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Old 11-03-2019, 03:16 PM
Joseph Hanna Joseph Hanna is offline
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Default Zoom H4n Pro

I borrowed a friends Zoom H4n Pro this weekend. I dunno how old the release of this device is but this particularly unit was only a couple of weeks old. What a fabulous sounding little device. Easy to setup, easy to use. It's quiet and works flawlessly as an interface and I was a able to find a sweet spot very quickly. I did a handful of down and dirty recordings and from a tone and sound quality perspective I could easily use all of thise takes. I’m just really impressed with this thing. I headed out to pick one up for myself
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Old 11-07-2019, 10:52 AM
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Post one of those recording.
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Old 11-07-2019, 11:51 AM
Joseph Hanna Joseph Hanna is offline
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Post one of those recording.
Yes sir I'll post something for you this weekend!
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Old 11-07-2019, 12:56 PM
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I think the H4n Pro came out about the same time as the H5 and H6, when they basically updated their line. About 5 years ago. Agreed, great recorders, they set a pretty high bar to beat, all at a budget price.
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Old 11-07-2019, 09:09 PM
Joseph Hanna Joseph Hanna is offline
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I think the H4n Pro came out about the same time as the H5 and H6, when they basically updated their line. About 5 years ago. Agreed, great recorders, they set a pretty high bar to beat, all at a budget price.
I think, at least for me and given my relentless work schedule, the concept of easy set-up, ease of finding a usable tone, comfort and ease in finding a chair and place in the house that sounds decent, is a big creative incentive.

I have some really great mics I’ve accumulated over the years but it’s often defeating when the time and effort it takes to properly set them up ultimately diminishes the desire to create.

I have two basic recording scenarios. 1) This cue has to be recorded and mixed in an hour and 2) I’ve got an hour or two to capture a personal guitar idea. That said I’ve never been a guy that records stuff “down and dirty” as a sketch to then return later for a proper pass. Some of my inspiration comes from a great sounds inside the headphones. If I’m really comfortable in my headphones I tend to play with more economy and more attention to touch. As it is the Zoom lets me pull up a mic stand, plug in headphones and get comfortable quickly. For me whatever may or may not be lost in more expensive setups is mitigated by getting into a really comfortable zone almost immediately.
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Old 11-12-2019, 09:36 AM
Joseph Hanna Joseph Hanna is offline
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Originally Posted by rick-slo View Post
Post one of those recording.
OK here ya go. Two passes T to B warts and all. Straight out of the zoom. No volume changes, no compression, no EQ. Down and dirty as it gets. I did add a Lexicon to the lead track just to try to smooth out my inconsistencies in touch. Also a Massey 2007 to bring the output level up a touch for publishing.

https://soundcloud.com/joseph-hanna/zoom
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Old 11-12-2019, 10:11 AM
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OK here ya go. Two passes T to B warts and all. Straight out of the zoom. No volume changes, no compression, no EQ. Down and dirty as it gets. I did add a Lexicon to the lead track just to try to smooth out my inconsistencies in touch. Also a Massey 2007 to bring the output level up a touch for publishing.

https://soundcloud.com/joseph-hanna/zoom
Joseph, thanks for that. It does sound quite good, clean and detailed. I assume you load the raw Zoom recordings into the DAW you already have been using and go from there.
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Old 11-12-2019, 10:40 AM
Joseph Hanna Joseph Hanna is offline
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Joseph, thanks for that. It does sound quite good, clean and detailed. I assume you load the raw Zoom recordings into the DAW you already have been using and go from there.
Yes. I use either Pro Tools or Studio One. Most of the time, at least at home, I use Studio One because I trust it’s drag and drop file transfer management more than I do Pro Tools. That makes it easy to drag files directly from the SC card. This entire recording took maybe 30 minutes total. Pretty easy setup.
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Old 11-12-2019, 05:11 PM
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I have an old Zoom H4n from years ago and I can never for the life of me get the recording to sound “right.” Is the pro a significant upgrade from the earlier generation?
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Old 11-12-2019, 07:53 PM
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Originally Posted by justonwo View Post
I have an old Zoom H4n from years ago and I can never for the life of me get the recording to sound “right.” Is the pro a significant upgrade from the earlier generation?
My understanding is that the h4n pro has the same or similar mics and electronics as the h5 and h6, which all came out around the same time, and they do seem to be a significant upgrade to the older h4n. Lower noise if nothing else. But the h4n is quite usable, i used it for you tube videos untl i got the h6, so many of my older videos are likely the h4n, tho i always use external mics.

