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ZOOM H1 Portable recorder review

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  • ZOOM H1 Portable recorder review

    I'm not sure this is the right place to post this (Admins, please move it if it's not) but I wanted to post a few quick thoughts on this little unit now that I've had a chance to really use it.

    I've been wanting a portable recorder for some time now but, didn't want to put a whole lot of money into it. I grabbed the H1 a few weeks ago after waiting to hear from some other opinions on it and for the money, I'm not disappointed at all.

    I originally got it because I wanted to get some decent recordings of my bands gigs to both research where we could improve and, if they were good enough post some live examples on our website. After playing around with it at rehearsal for a couple of weeks, I found that it was going to be a pretty valuable tool there too, although, with our practice room being smaller and limited on space, it's very hard to get a decent mix in there and thus the quality is somewhat compromised.

    This weekend, we took it to the club we were playing and recorded one of our sets and oh what a difference some space makes! I found the best position to be about 15 to 20 feet from the center stage with the input level turned down to about 15% The auto level seems to be almost useless for a live band application as the clip light (another handy feature) stays on almost solid. but the recordings I got we just as good if not better than some recordings I've gotten from board mixes over the years and overall it's a lot handier than dragging my studio gear out to a gig.

    For $100 bucks, you can't go wrong. This thing seems to be a must have for gigging bands that want to grab some documentation of their performances. One of the other features of this recorder is the ability to switch between recording modes allowing you to record to mp3 or wav format. The 2 gig micro sd card that comes with the unit should be plenty, fomat but can accept up to a 32 gig card if needed. I went ahead and ponied up the extra 25 bucks for the accessory kit so I could get the carrying case, usb cable and tripod, it also comes with a wind screen and a power supply (which I don't see myself ever using).

    Next thing I need to do is grab up a good video camera with a mic input to see how this unit does with that.

    Here's samsontech link for a better decription.
    Prosecutors will be violated...

  • #2
    Thanks for sharing. I'm on the market for a similar device. I have a Boss Micro BR that I like but I do think the internal mic of that Boss unit ain't very good for "live" recording. With the 2 mics of the H1, I bet it records in "stereo"?

    Would you share a quick clip of your live recording. This would be very appreciated to hear to recording quality of the unit.
    JB aka BenoA

    Clips and other tunes by BenoA / My Soundcloud page / My YouTube page
    Guitar And Sound (GAS) forum / Boss Katana Amps FB group

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    • #3
      I bought a Zoom Q3 but haven't used it much so far. In fact, I forgot I had it. I should bring it to band practice one day...

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      • #4
        Originally posted by BenoA View Post
        Thanks for sharing. I'm on the market for a similar device. I have a Boss Micro BR that I like but I do think the internal mic of that Boss unit ain't very good for "live" recording. With the 2 mics of the H1, I bet it records in "stereo"?

        Would you share a quick clip of your live recording. This would be very appreciated to hear to recording quality of the unit.
        I'll try it this way first.. the top two songs, Rocky Mountain Way and Rock Me we recorded the other night with the H1 The rest were recorded with my workstation.
        The best tools for musicians and the best music for everyone else.
        Prosecutors will be violated...

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        • #5
          Originally posted by javert View Post
          I bought a Zoom Q3 but haven't used it much so far. In fact, I forgot I had it. I should bring it to band practice one day...
          Let me know what you think of the Q3. I was looking at it pretty close but I got some pretty bad reports on the video. Mostly that it didn't perform well in low light like in a nightclub which kind of defeats my purpose..
          Prosecutors will be violated...

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Robert Hendrix View Post
            Let me know what you think of the Q3. I was looking at it pretty close but I got some pretty bad reports on the video. Mostly that it didn't perform well in low light like in a nightclub which kind of defeats my purpose..
            Will do. Coming to think of it, the reason I haven't used it is that the wife confiscated if for recording precious baby moments. It seems like the quality of the camera was sufficient for subsequent publication on facebook

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            • #7
              Thanks Robert for the clips! Sounds good and I enjoyed listening to your band. That was cool!!!
              JB aka BenoA

              Clips and other tunes by BenoA / My Soundcloud page / My YouTube page
              Guitar And Sound (GAS) forum / Boss Katana Amps FB group

              Comment


              • #8
                Thanks. We're still trying to get things together, but it's coming along.
                Prosecutors will be violated...

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