Boss DR 880 in my Sweetwater wishlist. I'd really like something that is affordable (around $500 for me), and has drum patterns, guitar/vocal effects, bass guitar, etc. Essentially, I want something that can be a one-man-band. If the BR800 fits this bill (and it looks like it does), then it might be something of interest to me. Rod i am assuming you are wanting a compact 4 track? my Micro Br is quite the unit. it has a pile of Boss amp sims and some decent drum patterns etc ..but the reason i say all this is because of the new Boss BR800. that puppy is loaded and all you need for tracking stuff without being tied to a PC. what are you specifically looking for? quite a few of my soundclick stuff is 100% Boss Micro BR "Treat your wife with honor, respect, and understanding as you live together so that you can pray effectively as husband and wife." 1 Peter 3:7
Guitarzan Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 the BR800 has everything. amp sims for guitar, bass and acoustic as well as vocal patches and pitch correction. you can create your own drum patterns as well. my Micro Br only needs a guitar and cable to make complete recordings and it is nothing compared to the BR800. http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=193274 rock it, i will
BiC Posted March 7, 2011 Author Posted March 7, 2011 The cons I am reading about it is that there is no mastering and you cannot edit tracks within themselves. Do you find these to be LIMFACs (Limiting Factors)? What about the BR-900CD? http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BR900CD/ It seems to have these LIMFACs covered. the BR800 has everything. amp sims for guitar, bass and acoustic as well as vocal patches and pitch correction. you can create your own drum patterns as well. my Micro Br only needs a guitar and cable to make complete recordings and it is nothing compared to the BR800. "Treat your wife with honor, respect, and understanding as you live together so that you can pray effectively as husband and wife." 1 Peter 3:7
Griffinator Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 OF COURSE there is no "mastering": 1) Mastering is what is done on a group of songs to bring a cohesiveness to them, so they sound like a single album, rather than a bunch of songs thrown together. 2) Whole-mix effects (what I suspect you are talking about) are kind of stupid and pointless on a piece of equipment that has such macro controls. It's also stupid and pointless to apply whole-mix effects right after you mixed the tracks. A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends.
BiC Posted March 8, 2011 Author Posted March 8, 2011 From your response, it seems to me that it would be quite naive to think mastering would be made available within such a macro unit. But, a "Mastering Tool Kit" is available in the BR-900CD. Can I achieve the same results with the Mastering Tool Kit? OF COURSE there is no "mastering": 1) Mastering is what is done on a group of songs to bring a cohesiveness to them, so they sound like a single album, rather than a bunch of songs thrown together. 2) Whole-mix effects (what I suspect you are talking about) are kind of stupid and pointless on a piece of equipment that has such macro controls. It's also stupid and pointless to apply whole-mix effects right after you mixed the tracks. "Treat your wife with honor, respect, and understanding as you live together so that you can pray effectively as husband and wife." 1 Peter 3:7
Scott Fraser Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 From your response, it seems to me that it would be quite naive to think mastering would be made available within such a macro unit. But, a "Mastering Tool Kit" is available in the BR-900CD. Can I achieve the same results with the Mastering Tool Kit? I would not recommend any such "one size fits all" program. There is no way it can ever be applicable to your particular tracks, no way for it to know how much or how little compression has already been applied, what the spectral balance is, etc. A so-called Mastering Tool Kit might be slightly useful if you are already skilled in the art of music mastering. However, a skilled mastering engineer would already have much better tools than these. Don't waste any time with something that claims to be able to do mastering for you. Just put that idea completely out of your head. Scott Fraser
Scott Fraser Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 The cons I am reading about it is that there is no mastering and you cannot edit tracks within themselves. Do you find these to be LIMFACs (Limiting Factors)? What about the BR-900CD? See previous post about 'mastering'. As to editing, you already have a computer. There are a number of free editing applications for Mac or Windows which will be able to do a whole lot more, & more easily (with a visual representation of the waveform,) than any dedicated hardware recorder. Scott Fraser
