classical musc live - recording devise advice wanted - Zoom H4n

[Robinb]

Hello

I am a classical musician who wants to record my own concerts and chamber
music rehearsals. I have recently bought Zoom H4n digital recorder.

1 Does anyone know if I can I buy portable speakers to attach to the
recorder so I can play back with reasonable quality? The inbuilt speaker
plays with great distortion of the sound.

2 Does anyone have suggestions as to the best microphone levels to use
(the default is 100 I think)?

3 Do the different file types give noticeably better sound quality.? I think
.wav 44 bit is the default?

Thank you in anticpation.

Robin

[Bohgosity BumaskiL]

Post by Robinb
Hello
I am a classical musician who wants to record my own concerts and chamber
music rehearsals. I have recently bought Zoom H4n digital recorder.
1 Does anyone know if I can I buy portable speakers to attach to the
recorder so I can play back with reasonable quality? The inbuilt speaker
plays with great distortion of the sound.

I do not personally know the device. If the device supports it, then there
will be a jack for earphones. You might be able to plug an amplifier for
computers into an earphone jack. Start with your recorder's output at zero
volume, and your amplifier at one third of maximum, then adjust recorder
volume.

Post by Robinb
2 Does anyone have suggestions as to the best microphone levels to use
(the default is 100 I think)?

You should look at the digital output or a meter inside the device.
Jenerally, set volume at the highest level that does not result in clipping,
and that will vary depending on microphone physics (position, sensitivity,
etc.). I load files into Nero's WaveEdit for that. In playback, a VU meter
should scarcely redline.

Post by Robinb
3 Do the different file types give noticeably better sound quality.? I
think .wav 44 bit is the default?

I do a lot of post-processing on my audio, so I use big files to avoid
compression artifacts from compressing and decompressing the same file with
a lossy compression method. It is hard to perceive the sound quality
difference between 160kbps MP3 and WAV at 1411kbps (44kHertz sampling
rate/16bits per sample/Stereo). That is almost nine to one compression.
Purists would make and use big files, anyway, even though they take more
time to manipulate.

You are using the device for feedback, I do not think you will be doing any
post-processing, and MP3s are ready for e-mail, so I would recommend a
compressed format for most purposes other than a commercial disk release.
_______
http://ecn.ab.ca/~brewhaha/ BrewJay's Babble Bin

[Bohgosity BumaskiL]

Post by Robinb
Hello
I am a classical musician who wants to record my own concerts and chamber
music rehearsals. I have recently bought Zoom H4n digital recorder.
1 Does anyone know if I can I buy portable speakers to attach to the
recorder so I can play back with reasonable quality? The inbuilt speaker
plays with great distortion of the sound.
2 Does anyone have suggestions as to the best microphone levels to use
(the default is 100 I think)?
3 Do the different file types give noticeably better sound quality.? I
think .wav 44 bit is the default?

Let me detail my answer to that. That's 44.1kHz, and it is CD quality. If
you compare it side by side to 160kbps MP3 (9X compression), then you will
hear the difference, and most people without experience in such comparisons,
will find it hard to identify which recording is CD quality if the
recordings are presented serially. I doubt that the differences, chiefly at
the high end of audible spectrum will matter in what your students are
studying, which is mostly timing and tuning at the vocal end of the spectrum
or three, maybe five octaves higher, way down within the capabilities of an
8kHz sampling rate. So, for portability, especially if you constructed a
mailing list, 160kbps MP3 is beyond the quality you need. I am sure that
your students will appreciate it, though.

Let me know if plugging battery-powered computer speakers into an earphone
jack works.