first the bad :
the switches (side-panel on the right) for "gain lo-med-hi" seem easy to break and are difficult to put in the middle position.the pushwheel (also on the right side-panel) seems fragile too.
i find it very difficult to remove the SD card (it doesn't pop up high enough), so rather than use tweezers i just leave it in there and transfer the files over USB.the usage is awkward at first, you navigate using the center button and the pushwheel, which almost requires two hands.
the center joystick button has two menu-navigation purposes: pushing it in is basically a back/clear button, and pulling it down gives you access to the input menu. the rest of the menu-navigation (and selection) is done by the pushwheel.
maybe this is a good thing because it allows you to still use the joystick to control the music (play/pause/record/ffwd/rew) WHILE you're navigating the menus.
unfortunately, many of the menus don't wrap-around (so if you scroll to the end of a list before deciding you want the first item, then you have to scroll all the way back to the beginning).
the volume wheel controls the 3.5mm "headphone" output, but has no effect on the 3.5mm "line" output; no big deal, you can get around that using a 2-dollar splitter (so two people can listen with headphones, for example).
now the good :
the product does everything it says it does; i find the recording quality excellent considering the size and cost of this thing.
i also use it as a headphone amp for my electric guitar (of the 50 built-in effects, there are at least five that i use frequently).
battery life is good, you'll want rechargeable batteries ofcourse.
once i got used to the user-interface, i found this product very satisfying.
although it could use some design improvements, i consider this almost essential equipment for a musician, and very useful for a bunch of other people, including bootleggers, podcasters, lecturers/students, or anyone who wants decent quality digital recordings for under 300$.
(maybe students recording lectures would be better served by the zoom H2 or other mini-recorders that you can find on www.thomann.de)
i bought this product directly from amazon, free shipping, order tracking, zero problems.
i also bought a sony AA/AAA battery charger with LCD display and discharge function (model BCG-34HRMF4) with which i am VERY pleased.
and a couple of 2 Gig SD cards.
note : i read that the H2 and H4 are not compatible with the 4 Gig SD High-Capacity (SDHC) cards.
i have not tried the zoom H2 yet, but i don't think i'll buy one because for me the H4 is portable enough.
but i don't need to test the H2 to recommend the H4 over it; the H4 is just so much more versatile, can do so much more for musicians, and has better mics anyway.
the switches (side-panel on the right) for "gain lo-med-hi" seem easy to break and are difficult to put in the middle position.the pushwheel (also on the right side-panel) seems fragile too.
i find it very difficult to remove the SD card (it doesn't pop up high enough), so rather than use tweezers i just leave it in there and transfer the files over USB.the usage is awkward at first, you navigate using the center button and the pushwheel, which almost requires two hands.
the center joystick button has two menu-navigation purposes: pushing it in is basically a back/clear button, and pulling it down gives you access to the input menu. the rest of the menu-navigation (and selection) is done by the pushwheel.
maybe this is a good thing because it allows you to still use the joystick to control the music (play/pause/record/ffwd/rew) WHILE you're navigating the menus.
unfortunately, many of the menus don't wrap-around (so if you scroll to the end of a list before deciding you want the first item, then you have to scroll all the way back to the beginning).
the volume wheel controls the 3.5mm "headphone" output, but has no effect on the 3.5mm "line" output; no big deal, you can get around that using a 2-dollar splitter (so two people can listen with headphones, for example).
now the good :
the product does everything it says it does; i find the recording quality excellent considering the size and cost of this thing.
i also use it as a headphone amp for my electric guitar (of the 50 built-in effects, there are at least five that i use frequently).
battery life is good, you'll want rechargeable batteries ofcourse.
once i got used to the user-interface, i found this product very satisfying.
although it could use some design improvements, i consider this almost essential equipment for a musician, and very useful for a bunch of other people, including bootleggers, podcasters, lecturers/students, or anyone who wants decent quality digital recordings for under 300$.
(maybe students recording lectures would be better served by the zoom H2 or other mini-recorders that you can find on www.thomann.de)
i bought this product directly from amazon, free shipping, order tracking, zero problems.
i also bought a sony AA/AAA battery charger with LCD display and discharge function (model BCG-34HRMF4) with which i am VERY pleased.
and a couple of 2 Gig SD cards.
note : i read that the H2 and H4 are not compatible with the 4 Gig SD High-Capacity (SDHC) cards.
i have not tried the zoom H2 yet, but i don't think i'll buy one because for me the H4 is portable enough.
but i don't need to test the H2 to recommend the H4 over it; the H4 is just so much more versatile, can do so much more for musicians, and has better mics anyway.
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