Thanks, Ragtime88, for clarifying the issue about the Zoom being able to serve as stand-alone mics. I went back and edited my original post that was in error.

Ragtime, thanks for the "safely remove hardware" explanation, I edited number 14.

But now that I have actually used the Zoom and listened to it etc, I have completely run out of steam to work on this How-to! Why? Because the Zoom is so easy, it seems like no one would even need a how-to. Which I know is not accurate, because all of my success with these initial recording attempts are thanks to the PW posters, esp you Monica, since I did the auto-gain thing exactly the way you described it. I didn't get any distortion or "breaking" at the top, and I don't think it even needs to be normalized (or was it amplified?) either way, it seems to me that the overall volume is just right! Yea!

I think I am just tired. One hour of recording (and fiddling with the Zoom) and 2 hours of working on repertoire and new music, it's time for bed here on this side of the planet!!

hee hee. Now you understand why I am so crazy about the thing.

So when do we get to hear your first Zoom recording?

I'm learning, too. There are many talented and helpful people on this forum. I'm amazed and amused every time I visit. Cheers. --G

Well, just because I've had too much wine, I'm gonna say,... Edirol... Zoom, never heard of it...

LaValse,

Ok, I've thought of another section to put in the How-to, which would be something about the different frequencies and related settings. This is something that was discussed a lot in Ragtime's original thread, but none of it really stayed in my head. Would someone like to help me with the questions in bold:

Recording Format[/b]
1) You can choose to record either in WAV or MP3. An MP3 is a much smaller format, but a WAV file _____ what? fill in the blank here please! "sounds better? has less loss?"[/b] This is why most people recommend recording as a WAV file, and only converting to MP3 (after all editing has been finished) if you need a smaller file for emailing and internet. There several different programs (some available for free) which allow you to make this conversion, including Cubase, Audacity any other programs I should list here? it doesn't have to be an all-encompassing list, but more than two would probably be good![/b]

2) You can select three different frequencies levels: 44.1kHz, 48kHz or 96kHz. what information can I put here to help people understand the differences in these frequencies and which one they want for their purposes?[/b]

1) ...a WAV file will have better quality sound because it is not compressed, which will be particularly noticeable when recorded on a CD or played back on a good stereo system.

2) um... I dunno. I had problems getting Windows media to recognize and play the 96 kHz files, so I have been sticking with the 44.1 kHz.

1) Admittedly dated, the 1980 "Red Book" standard for CD-ROM, or what we know today as music CD's, calls for "digital audio" to be (a) stereo, (b) uncompressed 16-bit PCM (pulse code modulated), (c) sampled at 44.1K frequency. Eventually the WAV format became the most common way to encode the uncompressed PCM data.

This is a long way of saying that Red Book standard music CD's are using 44.1K sampling and uncompressed WAV formatted files. Thousands of professional recording studios are equipped to record music to this standard.

For typical popular music tunes, these files are about 25Mb each. And, consequently, 20-25 tunes maxxes out a CD.

MP3 is a "compression" technique that can reduce a 25Mb file to 1Mb or less. There are many implementations of MP3, some worse than others. In all cases, the sound quality is reduced -- but for a huge number of listeners the difference is negligible and the reduction in file size is amazing. You can put 500+ tunes on a CD. You can put thousands of tunes on your iPod. And you can post tunes on the Internet and download them easily.

I use the H4 to record to WAV at 44.1K, and transfer to computer. I copy these to CD's for good quality recordings. I convert (using RiverPast products) to MP3 for iPod and Internet use.

2) I've not had much experience using the higher frequency samples. But that's because I make CD's and not DVD's.

An audio "wave" is a continuously varying analog signal. To make it digital, you take a numeric reading every so often. The more often you take a reading, the more closely your series of numbers approximates the perfectly smooth curve of the analog signal. You capture more detail and harmonics at higher sampling frequencies.

48K and 96K are used for digital TV and DVD audio. If that's your target, then sampling at these frequencies makes sense. These will also be formatted as WAV files.

If CD's and MP3's are your target, then 44.1 is plenty good enough.

Ragtime,

I visited your web site and after seeing the photos there a question came to mind about using the Zoom to capture surrounding sounds.

Is there a good range for using the Zoom in a room where you wish to capture family or friends, and are the settings different for this purpose?

Thank you,

Lisztener

Hey thanks for the tips, ShiroKuro. This is extremely helpful especially since I've just collected by Zoom H4

ShiroKuro,

Would you mind checking your emails, as I sent you a private message. Thanks.

Michael

Usually for recording music, you would like to minimize any environmental/surrounding sound. For this purpose, most vocal and instrument microphones are very "directional" -- picking up sound almost exclusively in the direction they are pointing.

In a group setting, whether music or conversation(?), you would prefer a microphone that is "omnidirectional" -- picking up sounds in a wide swath.

The Zoom H4's built-in microphones are directional, and while the X-Y configuration widens the scope somewhat, I think it would be unsatisfactory in a setting where people are widely spaced, or in a circle. Best in that situation to plug in a pair of omnidirectional mics. Otherwise, volume settings, etc., on the unit would be the same, I think.

Experiment. Likely, though you will find varying volume levels on individuals according to direction and proximity.

Cheers. --G

Ragtime, thanks for those explanations about frequencies etc! Very helpful! Now let's see if I can pare them down to three lines and stick them in my list.

Thank you, Ragtime.

I think Monica said it very well, in *two* lines.
You're welcome. --G

This may sound lame, but I simply cannot download the LAME program. Are there any Mac users that can help me out?

thanks!!

