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A new addition to my gear- Zoom H2
Feb 12, 2009 Gear and Software, News, Uncategorized 110 Comments
I’ve been wanting to get into portable recorders for a while now, but haven’t gotten around to it. Fortunately, Christmas brought me some cash and a gift card. So I figured, what better time than now to get started? With NAMM just a couple of weeks away, this would be perfect for all those talks with developers. No way was I going to WRITE anything down when answering questions!

Zoom H2 Handy Recorder
Enter the Zoom H2(shown to the right). It’s a small and lightweight piece of kit. Even with batteries inside it doesn’t feel like it has batteries in it. The H2 fits nicely in the palm of the hand, which is a great size for interviews.
The H2 comes packed with accessories, which is something I find majorly annoying with some gadgets I’ve bought(the ones that do NOT include any accessories). You will find an AC Adapter, USB adapter, tri-pod stand, microphone stand adapter, windscreen, earbuds, 512MB SD Card, and a handy carrying bag. No batteries were included, but let’s face it, for the price and with all that’s included, that’s just being picky.
Recording with the H2 is very easy. A simple press of the record button twice and you’re off and running. A new audio file is automatically created inside one of many folders already on the SD card. The default recording format is 44.1/16 bit wave, but you can change this to a number of other qualities of both wave and mp3 files.
Features abound on the H2. First of all, there are FOUR high quality microphones inside the casing. You can record using either the two in the front at a 90 degree angle, the two in the back and a wider and more “ambient” 120 degree angle, or you can choose to record using all four in a surround setup. And it lets you then export the audio as a surround audio file. Set the H2 in the middle of an instrument ensemble and some really cool things can come out.
The H2 also has a line in and an external microphone input, but these are both 1/8″ jacks, so I wouldn’t plan on plugging your whole microphone closet into the H2. However, the H2 also has ASIO drivers and normal audio drivers that allow you to use the H2 as an audio interface so you can record directly into your computer, and even monitor through the H2. It’s really quite excellent in this sense.
Some other features under the hood include several different compressor and limiter algorithms, a low cut filter to eliminate rumble, the ability to mix down to mono, a left/right/surround graphical panner, a metronome, an instrument tuner, battery type selector(affects metering accuracy), and a few other minor items.
The H2 manages to pack in an insane amount of features into a small package and a smaller price. I guess there is a good reason why it’s one of the top selling portable recorders on the market. I haven’t even covered it all.
I’m going to have fun with this one. I have already used this in church to record the choir and it sounded fantastic. For a moment, I even thought it sounded BETTER than live, if that is possible. It was able to pick up full and clear bass, even from a distance. Of course, it’s very sensitive, so it also picked up every movement of people around me!
Don’t be surprised if the H2 makes a few appearances in some of the sound libraries I’m working on. This was a great addition to my studio. Highly recommended.
BR


