Zoom Q3

I have a kit delema .I need a highly portable but ample quallity recording device to record on the move as i explore the country side ( kitbag kind of portable ) .I always look to Roland useually as i have been very happy with the 8 track i have of theirs .This time though i am exploring Zooms range of kit in my price range .I emediately looked to the H4n looks a great device for recording on the move with i think great mics on board .

The thing is while searching the Q3 came up at a fraction of the price but with video onboard also http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~...3~ID~12342.asp
...........i would lose the multitrack but i have a multitrack at home ..the Boss 864 which i am very happy with but it isnt as portable as i would like for my purpose .

The things you have to do to get a quite moment eh lol
Can anybody see any loop holes in my plan to buy the Zoom Q3 as opposed to the multitrack type of micro ...or are there other divices i'm missed ( i think Roland & Zoom have it stitched up in my price range )
The Q3 even has the same mics on board

[Ranger1964]

What type of recording are you going to be doing as roam about hill and dale? If you are just going to try to capture "inspiration" for later reference and full on at home production, the H3 is great. If you think you may want to work a full production around what you record in your travels, possibly spending a bit more for the H4 is worth it. My first recording purchase was an H2. At that time the H4 had JUST come out and was a tad more than I wanted to spend. I eventually upgraded my set up and now just use the the H2 to capture inspiration in the form of some lyrics or a melody as I'm working on it. Works great for that. Have batteries handy and um DON'T lose you SD card like a certain person did!

BTW. (Assuming that the H3 and H4 work like the H2) If you are just using it for inspiration, be sure to set the SD card up to record as an MP3. a cheap 4 or 8 gig card will last a long time but fills up pretty quick when it is set up as a WAV file. I have my H2 out and often have it rolling for 10 minutes or more as I noodle around, that is a BIG WAV file!!

Originally Posted by Ranger1964

What type of recording are you going to be doing as roam about hill and dale? If you are just going to try to capture "inspiration" for later reference and full on at home production, the H3 is great. If you think you may want to work a full production around what you record in your travels, possibly spending a bit more for the H4 is worth it. My first recording purchase was an H2. At that time the H4 had JUST come out and was a tad more than I wanted to spend. I eventually upgraded my set up and now just use the the H2 to capture inspiration in the form of some lyrics or a melody as I'm working on it. Works great for that. Have batteries handy and um DON'T lose you SD card like a certain person did!

BTW. (Assuming that the H3 and H4 work like the H2) If you are just using it for inspiration, be sure to set the SD card up to record as an MP3. a cheap 4 or 8 gig card will last a long time but fills up pretty quick when it is set up as a WAV file. I have my H2 out and often have it rolling for 10 minutes or more as I noodle around, that is a BIG WAV file!!

Thanks for the input ranger ...how you been ,still churning them songs out .The Q3 is actually the thing i'm on the verge of purchasing because it has video .The reason being that my world just does not permit me to make a clean recording ...my home is no place for solitude with three children and a bussy housewife so i guess if i'm going to have to have background noise it migt as well be the sound of the country side .....also i find being there just oozes metaphore for songwriting .The H4 struck me because it has or is supposed to have good x&y condenser mic's but when i saw the Q3 had the same mics integrated also i thought why not get some visuals and i can always seperate the audio from the video for editing and building up if i get anything i could work with .Roland do a good looking piece of kit the micro br for a great price but i wouldnt mind paying a little more if they would put higher end mics in like the h4 has ........but the Q3 has me reaching for the cash .

[Tele1111]

I own both. An H4N and a Q3 HD. I did have the std. def Q3, but sold it after I purchased the HD model. The sound is still very good on the Q3, the video isnt very good though. You can seperate the video and audio, and it makes for a decent track. Signal to noise ratio is much better on the H4N (to my ears anyway-I'm not certain of the specs) but the video on the Q3 makes it hard to resist, even though it's std def. The Q3 is more of a point and shoot kind of camera recording device. I did recieve a bunch of compliments on the sound on the videos I made with it. I'd say for what you want the Q3 should fit the bill quite nicely.

[thekaiser]

I absolutely love my h4n. What I like about it over the q3 are the interface capabilities along with the two inputs. I keep a short XLR cable and sm58 near it in my bag if I ever want to lay down some quick vocals on the go on top of using the onboard Mics for guitar or field recording. If you don't actually think the video is a necessity I say go for the h4n.

[Ranger1964]

Originally Posted by Mark Woolnough

Thanks for the input ranger ...how you been ,still churning them songs out .The Q3 is actually the thing i'm on the verge of purchasing because it has video .The reason being that my world just does not permit me to make a clean recording ...my home is no place for solitude with three children and a bussy housewife so i guess if i'm going to have to have background noise it migt as well be the sound of the country side .....also i find being there just oozes metaphore for songwriting .The H4 struck me because it has or is supposed to have good x&y condenser mic's but when i saw the Q3 had the same mics integrated also i thought why not get some visuals and i can always seperate the audio from the video for editing and building up if i get anything i could work with .Roland do a good looking piece of kit the micro br for a great price but i wouldnt mind paying a little more if they would put higher end mics in like the h4 has ........but the Q3 has me reaching for the cash .

"my home is no place for solitude with three children and a bussy housewife"

Welcome to my world!! I'm ok for practicing and creating but I got up at 5:20 am to get one hour of recording time!!!! H3 sounds great and I'm looking forward to what you capture!

Thanks for the replys .....i wasnt sure but thought they would be popular for the price of these thing .The thing most important to me is to have a self contained and small unit ...i did see they done a HD Q3 but it doubles up the price so while visual will be nice to have its not too important to have it in HD .....wanting to start my own collection of the things i do but just for keepsake so i can look back at them .I dont perform you see and if anything being a studio musician would be my aim .Not performing means you dont need a repotoir which means you loose a lot of what you do .......the up side is you can move on much quicker i think not having to spend so much time on perfrmance .Rather than the best i'm looking for an adequate all rounder .Already having the boss 864 means i can get along without a lot of the functions .Maybe playing out in the open air will break the spell that playing in the home only seems to have cast on me .I'm working on the psychology of it all ..see how it changes anything .I think these little devices are made for a variety of uses like mean to use it for .I think i have become to familiar with my suroundings and am trying to overcome it .
Also the rule to the purchase is to not have to mess with wires or cables .....ive had enough of being tangled up in wires at home .Just a dog and a guitar bag (and a lite one at that ) .Thanks for reasuring me they all seem to be popular but i think the Q3 is the one for me .

[Fran Guidry]

I used a Q3HD to capture the audio for this vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwyDhCZWIwg and was quite satisfied with the result.

Fran

[Tele1111]

Here is one I did with the Q3 Mark. (Std def)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AhSfr8Ad6I

[Battleman]

Originally Posted by Tele1111

Here is one I did with the Q3 Mark. (Std def)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AhSfr8Ad6I

The Q3 sounded amazing...Really like how you handled the breedlove, Mark.
That was a treat. Thanks for sharing, both the guitar and the recorder!.Solo

Originally Posted by Tele1111

Here is one I did with the Q3 Mark. (Std def)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AhSfr8Ad6I

That was great ....i will order one today ...the recording was great and the video was ample as well for my purpose .The HD picture was awsome in Frans video ...very tempting to just go for the HD

Thank you very much for posting these cilps ..just what i needed

I am now the owner of a Q3 as Maplins had one left .....i went for the standard as the cost left an equal amount for my wife to get some summer clothes for the same price as the HD would have cost me so jobs a guddun ,a very happy camper ....or i will be when i get out into the country side .Thanks for all you help .