NO, but I have recorded live in church with good results using my H2.

I like the multitrack ability......laydown a steroe backing tracks....then Vocals.

Donny, When I had the G70 I did a number of recordings using the H4. I was very satisfied with the results.

Steve I have only heard good things so far about both.....can you lay two tracks down with the H2 also? or just the H4?


And do they both have VOCAL EFX too?

For straight ahead live capture, the H2 or H4 both are quite excellent (I've used both, have the H2 now), especially if you do 24/44.1 wav to start off with. But if you want to make anything other than a 'direct to CD' live album, a computer DAW gives FAR more opportunity and ease of editing.

Yes, you CAN overdub with the H4, but little you can do with it afterwards, nor punch in and out to spot fix problems - everything has to be done in one entire take. Unless your goal is a simple 'one take live, warts and all', a DAW gives you a much better opportunity to do stuff like apply a GOOD compressor to the voice (built-ins on arrangers are anything but!), de-essing, high quality reverb and tempo based echos (all, again, at FAR better quality that built-in effects), and also to use high quality condenser mikes, which are unsuitable for stage.

Not to mention simply punching in on one section you might have got a bit pitchy on or overcooked the take...

One feature that the Zoom's have is the ability to act as an audio interface for a computer DAW. If you haven't already got one, these will get you started quite well, and with a program like Cubase LE, or Sonor Lite (or whatever it's called) or similar things, and open up the possibility of recording something FAR better than a simple device like the H4 or H2.

They make excellent live capture devices, but really don't have all the tools and capabilities they need to make a pro quality CD (unless it's a basic 'live at the gig' recording), IMO....

As best I know, the H2 is a straight-forward recorder with no overdubbing capabilities. You can adjust mic volumes, but that's about it. There's a line in for goodies, but one take at a time is all you get, pal.

H2 manual

[This message has been edited by cassp (edited 05-28-2008).]

Thanks everyone for the great info......
I'm glad I asked people in the know beforehand I currently use Acid Pro & Adobe Audition, & MIXCRAFT 4 for my recording needs which all do an excellent job during and after mixing, mastering, etc etc .......thought I'd look into a few other devices before my next project CD.

stay well all

I have the H4 and agree with what Diki said. Excellent device for capturing an all in one take, but not so good if you are going to record and edit.

For the latter, my laptop with an M-Audio fast track ultra does the trick quite well. 8 ins and outs with the ability to record and / or edit 8 seperate tracks at one time, unlike many of the lower end standalone DAWs that have 8 tracks but can only record 2 or 4 at one time. Probably not so important for someone working solely with an arranger, but almost a must have for me when I record our band.

AJ