Zoom H1 do's and dont's

J

jonjo91

New member
Hello everyone, I got a Zoom H1 today, this will be my first venture into manual audio recording.

If you guys had time I'd appreciate some general tips on using this recorder as sound recording is not my forte.

For instance I was looking at other threads and saw someone say you should be hitting -12db on average and peaks at -6db. These kind of general tips would be great! Is there a max input level I shouldn't go over etc.


Thanks! :thumbsup:
 
This really isn't going to help a lot. I have several H1's that I use as beater recorders. The adjustment and input features are extremely limited. For a hundred dollars, they are good but I sure won't be selling my H4N's any time soon.
This one of the few recorders that I get better results just setting on auto and forgetting.
 
Some ideas based on some live experiences and what I've read here (I've used my H1 pretty extensively for live music recording, and for audio for video in-regards to live music, but not for on-set production):

* Use the H1 for live music, or for ambiemce when you want a stereo track-- car pass-bys, ambient nature, train station or crowded club, etc., etc. etc. (or any other stereo sound effect)

* Don't use the H1 for dialogue (unless you want stereo dialogue, which is usually a no-no), and don't use it for voice-over

* Use a windscreen most of the time (standard dynamic works fine, but there are also furry screens available)

* If you _do_ ignore the above suggestion, and "boom" the H1 (I've seen some folks do that), make sure inputs aren't set too hot and the stereo mikes aren't too close to the subject(s); the condensers tend to freak a little when over-blown or "moisturized"

* You can use the H1 as a "pass-through" input, without actually recording (so if you want to go directly into the camera, but use the H1's mikes, or a different external mike, you could do that)

* Even if you are recording direct-to-camera, or to another unit, the H1 would make a fine back-up recorder

* Do check the batteries and the storage card frequently

* Do listen through headphones while recording, and do lots of "test" recordings and playbacks... The H1 has a little red LED that acts as an input light _and_ a peak indicator (making that function basically useless; it has no meters and no true peak indicator, just a flashing red light when the unit is working _or_ over-loading!)

* As to settings, you'll have to experiment with input volumes and output volumes. Every scenario is different... If you're monitoring with headphones, you may not have enough volume, depending on the input and output level, and depending on the source material... You could run the output into a small headphone mixer though (thus even more complicating a simple set-up)

For most simple applications, contrary to a lot of opinion on the board, it's really a fine recorder. There are much more expensive digital recorders, and it's definitely not a Nagra, but for $100 for the average DIY Joe, it's really quite useful... But you have to _listen_ a lot.

GJ
 
He was looking for what to do with his already purchased Zoom; not for one-liners about how he should buy top-flight Hollywood gear.GJ
 
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