The Swiss Army knife of hand-held digital stereo recorders/microstudios

The Zoom H4 is a new hand-held digital stereo recorder/microstudio from Samson. It has a lot of attractive features at a very reasonable price. First among these is a built-in pair of stereo condenser mics in an x/y configuration. This is a standard way of recording stereo with minimal hassle -- by placing the mics very close together, facing each other at right angles, you can get stereo recording without the phase problems that come with mics in most other configurations. Samson provides a clear discussion of this on their web page: http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/h4/index.php.

The built-in mics are pretty decent for a portable unit (the H4 is a bit larger than a TV remote control unit). It isn't easy to find the frequency and polar response graphs for these mics. They are available here: http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/h4/h4_14.gif. If you examine the graphs, you'll see that these are pretty ordinary mics. But, for a hand-held recording unit, they are quite good. And they sound better on a wide variety of instruments and vocals than I would have expected from the frequency response curve.

If you find the built-in mics too low quality, or desire greater flexibility in placement, frequency response, or pickup pattern, you can plug the mics of your choice into this unit. The H4 includes two (48 V phantom power)XLR/TS combo jacks (the unbalanced TS jack allows you to plug an instrument like a guitar directly into the H4). The phantom power can even be provided when the unit is run off its two AA batteries. Samson claims that the batteries are good for up to 4 hours. The unit also can be plugged into a wall outlet, which has lower noise than using the batteries does. It appears that there is a bit of a grounding problem with battery operation that results in low-amplitude noise in the recording. Battery power is certainly usable, but wall power is to be preferred if possible.

There are various modelling options for the internal mics to mimic some standard recording studio mics and for guitar/bass amp modelling. In addition, you can "roll your own" effects using reverb, flange, and the like. I haven't used any of these, and don't expect to, so I won't be commenting on them.

There is an error in the firmware that ships with the unit (version 1.00), such that the mp3 files contain artifacts if you record at 256 kbps or variable bit rate. This has been fixed by Samson. You can install the upgraded firmware by going to http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/download/software/h4.php and getting the firmware version 1.10. Follow the instruction on the website to field-upgrade your firmware. (Just to avoid confusion: when the web site says to copy the .bin file to the "Route" directory of the SD card, they mean the root directory.)

The above download site is also where you can download the ASIO driver that is necessary to support using the H4 as an audio interface for your computer via the included Cubase LE software, which brings up a real breakthrough aspect of the H4. This device can be used as a lot more than just a stereo recorder.

The unit can operate as a true 4-track recorder (only two tracks can be recorded at a time, but all four can be played back at once). You can punch in and out and overdub, just like you can on a larger unit. Four tracks isn't all that many. But the Cubase program itself can support up to 48 tracks. If you use the H4 as the audio interface to your computer, Cubase can access all 48 tracks the same way that the H4 can use 4 in stand-alone mode. The H4 is the first hand-held portable stereo that can be used in this way as far as I know. The H4 is rather awkward to use in this way, but the mere fact that it can be so employed is to be commended. The H4 may not be the perfect multitrack recorder, but it is certainly better than none.

Zoom seemed determined to add as many capabilities as possible into this small device. It includes a built-in metronome and a chromatic tuner for your guitar for good measure. Oh, and the unit comes with a reasonably effective wind screen for the built-in mics. I leave it in place all the time. It seems to also act as a bit of a pop filter.

So what's not to like?

First, the construction is flimsy. The menu joystick-style button on the front of the unit seems especially cheap. The door to the battery compartment is both very hard to open and very cheaply made -- a worrisome combination. Overall, the plastic body doesn't seem too bad -- but I wouldn't want to drop it!

Second, the unit ships with an adapter that is intended to fit on a camera tripod (!) instead of on a mic stand. I am unable to get the adapter to screw into my tripod, which is apparently a relatively common complaint. I don't know whether tripods come in multiple thread sizes or I'm just a klutz, but I've never had a problem attaching a camera to the tripod.

Third, the menu system is elaborate. This makes it painful to switch between different functions. if you constantly do the same thing (the unit remembers its last setting when you power down), it is a breeze to use. If you're mostly going to use the unit as a stereo field recorder, and just want to have the rest available for the occasional multitrack session for a demo CD, this unit makes a lot of sense. But it isn't really both a stereo recorder and a multitrack unit for routine use.

Fourth, the level meters for recording are unreadable if you are trying to record yourself. If a friend is setting the levels, you can manage fine. But you can't do it all yourself very easily. There is a nice "auto level" mode, in which you press the record button once, play the loudest portion of the piece, then press the record button again to begin recording. In this mode, the unit sets the mic gain for you. But it is only available in stereo mode.

And that brings up another limitation of the unit -- some things are only available under some circumstances. For example, you can record mp3 at various bit rates or wav files at 16 or 24 bits, 44.1, 48, or 96 KHz. But only if you are recording in stereo mode. In multitrack mode, it is reasonable to not have the mp3 available. But, in multitrack mode, you can only record 16-bit, 44.1 KHz mode wav files. This just seems needlessly limited. True, if you could only have one setting, this would be it. But it would be nice to have 24 bit recording for post-processing audio compression, for example.

Many people have reported having problems with SD cards not functioning properly in the unit. Zoom lists various SD cards that are "known good" with the H4, but they are all pretty pricey, typically running around $100 for a 2 GB card. I decided to take a chance on a Kingston 2 GB card that I got for $36. so far, it seems fine. But YMMV.

Removing the SD card from the unit is a chore. You may have to resort to using needle-nose pliers to grab the card when you try to remove it.

By the way, the manual didn't seem to say how to use the unit as an SD card reader, unless I missed it. It's very easy. Keep the unit turned off and plug the USB cable into the H4 and then into your computer. The unit's LCD will draw power from the USB connection and display an option -- to use the H4 as an audio interface or as an SD reader. Select the SD reader option and XP will tell you that it has found new hardware. The unit shows up as an external hard disk, just like any other card reader. Copy the files you want to use to or from the card using Explorer. That's all there is to it.

The ease of use in stereo mode, the quality of the recording, and the low cost of the unit make the H4 well worth purchasing. The availability of the multitrack capability for occasional use and the inclusion of Cubase LE at no additional charge make the H4 a standout product at its price point.