Zoom h2 vs boss micro br

[om21ed]

I read about the Zoom H2 and it seems pretty nifty. But when I tried to see one at Guitar Center, which doesn't carry it, they of course showed me the Boss Micro BR, which also seems pretty cool, but maybe more than I need. But with a coupon it would be the same price as the H2 and maybe have more options (rhythm tracks) to grow on. I mostly just want to record lessons and myself and a friend or a show that allows recording. Which one should Santa bring ?

Ed

[fatt-dad]

All I can say is the Zoom H2 works great!

f-d

[ruraltradpunk]

My votes for the H2 as well - I've had mine for about a month now and absolutely LOVE it!!

Jill

[foldedpath]

From a first glance at the online info (I don't own one), that Boss might be using a compressed internal Roland audio format to do the actual recording. Roland likes to do that sort of thing... it helps CPU and memory issues especially with multitracking. Note that it exports MP3's and WAV files (16 bit only) instead of recording in that format, the way the Zoom does. With the Zoom H2 you record a file, transfer it over to the computer, no export process (and possible double compression issues) needed.

I'm not sure that makes any practical difference, but the other thing that worries me is those tiny slots on the front panel for the internal mic. The Zoom H2 at least has a decent double pair of X/Y mic capsules (facing front and back), and I suspect the stereo imaging would be better. The Zoom's ergonomics would also be better for recording a concert.

If you don't need the multitracking feature -- and I think this is best done inside a computer anyway -- I'd recommend the Zoom H2. I have one and it's a cool little gadget.

[jim_n_virginia]

gotta go with the Zoom H2 it's just so easy to use and handy. I use it all the time.

[om21ed]

The Zoom looks like the simpler device, which is an important issue as I basically use the computer to check email and visit this site. Do I have to get other softwear or is that only if I want to get fancy. I basically just want to do a track on guitar and one on mando-- be my own duet

[foldedpath]

The Zoom looks like the simpler device, which is an important issue as I basically use the computer to check email and visit this site. Do I have to get other softwear or is that only if I want to get fancy. I basically just want to do a track on guitar and one on mando-- be my own duet

I like the H2 more as a general-purpose stereo recorder, but the Boss might be better if the MAIN thing you want to do is multitrack yourself, since it's set up from the get-go to do that, and you can be away from the computer.

The Zoom H2 doesn't include built-in multitracking (it's available on the slightly more expensive H4 version), but you can still multitrack using computer software. You'd plug the H2 into the computer as a USB audio interface, recording directly into the computer. Record one track using an audio editor like Audacity...

Audacity free audio software (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/)

... then arm a second track for recording for the overdub. I haven't tried this, and I don't know if there are any latency issues, but it should work in theory. Maybe someone else here has tried this and can comment on it.

It's also possible to transfer one pre-recorded track from the H2 into Audacity, then overdub separately on the H2 while listening to the track (through headphones). Then transfer that second file into the computer and line up the two tracks. The other way is more direct, but this lets you use a higher quality WAV file setting (direct recording over USB is 16 bits/44.1k only).

Hope this helps! All of this is pretty easy, and not as complex in practice as it probably sounds here. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif