Recording On A Zoom H1

[L20A]

What would be the best way to record an acoustic guitar, using a Zoon H1 Recorder?
Should I just play the guitar pointing at the Zoom or should I use a mic and plug into the Zoom's line in.
If I use a mic I would need to go through a mixer first?

My goal is to record several of my guitars and then listen to them on the recording.
I want to know how the guitars sound when compared to each other.

If it works out, I may even try posting the recordings here to see which guitars other people like.

[keith.rogers]

Zoom H1?

You want to just use the built-in stero mic if it's the Zoom H1.

Experiment with placement but each guitar might sound best with a slightly different placement of the mic. You might start with it out about a foot, more or less (experiment!) from the upper bout of the guitar, slighlty above the soundhole, so neither of the XY mics are not aimed directly at the soundhole - i.e., more a bridge-fingerboard kind of angle. You can balance the LR channels in your DAW, or go back and fiddle with the angle shift the recorder to more to one side or the other.

Along with the instrument and your playing, the mic placement and room will impact the result a lot.

[L20A]

Sorry, it is a Zoom H1.
How do I get the recordings loaded to a forum like this one?

[stevecuss]

Originally Posted by L20A

Sorry, it is a Zoon H1.
How do I get the recordings loaded to a forum like this one?

You could create a soundcloud account, which is free, and post your audios there and then post links to them here.

[L20A]

Thanks for the quick responses.
I will try recording directly into the Zoom, then put it on soundcloud.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by L20A

Thanks for the quick responses.
I will try recording directly into the Zoon, then put it on soundcloud.

See if you can find a free DAW, like Audacity. You can load the file from the Zoom directly and then save it to your harddrive, giving it the name of the tune (and maybe the guitar used too) in a folder for your guitar recordings. You can also trim the beginning to get rid of unwanted noise from movement, etc, while getting ready to hit the record button. You can also add a fade at the end. There's a lot more you can do in something like Audacity, but the above is a good start and keeps things simple. After a recording session I will copy all the files I created with the Zoom to the tune's folder and then delete the files from the Zoom SD card so I have a fresh start for the next recording. (Don't forget to "eject" the Zoom just like you would a flash drive before disconnecting from your PC)

I keep folders for each of the tunes I record under a main folder called "Recording 20XX" I keep my years separate for whatever reason,

I have a folder of small pictures of my guitar head stocks and I use them as the image for the tune I upload to Soundcloud. I use this method to track what guitar I recorded a tune with. Once you get going with Soundcloud you'll see what I mean. To be honest I can't really tell which guitar I recorded with most of the time just by listening to the recording

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by L20A

What would be the best way to record an acoustic guitar, using a Zoon H1 Recorder?
Should I just play the guitar pointing at the Zoon or should I use a mic and plug into the Zoon's line in.
If I use a mic I would need to go through a mixer first?

Hi L20A

The Zoom's internal mics will give you better results than anything you can easily adapt and plug into it. It was built for convenience and simplicity. It doesn't make sense to plug a $1000 mic into a $100 recorder.

Zooms lower numbered line (H1, H1n, H2, H2n) are created to be point-n-shoot recorders (mount on a tripod, or set on a table, aim and hit record). There are movie sound-people who use the H1/H1n to collect sounds using the built in mics.

Once you get to the H4 thru H8 models they are designed to be more elaborate field recorders.

I've gotten great results mounting my H1n on a tripod and then positioning it so it picks up guitar, or guitar and vocal.

Fun to experiment! Have a great time learning!!

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by L20A

What would be the best way to record an acoustic guitar, using a Zoon H1 Recorder?
Should I just play the guitar pointing at the Zoon or should I use a mic and plug into the Zoon's line in.
If I use a mic I would need to go through a mixer first?

My goal is to record several of my guitars and then listen to them on the recording.
I want to know how the guitars sound when compared to each other.

If it works out, I may even try posting the recordings here to see which guitars other people like.

No offense meant, but simply listening to them as you play is going to be a more accurate representation than going through a multi-step recording / playback process.

[keith.rogers]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

No offense meant, but simply listening to them as you play is going to be a more accurate representation than going through a multi-step recording / playback process.

I'd probably disagree with that, but maybe I'm misunderstanding.

Certainly, the sound of any recorded guitar can be different from what you hear with your ears, in some cases very different, depending on the mic and how well you place it, plus how much room the mic captures, etc. IMO/IME that's not necessarily a less accurate representation.

The sound of most guitars, heard by the player's ears [directly above] is also pretty different from what you hear from any point directly in front of the guitar. So, then the question the OP should ask is, "What is the perspective I want to use to evaluate and compare these guitars?" I.e., do I care how it sounds just to me, or to someone listening, or, maybe, how it sounds when recorded.