Apianostudent, I'm afraid I can't help since I don't use a Mac. Why don't you start you own thread with a very specific title, something like "help with Audacity and LAME for a Mac user." That way a lot more people will see your question and you should be able to get some good answers. Or you might choose a title like "help with WAV/MP3 for a Mac user" because maybe there are other, Mac-specific programs you can use. Either way, good luck!

I am running off to work, and will update page one of this thread soon, when I have a little more time. But if anyone has any more suggestions of things to include, please keep them coming!

I must be the most stupid person here when it comes to the ZOOM.

It came today. I happily quick working early, opened it, and thought...yes...I am going to have fun.

But nope. No fun.

I was warned with the many pages of notes here. Then I saw this EAZY DOZE IT thread.

That must be for those who already read the directions!

Got the card in. Got it plugged in. Hit the RED BUTTON. Played. Nothing. Ok...so now I see that i have to hit the RED button twice.

Did that. Played. But I cannot seem to play back. Does one need HEADPHONES to hear anything? I can see the line bouncing to and fro as if something should be heard, but NADA to my ears.

DO I REALLY HAVE TO READ ALL THOSE PAGES in the book they send?

Why can't I just press a button to record. A button to listen. And a USB port to plug in.

I am so overwhelmed and even if I DO READ, I won't understand a damn thing they are saying.

ARRRRGH

Help, please!

LL

Here is the mic scoop on the H2.
The H2 comes with an internal 3 mic capsule and signal processing, meaning that a variety of polar patterns from cardioid to super cardioid to 360-degree polar patterns are possible. And you can record 360-degree as 4 channel data, which can then be authored into 5.1 surround sound.

Give me a break Paul!!! ;-)

If I felt dumb, I now feel dumber

EDTI...oh... I see now that was not an answer to my post but about the H2

lilylady, Paul was answering a different question earlier in the thread, not yours.

To answer your question, yes, you need to use headphones if you want to hear your recording from the Zoom directly. I forget what the jack is labeled, either "Line" or "phones" (try both until you hear something). There is no volume adjustment on the Zoom. But if you're seeing the squiqqly lines moving, it means you recorded something.

You can also hear your recording through your computer after you hook it up through the USB port.

That manual is pretty intimidating, I agree. The good news is that the bulk of it is irrelevant for most of us and the purposes we'll be using the Zoom for.

Thanks Monica,

It seems though that it does not come with headphones.

I have no IPOD or somesuch other new thing. I wonder if the 'other Sony recorder' I bought recently came with headphones.

Geeze, Louise. A recorder that does not let you hear what you recorded without buying something else?

PUT THAT IN YOUR QUICKY SK!!!! ;-)

Guess my next step will be trying to download it on the computer. I was hoping to do some adjustments before that step. Too bad my Boston speakers have started to crackle all over the place. Maybe that could be a new trend. Crackles in the background. LIke my own percussion section?

B, B, B...I know! ;-) LL

You can't really adjust the recording at all after the fact on the Zoom itself; you have to do all that with audacity on your computer. So go ahead and hook it up with the USB cable. Just make sure you do that step of pressing the round button to get to "file" and then jogging down to "connect to computer" or whatever it says. Otherwise you'll be sitting there wondering why your files aren't showing up on the computer...

Because it's somewhat of a pain in the rear to do things on the Zoom itself, what I usually do is keep a notepad near the piano, and during every Zoom session I write down the file name/number of good takes (which will only be one or two), and that way I know I can safely delete all the other 1,435 takes without having to sit and listen to each and every bad take.

lilylady & Monica,

On one side of the Zoom you will see a port for "LINE", next to it a port for "PHONES", next to it a "Volume" control to use with headphones, next to it the "ON/OFF", and finally, a "USB" port. I'm looking at the side of mine as I report to you.

Plug your headphones into the "PHONES" port and you can hear what you've recorded and control the volume.

Hope this helps,

Oops. Forget what I said about the lack of a volume control.

You guys are great!

;-)


What I really need is some YOUNG EYES to even read anything that is on the screen on the ZOOM or on the side labels.

Where the heck is the one and only little magnifying glass I own? Getting older is no fun.

LOL!

Lilylady, you and I are at exactly the same stage in learning our Zooms. I just started to play with mine last night. Scary manual indeed! The first thing I did was try to install the Cubase s/ware; the install process hung and wouldn't work. So I dropped that till I can figure out what went wrong. After making a couple of short recordings, I connected the Zoom with the USB cable to my laptop. That was easy and I was able to copy the .WAV file to my iTunes directory and played it from there. That worked well. I haven't tried headphones yet but I can easily play back from my computer as my speakers are good. The recording quality seemed very good on the recordings I made. One was a WAV44.1, the other an MP3. I will stick with MP3 till I buy a bigger SD card. I like Monica's idea about keeping written track of multiple takes so you don't have to listen to them all to find the good one. I'm sure I too will have hundreds of rejects for every good one. :rolleyes: You are certainly correct about the screen and the print on the Zoom. Very small. The ergonomics are a bit strained on this device but it's hard to see how it could be improved much - the strength of this device is it's small size and convenience and the quality of the recordings (which seems to be very high).

Will try to get this operational tonight...

Hey Starting Over, forget Cubase... download audacity (free) and use it. VERY easy and intuitive controls.

I disabled Auto-Protect on Symantic Anti-virus and tried again. Cubase installed fine after that. That's all that was wrong. At that point I ran Cubase and I see what you mean about it being hard to use. It's a little opaque allright. Don't know where to start.

I'm going to download Audacity now...

Don't forget to download also the Lame add-on to audacity (you'll find the link on the audacity web site); that lets you convert your .wav files to .mp3 files.