Recording Studio Equipment

This is my second H2 because my first H2 was lifted from my unlocked car (my bad). Somebody probably thought it was a digital camera because of the case I kept it in. I shopped for awhile, looking at all the new competitors who’ve entered the market since the H2 came out. I said “why pay $299 for something I can get for $129?” and the new ones don’t even offer the ability to be a USB audio interface for recording. Recording in wav or mp3 format is the same process across the board, period. The FOUR small condenser mic’s in the H2 will handle most anything you’ve got. If not, then you’re on the wrong aisle of the recording store.

The H2 is also good with direct line-in recording. The horizontal stereo VU meters have a nice feel, responsive, but not too quick and “flicky”. The built-in AGC ( automatic gain control ) and limiters are strictly so-so, but you don’t need them except for really unpredictable recording levels. Most commercial recordings these days are all mastered to -3 or zero db, so just set your levels to low, safe readings if you’re recording off a radio, Internet or CD. You can always boost the level later, if you need to. The line-in is very clean, provided you don’t try to overdrive it with a too-hot signal. Recording a “hot” signal onto your recording medium is a dinosaur left over from the days of tape. You were taught to record as hot a signal level as you could to overcome the high noise floor of tape. With the greatly improved signal-to-noise ratios of digital, you can record to -10 db and get great, undistorted recordings every time. I use either the low or the medium gain setting on the H2, never the high.

As for build quality, the H2 is not as “hefty” as some of the competing models, but a lot of them will not fit nicely in your shirt pocket, either. And I don’t know what world some people are living in who say “I’d hate to think what would happen if I dropped it”. I own LOTS of gear that I would hate to drop unprotected – laptops, studio condenser microphones, guitars, digital cameras, cell phones, mp3 players – so why all of a sudden is the H2 criticized for not meeting this ruggedized requirement that most of our present gear does not meet anyway? Ridiculous! Just because something is portable does not mean it’s ready to go to Afghanistan in your backpack. I made a little case for my H2 out of an old nylon cassette tape case I had lying around. Popped a little foam padding in there (go to an upholstery shop and buy a scrap piece of good dense foam for a few bucks), made a simple cutout (with the same electric knife I carve the Thanksgiving turkey with) for the plastic tray that came in the factory packaging and I’m good to go. Or buy a small digital camera case and that’ll work, too. NOW, dropping it is NOT a problem.

The H2 comes with a table stand, a power supply, USB cable, mini-1/8 to RCA, foam pop filter, basic earbuds and a sublimely simple but elegant solution for stand mounting. As for the membrane-style X-Y pad, I haven’t had a problem with the first or the second one. Don’t mash it – simply depress it lightly and it works great.

I use rechargeable batteries, which is the only way to go with any portable electronics like the H2. There’s always the included power supply just in case you have an extended session, but 4 batteries gets you 8 hours of function time. Plenty. It’s not an mp3 player or cellphone that lasts for several days. Get real.

It doesn’t do change tempo, but I usually load up Audacity or Propellerhead Record with my tracks and use their superior slow-down features and loop editing for lessons and private practice. Transferring tracks to your computer is as easy as plugging in a USB cable and dragging files onto your desktop. I already have a very small mp3 player (Sanza Fuze, an awesome product) to carry finished tracks around in, so I just use the H2 for specific, everyday recording chores. If you think you need more of a “studio” quality setup, go buy all that gear and start lugging it around, setting it up, tearing it down, etc. Otherwise, just turn on the H2, stick it on a mic stand and record a nice, clean stereo recording of your songwriting demo, rock band, choir, music students, praise team, podcast, etc. Thumbs up! Go on the Zoom website and see all the pros who use the H2.

I have no vested interest in promoting the H2 and I do not work for Zoom or for a music store. I am a teacher, songwriter and worship leader.

The good: sound quality is really good as well as the number of recording formats. Since this is really the primary function – five stars for that.
The not so good: battery life is so-so, time from power-on to record is annoyingly long, the display is a bit anemic (tiny text with low contrast) — 2 1/2 stars for that.