Review: Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

I am a big proponent of recording your band’s rehearsals, even recording yourself while you’re solo practicing. Over the years I have used several different methods from the old boom box, to a tape deck plugged into the mixer to those little pocket voice recorders. Always looking for a solution that was affordable, convenient and recorded at a good quality, unfortunately those three criteria are tougher to combine than one might expect.

Enter the Zoom H2 Handy Recorder. Allow me to jump right to the conclusion as not to keep you waiting, this thing is the bomb. It is without a doubt the ideal solution for musicians looking to record their rehearsals, practices or performances.

Zoom swung for the fence with this little gem of a recorder and cleared it easily. First of all this little device is so jam packed full of cool useful features I won’t even attempt to touch on all of them. But some highlights are the ability to record directly to MP3, four speaker surround recording, distortion free high SPL recording, good connectivity, ultra lightweight, compact design and 4 hours of recording time from just two AA batteries.

Secondly, the quality of the recordings that the H2 can produce with only a few basic adjustments and proper room placement is amazing.

Finally, the fact that it can be had for under $200.00 is something that still somewhat astounds me. No doubt there are more capable and highly touted portable recording devices out there to be had but they will set you back any where from one to several hundred dollars more and in my opinion are less suitable to the task at hand. Which for the purpose of this review is for musicians to be able to record themselves.

In addition the H2 comes packed with one of the most complete and useful accessory packs ever. Included is a carry pouch, mic clip mount, tripod style table stand, ear buds, 512mb SD card, windscreen, USB cable, stereo RCA to 1/8″ cable and a 9vDC adapter.

Ron’s Tech Blog did and in depth technical review of the H2 when it first became available last year. Check it out.

You can view the details and specs from Zooms site is here.

And here is a brief video showing the basics of the H2.

So if you’re at all serious about your music, you need to start recording yourself and your band as much as possible. If you had any question as how to do just that without a lot of fuss and expense, the Zoom H2 is the answer. In this price range the H2 is simply the perfect tool for the task. You owe it to yourself to try one out.

TK

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