(Slightly off topic) Surprised ZOOM H4n user…

[Joep L. Blom]

On 16/03/13 14:20, Johnny Rosenberg wrote:
> This is not a question really, I just wanted to share this with
> whoever who might be interested.
>
> The ZOOM H4n is a handy 4-channel audio recorder with two built in
> microphones and two combined balanced XLR/TRS inputs with phantom
> power, 48 or 24 V. It's a great piece of device, actually, at least
> for its price. There are smaller devices out there and there are
> better ones as well, but this was the combination that made me
> actually buy it…
>
> Anyway, I use it when recording acoustic instruments and things like
> that, then I move the audio files (in WAV format) to my main recording
> device via my laptop. So it obviously has a USB connector, and when
> connected to a PC it behaves like a USB stick. That's one of its two
> modes. The other one is the audio interface mode, which requires a
> driver of some kind.
>
> A quick look at http://www.zoom.co.jp/downloads/h4n/software/ makes it
> pretty clear that operating systems other than Windows are not
> supported, so I never even tried this mode. Until yesterday…
>
> So I plugged it in, only for curiosity, to see if there will be any
> interesting error messages or something…
>
> H4n asked me, as usual, the following:
> STORAGE →
> AUDIO I/F →
>
> There's a ”clickable” scrolling wheel on the right side of the unit,
> so clicking a line that ends with a → brings up more options for that
> selection.
>
> For the first time ever, I went for the AUDIO I/F thing.
> Next selection:
> FREQUENCY (44.1 or 48.0 kHz)
> CONNECT →
>
> 44.1 kHz was pre-selected so CONNECT was my choice.
> ”Please wait”
>
> After a little more than a second, I guess, it has connected. The
> display shows a header (”USB AUDIO I/F”) and a L/R level meter with a
> -48 – ±0 dB scale.
>
> I open Audacity to try it out.
> To the right of the microphone symbol in the tool bar in Audacity,
> there is an input selection thing and when I click it I see a few new
> entries there, that I never saw before, such as ”H4: USB Audio (hw:
> 1,0): Line:0”. There are seven of them, named in a similar way
> (another one is ”H4: USB Audio (hw: 1,0): Aux:0” and so on).
>
> So, time to record some rubbish! Hit the record button and start
> speaking or making any kind of noise. The audio curves are drawn and
> things look well. Time to stop, go back and listen.
>
> The first thing I notice is that the audio is played back through my
> H4n, which has a poor built-in speaker that is activated if there are
> no head phones connected. I also notice that the sound is distorted.
> Okay, I think, so maybe this device is not supported after all. But
> there was sound, at least.
>
> But after a short debugging session I find that the H4n internal
> effect processor is turned on featuring a guitar amplifier simulator
> effect. I turn it off and the distortion disappears!
>
> So I have had this unit for several years now without realising that I
> can use it as an audio interface, even though I don't have Windows!
> And what's better, I didn't have to install anything! I was very
> surprised, I must say. I'm impressed!
>
> Is this unit supported by the kernel or did I probably install
> something else some time (for a different purpose) that supports the
> unit?
>
> Another thing that is nice with this unit is how to perform updates of
> its firmware. I also have a 2-channel unit, Olympus LS-10, which is
> great, but that unit need Windows or MacOS X for updates (and it
> doesn't work through Wine, or didn't work when I tried last time). The
> ZOOM however, doesn't need anything but a file that can be downloaded
> from the page I referred to earlier in this post. Just download it,
> connect your H4n to a USB port on your PC, select STORAGE on the H4n.
> Now put the file in the root directory of the SD card in your H4n
> (/media/H4N_SD), disconnect it and shut it down. You can, of course,
> also just put the SD card in your PC, but I think USB is more
> convenient in this case.
>
> Start up the H4n again, holding two buttons of the H4n down (I don't
> remember which ones, but it's in the manual) during the startup
> process, and the H4n will update itself. Make sure the batteries are
> good or, even better, use the included AC adapter, because you don't
> want the batteries to die during an update…
>
> Well, that's just about it. I am now an even happier H4n user than I
> was before, thanks to this unintended (i suppose) Linux support. It's
> perhaps the other way around; H4n is supported by Linux rather than
> Linux is supported by H4n…
>
> So I am very happy with this piece of device, except for one minor
> thing: It supports 24-bit audio, but NOT in multi track mode, which is
> the only mode I need and use… There is a device out there that
> supports this; the Tascam DR-40 seems to support 24-bit recording in
> any mode, but it's not available in any local store where I live
> (Sweden), where I've seen so far, so I don't have one yet… Recording
> in 16-bit is okay though, since most things I record with this unit is
> background stuff in the final production anyway, ending up at maybe
> -30 – -20 dB or something, but still, 8 more bits wouldn't hurt…
>
>
>
> Johnny Rosenberg
>
Johnny,
I reply off-list as I think it is not of much interest to most of the 
other users of this list but it is very interesting for me!
I know the Zoom H4 as several members of the big band, I played in, used 
it for recording rehearsals and found it very handy.
I have a ZOOM R16, the big brother of your H4. I use it -luxury - to 
record a.o. 2 piano's as I compose and arrange pieces for that 
combination and perform - more or less - regularly with another pianist. 
I find the possibilities phenomenal and the quality of the build-in 
microphones exceptional. I record also sometimes a small combo and 8 
channels is more than sufficient.I have recorded some of the big band 
rehearsals with the 2 build-in microphones and that was quite good. I 
even have recorded some performances with it and even that was passable 
(I didn't connect it to the PA as that was too much hassle).

I'm very interested in the possibilities of updating using Linux as my 
only connection between the 2 is that I take the SD-card  - what is the 
recording medium - and copy it to my hard-disk and then use Audacity to 
process it (I hope one day I can use Ardour but for now that is too 
complicated for a simple retired neuroscientist-now-musician).

I don't understand your remark about 24-bit in multitrack mode. The R16 
has 2 times 8 channels 24-bit which can be used alternatively and you 
can record 8 tracks stereo simultaneously. I use 4 tracks mono when I 
record the piano's as I want to work on each piano track separately. I 
think you could record 16 tracks simultaneously if you put 2 microphones 
on one stereo-track but I don't know if that is possible (e.g. 2 
trumpets, or 2 saxophones on 1 stereo-channel).
Joep