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Home: Video University Forums: Audio For Video:
First impressions of Zoom H4 and Edirol R09

 
 


szerangue
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Sep 28, 2007, 6:50 PM

Post #1 of 13 (1877 views)
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First impressions of Zoom H4 and Edirol R09 Can't Post
Well, today I unpacked the Edirol R09 first and began going through the manual to learn how to use it for Saturday's wedding. I found it very very easy to use. Very easy to set up and the manual was a breeze to go through. All of the controls are simple to get to and are very intuititive. I like it much better than the Microtrack (which it replaced) The only feature I feel is missing that would be useful is the remaining recording time. But updating the firmware from the website allows you to use a 4GB SD card which I should have trouble filling up. (I plan on using a .wav format at 44khz and 16bits so that is going to limit my time but with 4GB I think I should get about 6 hours and that should be plenty)

The Zoom H4 I did not like at all. I spent some time beginning to read the manual but soon found it too time consuming so began playing with the machine myself and using the manual as a reference. I found it easy enough to understand but very user unfriendly. The BIG issue was no way to put the record on hold, but not only that, it is so easy to touch the joy stick and stop the recording.. I found this unacceptable for what I had planned on using it for. The 4 track option was useless for me so this was not an advantage. I did find that the recording format was easier to change but primarily I never change this. The only feature I found that it has that was superior to the R09 was the remaining record time. I wish this feature existed on the R09.

The R09 for only $100 more is well worth the price, IMO. I sent the Zoom H4 back to Sweetwater and had them send me another R09.







Cancer - Step Outside the Box.. by Ty Bollinger

Maybe a life could be saved.


JerryCleveland
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Sep 28, 2007, 7:20 PM

Post #2 of 13 (1873 views)
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Re: [szerangue] First impressions of Zoom H4 and Edirol R09 [In reply to] Can't Post
I have an H4 and recently got the H2. The H2 really rocks and much easier to use than the H4.

Bruce
"Always over my head, but not quite deep enough to drown."

My Memories Forever Website
My Memories Forever Blog
Vimeo Website


Alan R
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Sep 28, 2007, 9:13 PM

Post #3 of 13 (1859 views)
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Re: [szerangue] First impressions of Zoom H4 and Edirol R09 [In reply to] Can't Post
I have two R-09s and love them. Last weekend I tried using one on the DJ feed and found out how good it can sound even with recorded music.

Tomorrow we are doing a wedding with a 10 piece band at the reception. We'll see how the R-09 does. I am thinking of hooking one up with two external mics, and use the internal mics on the other (if I can find a place to mount it). It might be interested to compare them.

If you get the latest firmware upgrade (1.30), you can use 8 GB SD cards.


Alan Robinson
Bonnie Blink Productions


szerangue
Veteran


Sep 28, 2007, 9:19 PM

Post #4 of 13 (1855 views)
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Re: [Alan R] First impressions of Zoom H4 and Edirol R09 [In reply to] Can't Post
Oh yes, I was going to post about the firmware upgrade.. I did get it but I thought the limit was 4gb? So I bought a 4 gb card.. Heck, I did not even see any 8gb cards.







Cancer - Step Outside the Box.. by Ty Bollinger

Maybe a life could be saved.


DGates
Veteran


Sep 28, 2007, 9:21 PM

Post #5 of 13 (1855 views)
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Re: [Alan R] First impressions of Zoom H4 and Edirol R09 [In reply to] Can't Post
In Reply To
I have two Edirol R-09s and love them.
Too bad they're a tad pricey, compared to other units we use.



"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

--Abraham Lincoln


Mark Foley
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Sep 29, 2007, 5:25 AM

Post #6 of 13 (1840 views)
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Re: [szerangue] First impressions of Zoom H4 and Edirol R09 [In reply to] Can't Post
Shane,
Rule of thumb with these (and all) recorders...jam the biggest card you can get in there and use the highest fidelity recording settings.... Try not to use 44.1 ...use 48kHz instead....
_________________________
Mark






(This post was edited by Mark Foley on Sep 29, 2007, 5:27 AM)


Alan R
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Sep 29, 2007, 8:53 AM

Post #7 of 13 (1835 views)
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Re: [Mark Foley] First impressions of Zoom H4 and Edirol R09 [In reply to] Can't Post
In Reply To
Shane,
Rule of thumb with these (and all) recorders...jam the biggest card you can get in there and use the highest fidelity recording settings.... Try not to use 44.1 ...use 48kHz instead....
I use 48/24 for live music and 44.1/16 for the DJ feed (Since that is the data rate for CDs).