Ps. Nice sound joseph. I can only listen in earbuds on an ipad at the moment, but it sounds good to me!
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Old 11-12-2019, 08:51 PM
Joseph Hanna Joseph Hanna is offline
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Originally Posted by Doug Young View Post
My understanding is that the h4n pro has the same or similar mics and electronics as the h5 and h6, which all came out around the same time, and they do seem to be a significant upgrade to the older h4n. Lower noise if nothing else. But the h4n is quite usable, i used it for you tube videos untl i got the h6, so many of my older videos are likely the h4n, tho i always use external mics.

Ps. Nice sound joseph. I can only listen in earbuds on an ipad at the moment, but it sounds good to me!
That’s my understanding having looked into this a bit. Better/cleaner mic pre’s. I also don’t think (although I don’t have one to actually compare) that there’d be a significant change in sonic profile from the original H4n.

Thanks so much Doug. I really wasn’t intending to show off the absolute sonic capabilities of the Zoom as more to demonstrate it’s genuine ease of use while still producing a pretty quality result. That and I’m still finding the best mic position for the guitar I’m using. My temporary home (during my big move) is 25 feet from the 101. Finding a quiet spot, and a spot that’s not actually vibrating from the trucks going by is tough right now. The Zoom affords me the ability to easily try different spots in an attempt to escape the pounding sounds of the 101. I’d think even more powerful in a home that’s not so audio challenged.

Still, for this experiment I merely set up a mini mic stand on the coffee table, did two quick tracks, put some Lexicon on the second take and posted. I’ve got 25 minutes into this start to finish. That kinda alters my mind set in being productive in home recording.
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Old 11-12-2019, 10:13 PM
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Wow. Lovely.

I'm a longtime Zoom fan, early adopter of the Zoom H2, H6, and now using an F8 and F8n.

(You don't come from the Hannah's around Lancaster PA by any chance - there seem to be a lot that have gravitated toward the guitar!)
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Old 11-13-2019, 01:23 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug Young View Post
My understanding is that the h4n pro has the same or similar mics and electronics as the h5 and h6, which all came out around the same time, and they do seem to be a significant upgrade to the older h4n. Lower noise if nothing else. But the h4n is quite usable, i used it for you tube videos untl i got the h6, so many of my older videos are likely the h4n, tho i always use external mics.

Ps. Nice sound joseph. I can only listen in earbuds on an ipad at the moment, but it sounds good to me!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joseph Hanna View Post
That’s my understanding having looked into this a bit. Better/cleaner mic pre’s. I also don’t think (although I don’t have one to actually compare) that there’d be a significant change in sonic profile from the original H4n.

Thanks so much Doug. I really wasn’t intending to show off the absolute sonic capabilities of the Zoom as more to demonstrate it’s genuine ease of use while still producing a pretty quality result. That and I’m still finding the best mic position for the guitar I’m using. My temporary home (during my big move) is 25 feet from the 101. Finding a quiet spot, and a spot that’s not actually vibrating from the trucks going by is tough right now. The Zoom affords me the ability to easily try different spots in an attempt to escape the pounding sounds of the 101. I’d think even more powerful in a home that’s not so audio challenged.

Still, for this experiment I merely set up a mini mic stand on the coffee table, did two quick tracks, put some Lexicon on the second take and posted. I’ve got 25 minutes into this start to finish. That kinda alters my mind set in being productive in home recording.
Thanks for the information, all.

Great playing and recording. Joseph, where are you positioning the Zoom when you record?
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Old 11-13-2019, 08:28 PM
Joseph Hanna Joseph Hanna is offline
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Originally Posted by keith.rogers View Post
Wow. Lovely.

I'm a longtime Zoom fan, early adopter of the Zoom H2, H6, and now using an F8 and F8n.

(You don't come from the Hannah's around Lancaster PA by any chance - there seem to be a lot that have gravitated toward the guitar!)
Naw Don’t know anyone from the Lancaster area. Truth be told Joseph Hanna is a pen name I used for my BMI account about a zillion years ago. Just kept it around as an internet id. Real last name is Mackie.
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Old 11-13-2019, 08:48 PM
Joseph Hanna Joseph Hanna is offline
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Originally Posted by justonwo View Post
Thanks for the information, all.

Great playing and recording. Joseph, where are you positioning the Zoom when you record?

Thank you Honestly I don’t think I’ve found the sweet spot just yet and of course it depends entirely where I’m sitting in the room and what guitar I’m playing. But...I was pretty close to the fairly traditional “neck joins the body” spot. Maybe three inches back. I find it pretty easy to re-adjust in the headphones though with fairly accurate results. I’ll keep at it (as is my habit) and post some stuff as I get a better grip on the Zoom.
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