Based on some of the reviews in this forum, I purchased an H4 for my 17 year old son this month (Christmas present) and I thought I'd post a link to his first recording.

This is just an quick improvisation that he did based on "Bat Out of Hell" by Meatloaf. The H4 is setup with the Piano lid open and the mic facing towards the open lid and the sensitivity set to low. The file was recorded directly to MP3 format (320 Kbps).

BTW: The piano needs a tuning but isn't quite at the unbearable point just yet.

http://www.esnips.com/doc/0b4ea3c3-f42d-4ee6-8ee1-b08aa52ab376/Bat-Out-of-Hell-Noodle

The mp3 file can be downloaded here for the next 7 days:

http://download.yousendit.com/BD1F60C9670ABD11


Overall, I'd have to say that I'm very impressed with this little recorder. Any thoughts on getting an even better recording?

Rodney

My thought of the zoom recorders aren't very good though: I think they don't record any of the bright sounds and therefore sounds a bit muzzy and dozy
They miss a lot of the deep sound and ambiance that is needed for good piano recordings.
If you try to brighten it up with an equalizer, the noise is unacceptable.
I had a H4 but I sold it again, I think they are better for recording other things, but not such delicate things as pianomusic

Sorry to be negative, but I did like the pianoplaying of your son though

I just love my Zoom. I've heard better quality recordings from people on the forum, but they've always involved more expensive equipment (sometimes MUCH more expensive) and elaborate setups and fiddling about with mic placement and levels. The Zoom hits a balance between ease of use and quality of recording that is exactly what I want.

Rodney, I don't know if you've ever braved reading the 17-page long Zoom Mega-thread, but if you do, you'll find lots of discussion about mic placement and how to adjust the input levels to improve the quality. But I will have to say that I thought your recording quality was pretty darned good... I'm not sure you'd get appreciably better with the Zoom. (I agree with SideShow that one of the limitations of the Zoom is that the recordings will have a bit of a muffled tone.)

Link to Zoom Mega Thread

You should also try playing the .wav version over a high quality stereo. The sound is much better than what you'll get with an mp3 conversion.

p.s. My compliments to your son. I love Meat Loaf, and my playing at my best doesn't come close to his "noodling."