Alan Robinson
Bonnie Blink Productions


szerangue
Veteran


Sep 29, 2007, 9:12 AM

Post #8 of 13 (1831 views)
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Re: [Mark Foley] First impressions of Zoom H4 and Edirol R09 [In reply to] Can't Post
I can't find an 8gb SD card around here... will have to order one... so I have my unit set at 48khz @ 16bit... I think that will give me a little more time.. with the 4gb I think I should be able to get about 5 hours or so.

Do you think there is a noticable difference between 44.1 and 48?







Cancer - Step Outside the Box.. by Ty Bollinger

Maybe a life could be saved.


Mark Foley
Veteran


Sep 29, 2007, 1:32 PM

Post #9 of 13 (1820 views)
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As your final product will be DVD...you should always go with 48khz...the added bit depth is always better and if you have the room on your card, try to record at 24 bit.
_________________________
Mark






Alan R
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Sep 29, 2007, 10:41 PM

Post #10 of 13 (1806 views)
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Here is a sample of what I recorded at today's wedding with the R-09. This is a quartet at the ceremony (violin, cello, and two trumpets). I used two cardiod mics, one for the strings, and one for the trumpets. The R-09 was set to 48 khz, 24 bit (reduced to 44.1/16 here).

http://www.bonnie-blink.com/R-09-sample-1a.wav


Alan Robinson
Bonnie Blink Productions


Alan R
Veteran


Sep 29, 2007, 10:48 PM

Post #11 of 13 (1805 views)
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In Reply To
As your final product will be DVD...you should always go with 48khz...the added bit depth is always better and if you have the room on your card, try to record at 24 bit.
I agree that 24 bit is the way to go with any live music. I prefer to set my levels a bit low as I am not monitoring most of the time, and don't want to clip. With 24 bit recording there is more to work with (also the R-09 has very low noise preamps). The only reason that I use 16 bit when recording off the DJ's board is that the music is already at 16 bit (CD), and the levels are typically high. So there is not much to be gained with 24 bit recording. Also, I might be recording for 4 hours or more, and the lower bit depth allows me to get more music on one SD card.


Alan Robinson
Bonnie Blink Productions


MLiebergot
Veteran


Sep 30, 2007, 7:06 AM

Post #12 of 13 (1786 views)
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Re: [Alan R] First impressions of Zoom H4 and Edirol R09 [In reply to] Can't Post
In Reply To
I have two R-09s and love them. Last weekend I tried using one on the DJ feed and found out how good it can sound even with recorded music.

Tomorrow we are doing a wedding with a 10 piece band at the reception. We'll see how the R-09 does. I am thinking of hooking one up with two external mics, and use the internal mics on the other (if I can find a place to mount it). It might be interested to compare them.

If you get the latest firmware upgrade (1.30), you can use 8 GB SD cards.
Allan, since thr R09 only has 1 mic input, how are you using 2 mics with the R09?
Are you using a Y cable or an Y adapter feeding into the R09's mic in port.

Michael

Cameras: (3) Sony FX1, Canon HV20
Audio: Marantz PMD620, Edirol R44, ZoomH4N, ZoomH2, Sennhesier G2
Mics: Rode NT5, Rode NT3, Rode M3, Rode NTG2, Shure SM57, AT822
Software: Sony Vegas, Final Cut Studio
Computer: MAC BABY! MacPro, MacBook Pro


Alan R
Veteran


Sep 30, 2007, 9:33 AM

Post #13 of 13 (1776 views)
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Re: [MLiebergot] First impressions of Zoom H4 and Edirol R09 [In reply to] Can't Post
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Allan, since thr R09 only has 1 mic input, how are you using 2 mics with the R09?
Are you using a Y cable or an Y adapter feeding into the R09's mic in port.
Y adapter. I use two XLR to 1/4 cables. That is connected to a Y adapter with a stereo plug that goes into the R-09.


Alan Robinson
Bonnie Blink Productions