Guitarzan Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Rod, the BR800 has "mastering" abilities on each song you do. it can export to MP3 after you are done tweaking each song. from what i read it interfaces with your PC to link with Sonar LE. so it can be used with the PC. check it out at Roland. my Micro Br does mixdown and "mastering" of each song but it is pretty limited. i have had good results when taking my time. it isn't Mastering like you would get with a pro but it makes a pretty darn good mix and considering its portability it absolutely rocks. my soundclick has some samples of Boss BR recording (please excuse my tunes) http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=193274 rock it, i will
BiC Posted March 8, 2011 Author Posted March 8, 2011 Please check out pages 102 onward... and let me know what you think. Do you see any added benefits compared to what you have experienced with the 800 & Micro? http://www.roland.com/products/en/_support/om.cfm?PRODUCT=BR%2D900CD&iRcId=1811384&dsp=1 Rod, the BR800 has "mastering" abilities on each song you do. it can export to MP3 after you are done tweaking each song. from what i read it interfaces with your PC to link with Sonar LE. so it can be used with the PC. check it out at Roland. my Micro Br does mixdown and "mastering" of each song but it is pretty limited. i have had good results when taking my time. it isn't Mastering like you would get with a pro but it makes a pretty darn good mix and considering its portability it absolutely rocks. my soundclick has some samples of Boss BR recording (please excuse my tunes) "Treat your wife with honor, respect, and understanding as you live together so that you can pray effectively as husband and wife." 1 Peter 3:7
yerno Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 After using the original H4 in a variety of circumstances: stand-alone at concerts, hooked to board, converting LPs it's fidelity and versatility was a joy.I looked (via pc) at the competition and put my frogskins down for the new H4n. The vid thing didn't grab me. The retailers were so sold out it meant waiting 'till end of March. I couldn't so ordered it personal. For what it's worth in the big world (beyond the US) this thing is a smash hit.
yerno Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Rod, I posted a reply but I want to add that I ain't a sound kahuna. For example: the Cubase that came with the H4 (& H4n) gave me a headache just looking at the instructions. Someone pointed me to "Audacity" and since them I'm a happy camper. A pro musician I know is gaga too about his H4. Peace
Caevan O'Shite Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Hey, welcome to the GPF, yerno! Stick around, don't be a stranger. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _
BiC Posted March 9, 2011 Author Posted March 9, 2011 Thanx man! Dude, only 3 posts in the past 9 years??? I thought I was bad... Good to see you back. Rod, I posted a reply but I want to add that I ain't a sound kahuna. For example: the Cubase that came with the H4 (& H4n) gave me a headache just looking at the instructions. Someone pointed me to "Audacity" and since them I'm a happy camper. A pro musician I know is gaga too about his H4. Peace "Treat your wife with honor, respect, and understanding as you live together so that you can pray effectively as husband and wife." 1 Peter 3:7
Larryz Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 My question is, who is that model in the advertisements on Guitar Player mag? She's freaking beautiful. +1,000 I missd the Martin on the bed at first glance... Take care, Larryz
Griffinator Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Thanx man! Dude, only 3 posts in the past 9 years??? I thought I was bad... Good to see you back. Rod, I posted a reply but I want to add that I ain't a sound kahuna. For example: the Cubase that came with the H4 (& H4n) gave me a headache just looking at the instructions. Someone pointed me to "Audacity" and since them I'm a happy camper. A pro musician I know is gaga too about his H4. Peace No - bad is more like me, closing in on 15,000 posts... A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends.
BiC Posted March 9, 2011 Author Posted March 9, 2011 Right up there with Kevin! Hey, whatever happened to Tedster??? He still around these parts??? Thanx man! Dude, only 3 posts in the past 9 years??? I thought I was bad... Good to see you back. Rod, I posted a reply but I want to add that I ain't a sound kahuna. For example: the Cubase that came with the H4 (& H4n) gave me a headache just looking at the instructions. Someone pointed me to "Audacity" and since them I'm a happy camper. A pro musician I know is gaga too about his H4. Peace No - bad is more like me, closing in on 15,000 posts... "Treat your wife with honor, respect, and understanding as you live together so that you can pray effectively as husband and wife." 1 Peter 3:7
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