I've had the Zoom sitting in its box for several days now so with the oven timer on dinner counting down from 15, I decided to open the box and make a recording. Naturally, I didn't read a word of the instructions nor what I assume is ShiroKuro's excellent as always "how to record with a Zoom" document. After all, it's billed as a "Handy recorder" so if it's so darned handy, why do I need instructions?

Put in the 2 GB SD card I bought, plugged it in, put its tripod mount together, positioned it, pressed record, noticed it was a level setting so I pressed record again, sat down and recorded this , finished just as the oven timer was going off

Some comments and caveats:

• I really did just dash this off so there are a number of mistakes in it.
• The zoom was positioned on a little mini-tripod I have in the middle of the music desk, angled slightly downward.
• I have a string cover on the piano which I didn't remove. My guess is that it would sound a little more resonant (more overtones) with the string cover off as that's how it sounds to my ear when it's off.
• I normalized with audacity though I'm not sure that was really necessary as the volume was pretty good ("M" setting) without it.
• As you've no doubt guessed, the piano is a C7 with Ronsen Wurzen felt hammers. These are cold pressed and softer than the original Yamaha hammers. I think there's still a bit of regulation work that needs to be done in the middle register but I'm picking nits.

I have to say I'm pretty happy with how the result sounds. It really is a handy recorder! I'm going to experiment a bit with positioning and do some recordings without the string cover but for a first take done in a hurry, this one sounds pretty good.

Although I like the MP8, it's nice to be back to playing the C7.

Sounds great, C7! The bass on your C7 is really nice. The treble really shone through, too, so I'm not sure you lost much by keeping the string cover on.

And I was secretly tickled pink to hear your "dashed off" version of Le Onde, because it sounds more like my all-time best version.

Welcome to Zoomville. Or Zoombiehood.

Very nice sound C7!

Have you tried to record a version without the string cover to see the difference in the sound quality?

Not yet, I'll probably get a chance to tomorrow. I normally leave the cover on (basic laziness) but have to admit the piano does sound better with it off. Although the sound is tonally accurate i.e., the relative loudness of the bass/midrange/treble is the same, there's a "liveness" that's lost. I'm guessing that'll be back in a recording with the cover off. If there's enough of a difference, I'll post a second recording so string cover owners can hear for themselves.

Wow,for something just dashed off, that was great. Even with the string cover on your piano, your little zoom did quite well, though I think it would be more lively if you took the cover off. It sounded a bit muted. Playing was great though. Gaby Tu

I'll second that -- or is it "fourth that" since I'm the fourth poster to think that was great.

I was particularly interested in your "out of the box" experience with the zoom, as if I don't sort my present recording problem, I too will be going into zoom mode.

As far as the string cover is concerned, I listened carefully with good quality headphones and didn't detect any lack of treble. I expect that if you feel lazy and leave the cover on, not many of us will notice, and even fewer will complain

That was a big part of the appeal. I seriously considered going the more expensive route with dual microphones, stands, preamp, etc., but really didn't want to turn my piano room into a recording studio. Again due to a fair amount of basic laziness, once I get it all set up I tend to leave it in place and the idea of stands and wires running all over the place wasn't all that appealing. The zoom is very unobtrusive, simple to use and does a pretty nice job.

I also found it very easy to use. I wasn't kidding about not reading the manual and going from opening the box to having a recording in under 15 minutes. I will say though that I am perhaps more comfortable with computers than some having spent years in the industry. I still think though that even for a novice the Zoom is easy to use and produces great results.

C7...your recording and, of course, playing was amazingly beautiful.

I HAVE to order the ZOOM because some people around here are going to kill me (not really, but they have certainly been presuring me).

Can you tell me from which web site I would go about ordering it?

Again, so beautiful!

Thanks,
Kathleen

Kathleen,

Thanks so much for your kind comments. I ordered my Zoom from Amazon for $269. I also got a SanDisk 2GB SD card for $13.06. Both plus shipping were $273.89.

I understand the "pressure" you're under! As I said elsewhere, I was living in fear of the day Monica and her thugs would show up at my door and break my kneecaps because I hadn't ordered a Zoom yet

I was going to comment on the recital (and still will) that I loved your recital submission but wished it were a little better recorded so your beautiful playing would shine through. The Zoom will help that and I look forward to future recordings from you!

Nice job, Greg. Your "dashed off" take is near perfection. Your piano sounds fabulous, and I usually don't like Yamahas. I still haven't read that doggone long instruction book that came with my Zoom, probably never will. I laughed aloud at your description of "Monica and her thugs" breaking kneecaps.

Thanks, C7. I just placed my order with Amazon. Now all I have to worry about is not sounding as wonderful as everyone says I will.

Thank you so much for the information. (I can hear my credit card moaning all the way from my purse in the closet. )

Kathleen

[Puts lead pipe back in closet ]

As I said above, I was curious about the effect of the string cover so I recorded the same piece with the string cover removed. Here are the results. Let me describe the methodology: both are recordings using a Zoom H4 of my C7 with the lid on the short stick. The Zoom was placed on a small tripod on the middle of the music desk angled slightly downward. The file consists of two short (17 seconds) segments, the first is with the string cover in place and the second without. In both cases, I recorded the entire piece, normalized to the same level with Audacity and then used Audacity to cut the same section out of each piece. I've left the file in wav format so it's quite large (almost 6MB) for 34 seconds of music but I wanted to leave it in its uncompressed form.

I'll leave you all to draw your own conclusions. To me, there is a slight, but noticeable, difference between the two. As I suspected it might, the version without the string cover sounds less muffled and there's a higher degree of resonance that's clearly audible.

Being the lazy sort that I am, I'll most likely leave the cover in place when I record except for important recordings (the recitals )