I'll second the recommendation for the Zoom H4. I got the H4n Pro as an
upgrade from the Zoom H1. The H1 was great for a few years, but the H4n
Pro has significantly better preamps. The original H4 has the same
pre's as the H1, but the H4n Pro has the same pre's as the H6, so you
get a LOT more headroom. As was previously mentioned, you can also use
external mics on their own or in conjunction with the built in capsules
to get up to 4 simultaneously recorded tracks.
The biggest drawback I've found with these units is battery life. At
home, I always use the AC adapter. In the field, I carry backup
rechargeable batteries. Phantom power will kill the batteries in less
than an hour.
If you'd like to hear how the H1/H4n Pro sound in the context of lute
(and guitar) music specifically, every recording on my website was made
with them.
With the H1 around $100 USD (I got mine on sale for about $60) and
the H4n Pro at about $200, I'd say go for the H4n Pro.
Warmest Regards,
Jacob Johnson
[1]www.johnsonguitarstudio.com
On Fri, May 17, 2019, 11:41 AM Ralf Mattes <[2]r...@mh-freiburg.de>
wrote:
I own a Zoom H4 (the old version) and am pretty happy with it. Did
many concert recordings with it.
The actual microphone capsules are pretty good (way better than one
would expect). If you need you can
plug in external mics - the device provides phantom power so you can
use high-quality condenser mics.
The preamps are good for what the device is designed for (live
recording). The are a bit noisy iff you need
to crank up the input gain. So I wouldn't recomend the device if you
want to use it to record environmental
noise (wind in the willows et al.).
The device is a class-compliant USB audio device as well, so you can
record directly into your DAW (and
it does work fine with Linux. That's what I use personally).
Alternatively, you can mount the device as a
storage device and copy files from/to it.
One thing to mention: all Zooms are very microphonic! Don't plan on
redording holding the device in your
hand. I think the current price for a new-gen. Zoom H4 is below 200
Euro at Thomann.
HTH, RalfD
Am Freitag, 17. Mai 2019 17:29 CEST, Tristan von Neumann
<[3]tristanvonneum...@gmx.de> schrieb:
> Dear collective experience,
>
>
> while we're at it:
> I finally have some small budget to buy a recording device.
>
>
> What I want:
> * use it at home to record lute music and other instruments
>
> (* use it as a usb mic)
>
> * take it with me and record in the park or pub or wherever a
session
> might come along
>
> * I have linux, so at least it should be possible to extract the
files
> without removing the SD card
>
>
> So far, the Zoom H2n seems like the best option. Some people say
the
> noise is quite high, others don't.
>
> (Samples from youtube with guitar seem ok, but not really
sparkling - I
> know, this is not a replacement big membrane studio mic, but
still...)
>
> In Germany, the Zoom is available for around 150 Eurobucks.
>
>
> What are the alternatives? (and keep in mind that it should be
available
> in Germany...)
>
>
> Thanks!
>
>
>
>
>
> To get on or off this list see list information at
> [4]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
--
References
1. http://www.johnsonguitarstudio.com/
2. mailto:r...@mh-freiburg.de
3. mailto:tristanvonneum...@gmx.de
4. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