But (a little soap-boxy ramble follows) for me, I can really say that what my brain hears when I'm playing, vs. what I hear when listening to a recording of the thing I just played, can be very different, even if I've accounted for those other questions. My brain has this uncanny ability to not hear (ignore) the little string rattles and buzzes, fingernails clacking away on the guitar top, the guitar simply being out of tune, etc., etc., i.e., all those things that detract and that probably need work. (Honestly, I usually sound *fantastic* when just playing by myself "in a dark and empty room." ) Now, that's not what OP is doing the recordings for, but I can say that listening to myself and a guitar objectively while playing requires a lot of experience, objectivity and focus that is hard[/lacking] for me, and I suspect many. Now, just playing can be quite enjoyable, so (again, for me) recording is a good reality check and a better way to *evaluate* both an instrument and playing.

[L20A]

I have enjoyed posts where the OP records several guitars and then lets us try to pick which recording is which guitar.
These recordings have helped me to become less of a "Brand Snob".

Besides wanting to hear what my guitars sound like from in front of them,
I want to see if I can tell which guitar is which on the recordings.
If the recordings turn out good, I would like to post the results on the forum for others to critic and pick which one they like best.

I will also try to do it as a blind test and ask members to pick which guitar is which.

It amazes me just how good some guitars can sound, when I don't know what guitar it is, when I listen with my ears and not my eyes.

Thank you all again for your help.
I will be back if or when I have more questions about the project.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by L20A

I have enjoyed posts where the OP records several guitars and then lets us try to pick which recording is which guitar.
These recordings have helped me to become less of a "Brand Snob".

Besides wanting to hear what my guitars sound like from in front of them,
I want to see if I can tell which guitar is which on the recordings.
If the recordings turn out good, I would like to post the results on the forum for others to critic and pick which one they like best.

I will also try to do it as a blind test and ask members to pick which guitar is which.

It amazes me just how good some guitars can sound, when I don't know what guitar it is, when I listen with my ears and not my eyes.

Thank you all again for your help.
I will be back if or when I have more questions about the project.

All valid reasoning and admirable goals. It's difficult to offer advice to meet your needs without this much clearer set of goals you set down.

The only thing to go on from the original post was "I want to know how the guitars sound when compared to each other."

[runamuck]

Why not use the Zoon's built in mics and see what you think?

Mount the Zoon on a stand, up off the floor about the same height as your guitar, point the mics toward the area on the guitar where the neck meets the body , keep it back a foot or so and push record. Move it a few inches and record again and then right a few inches.

Listen back to the recordings and see if any of them sound good to you. If not, position the mic differently than before and experiment some more.

Good luck.

[Andyrondack]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

No offense meant, but simply listening to them as you play is going to be a more accurate representation than going through a multi-step recording / playback process.

I disagree with this.
The sound from acoustic guitars is projected forward , away from the player so the musician only hears a fraction of what the instrument is capable , my guitars sound very different when someone else is playing them and I am sat in front.
I regularly record my playing on a Zoom H1N partly for the same reason as the OP but also to monitor my practice sessions, recording one self and listening to those recordings with a critical ear is, for me at least ,vital to identifying the shortcomings in my playing. By recording myself and listening objectively I find it much easier to decide whether or not I should be happy with an arrangement or do further work on it.
I have got best results so far with the recorder on a tripod near the 12 th fret, any where near the sound hole is just awful, have not tried near the lower bout yet but will give it a go.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Andyrondack

I disagree with this.
The sound from acoustic guitars is projected forward , away from the player so the musician only hears a fraction of what the instrument is capable , my guitars sound very different when someone else is playing them and I am sat in front.
I regularly record my playing on a Zoom H1N partly for the same reason as the OP but also to monitor my practice sessions, recording one self and listening to those recordings with a critical ear is, for me at least ,vital to identifying the shortcomings in my playing. By recording myself and listening objectively I find it much easier to decide whether or not I should be happy with an arrangement or do further work on it.
I have got best results so far with the recorder on a tripod near the 12 th fret, any where near the sound hole is just awful, have not tried near the lower bout yet but will give it a go.

You disagree that you should evaluate your level of satisfaction with what a guitar sounds like to you as a player? What it sounds like "out front" is secondary if you're evaluating for your personal enjoyment.

Should you record and from where? It really depends on your purpose. If you are evaluating a guitar for the perception of an audience then record away from the front.

If you are evaluating from the perspective of what joy you'll receive as a player then I wouldn't give a rat's patooti what it sounds like from the front. I really only care about what it sounds like from my perspective as a player.

To evaluate your own playing it really doesn't make any difference where you record from. Your technical proficiency (or lack thereof...) will be apparent from any perspective.

[steelvibe]

If you have a good set of headphones, put them to use. i had a Zoom H2n that I would use to record my practice sessions or even to capture the way certain strings would sound like on a given guitar. It's amazing how the ear forgets. I would then have a series of recordings playing the same thing to evaluate what I like or didn't about a set of strings. However, i did these recordings just blindly placing the mic out in front around the 12th fret and using the various mic configurations to capture what I wanted. Then I got smart and plugged in some headphones and would play while moving the mic around to capture the best sound possible. What I ended up with that sounded best to my ears (in the headphones) was not what I thought would be best with my eyes, or in everything I've read about recording acoustic guitar.

This approach may work best if you play while someone else moves the mic around the area, and when you hear it best in your "monitoring" space that is where you place your mic. Your recordings will thank you for it.