Brent Randall Music: Audio Engineer-Writer-Musician

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

Raising the standard- it’s about time

Dec 20, 2008 Thoughts and Ideas Leave a comment

I’ve been working on a lot of reviews lately. It’s been wonderful to see what’s out there, and it’s very inspiring to think that it’s only getting better.

But I have started to wonder if I’m too forgiving? I mean, every person who reviews an item is human and is prone to judge something based on their personal feelings towards it. But I think I’ve been amazed too much. The truth is, technology has progressed so much, and new techniques have been created, and we can do things we never dreamed of before.

If you read my reviews, you may wonder why most of them give pretty high ratings. But don’t worry, I’ve noticed this as well. The reason for this is because they ARE really good products. I mean, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed using them. But I think I’ve left very little room for improvement on these reviews. If a product is already receiving a 95 out of 100, and it makes ANY improvements, is it then perfect? Is ANY product absolutely perfect?

I try to be extremely fair in my reviews. I also try to be in depth. I know the developers appreciate this, and from the feedback I’ve gotten, users appreciate this as well. I hate reviews that are 300 words that really say nothing but what the marketing material will say. This is a problem in print magazines because space is limited. EXTREME editing has to be done on an article before printing it(as I’ve learned from writing for a magazine myself). But on the web, we don’t have to succumb to this limitation.

I guess my hope is that people won’t judge a product purely by the score it’s given, but that they would actually read the full review and get my real and accurate thoughts. In reality, is there really much difference between a 90/100 product and a 85/100 product? Should there be?

So I’m done being “nice”. It’s time to crack down and raise the bar. I think it’s only fair to readers that I look at it from the perspective “what is so special about your product in the CURRENT marketplace?”. This will be reflected in all upcoming reviews at ProRec.com and anywhere else I write a review.

I’m interested in your thoughts. So please share. How do you think a review should judge a product? What kind of scoring do YOU expect? What do you consider to be “too fair” and “too harsh”? Post your comments if possible. I’d love to hear it! But one thing is for sure; no more mister nice guy!

Me and NAMM- Part 1- The Pass

Dec 9, 2008 Audio Industry and Business Leave a comment

In just over one month, I’ll be travelling to Anaheim, California for the biggest audio and music industry trade show in the US, NAMM. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a LONG time, but the cash just hasn’t been there to make the trip.

So my wife and I have decided to make a vacation out of it, and she is bringing a friend so I can go to the convention without her having to tag along. Of course, we booked our plane tickets and hotel tickets months ago, and I wasn’t sure that I was even going to get IN to the show.

But good news! I talked to the guys at Recording Magazine(who I write for part time) and they are getting me in as a contributing writer. YAY! I’m also supposed to meet up with one of the editors while at the show and talk about future writing assignments. I’m hoping this leads to more regular writing in the magazine, but only time will tell. My contact at the magazine tells me that it will help tremendously.

So this begins my NAMM story. I have my pass reserved to get in, and all vacation plans are taken care of(except a rental car- still debating on that one). So if you’re going to NAMM and want to meet up, let me know!

I’ll share more things as they happen, including a rundown of each day I’m there. Exciting times ahead!

I need more time, anyone have some?

Aug 4, 2008 Uncategorized Leave a comment

I feel like the past couple of weeks has really taken it’s toll on me. Getting over sickness that lasted the entire time, plus my two longest weeks ever at the radio station, and I’m beat. I was really looking forward to getting this site going and getting some reviews done, but it appears I’m going to have to take a day or so to really get my brain back to functioning properly.

I’ve got some really exciting product reviews coming up at ProRec.com, and I’ll be attending NAMM for the first time in January as a member of the Recording Magazine team. So I’m pretty pumped about that. Sometime this week I’ll post more information about NAMM and what I’m working on.

Brent