gitaardocphil,
here is my humble assessment of the Zoom H4: I got it about six months ago and I have used it a few times. Why not a lot? First, it has exceptional sound, even with the built-in microphones. It records live performances truthfully, and I mean EVERYTHING as if you were there. The microphones really work like human ears: When I first tried to record a live gig, I couldn't find a place to put the unit and placed it onto my amp head, pressed the (two) recording buttons... My own guitar and the bass right next to me were plenjty loud, as were all my little "f&%$*- ups during playing. Like I indicated before, the unit performs like two ears with memory in between, to record everything truthfully. Great quality, no hum, no errors.
The recording capabilities are top notch, but the USABILITY is not. Second: The overall quality of the hardware is toy-like. Plastic. The controls are tiny and the legend (printed labels) are very hard to read. There is a main latch, concealing the memory card (I got a 2 Gig SD card). This latch is very delicate and made of thin plastic. You got to be super careful not to break it, just under normal use. The batteries are stored under this latched cover as well. The sliding switches and the multi-function control are also tiny and feel flimsy. I rather have something sturdy when I'm out on a stage, recording our band. The H4 comes with a funny Velcro strap and micstand adapter (you guessed it, made of plastic again). It looks like the engineer discovered too late that people wouldn't hold this thing in their hands during recording, and asked his Mom in the kitchen if she could come up with something in a hurry. She did, just in time before the first ship date, she rummaged through the sewing bin and found the Velcro. Holy Moses, what engineering minds were at work at ZOOM?
The unit has a "slick" shape meaning that it never really comes in contact fully with whatever you lay it on. A flat housing would have taken care of this issue. If you do decide to hold it in your hand, you get pronounced handling noise. So don't.
Features I never use: the manual is nice and explains everything, but I actually never have used the 4-track (multitrack) feature, because the control menus are spartan and I fear that multitracking is going to be a nightmare. Most functions involve multi-function button pushes, multiple-layer menus, cursor moves, and in my case also reading glasses. Summing it all up: Great Recording, a flimsy toy, Usability testing was never performed, or if so, by nimble midgets who invented the unit and were familiar with it to begin with. If the newer unit (H2) was available back then, I would have bought it instead, even with only two tracks (stereo). The entire unit costs less and at least looks a little more robust.
Yes, I admit it, I am a Usabilty professional for an electronics company -but we do not manufacture recording equipment -just so you know that I'm not trying to put ZOOM down. I also own a ZOOM MRS 1044 multitrack recorder, for several years. These low price gadgets are sometimes just too tempting. I should have known better.
Play On!
