LibriVox Forum

OK, you Zoom users, help me out here.

My darling little new H2 arrived yesterday and I used it this evening to record a section. The results were a very nice recording but it took me 4 tries in the closet to finally get all the pieces on the machine. [Comment: There sure are a LOT of buttons and controls crammed onto it's tiny little face.] [and I need a flashlight in the closet to read the screen][but of course I'm old and crotchety]

1. Volume. Anyway, it produced an anemic volume even with the mic gain on medium and the recording level cranked up to max (127 I think). It was about 6 inches from my mouth standing kinda sideways to me so that my voice went past it. I do not have a soft voice. Oh yes, the cute hat thingie (technical term) was on it too. Is this low volume normal?

2 Do you use the mono option built into the machine, or keep it in stereo?

3 Is there a way to pause recording and pick it up on the same file? It seemed to make a lot of files that I had to paste together in Audacity. This is really an important question that I could not answer from the manual.

4. Regarding those multiple files, is there an easy way to know where in the chapter they start and stop?

5. How do closets get so dirty?

1. Volume

I record on medium gain. (the sliding button on the right). Then while recording, hit the ffw button and set it to 126 (not really sure what this is). Mic is less than 6 inches from my mouth off to one side like you. It comes over my left shoulder from a boom mic stand my son gave me. (nice kid). I also talk across the mic. Make sure you are recording only on the front 2 mics. You talk into the front of the unit instead of into the top as other mics.

2. mono verses stereo

I record in stereo and wav format. When importing into audacity, the first thing I do is set it to mono. (else I sometimes forget). It's also easier to edit a mono file.

3. Pausing/resuming while recording

I never pause/stop the recording. If I need a drink of water or have a phone call, I just keep recording and edit it out later. I put in a bigger SD card in for this purpose as the 2g one only records about 45 mins in this set-up. (which is about all my voice can tolerate anyways)

4. Multiple files

You can plug in a set of ear phones directly into the H2 and listen through the H2.

5. What do you mean - dirty? My closet is immaculate! (ya right!)

One more thing... I think I was the first LVer to use the H2. I ordered it off ebay when they first came out on the market!! (and paid much more then they sell for now)

Esther

Phil, if I remember correctly, you can edit the wiki.

Would you be willing to compile the info on this and the H2 wrinkle thread into a nice H2 page?

Linked to this page: http://wiki.librivox.org/index.php/User-Recommended_Equipment

Also maybe one for the new H1? http://forum.librivox.org/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=27269

It would be nice to have one page with all the pertinent info.

Esther (wiki-challenged)

Sure, because I realise that my questions have been answered several times in various threads.

I will work on it today.

Oh Boy! MORE Wiki fun !!

1. I have the same problem (med + 127 is too low). The mic gain and the recording level do the same thing; the gain is for broad changes in input volume and the recording level is for fine-tuning. (I know this because I just looked it up a couple of weeks ago.) Another reader who was also having this problem sent a few tests for me to check. It turned out that med + 127 yields the same volume as high + 100. So I recommend that you try setting your gain to high, recording level to 114, and see how that works. When I tried it, the volume was still a little bit low at that level, but see how it is for you. If you don't have the Mp3 Gain software already downloaded to test your volume, just post a sample here (or PM it to me) and I'll be happy to run it through for you.

2. Mono vs stereo recording. My H2 doesn't have that option (I think it's a new feature) but if I had it, I'd use it. I have to convert the stereo files to mono in Audacity. Just make sure your mono ones are playing in both ears. I think the new H2's can also record in mp3, which is cool, especially if you have limited hard drive space for the wav's. I don't think the quality loss from one mp3-to-mp3 conversion is audible, so editing an mp3 file and then exporting as a new mp3 should be fine. You might want to record in wav for files that'll be edited more than once, though (i.e. for dramatic works).

3. Multiple files. I do the same as Esther, I just keep the H2 going when I have to take a little break, unless it's for more than a couple of minutes. I also changed to a larger SD card, and, like you, I didn't realize that changing the card would reset everything until after I had recorded a really long chapter (which came out barely audible). Bah.

4. Figuring out which file is which. I think there is a way to rename them on the H2, but I've never tried (I never have more than 2 or 3 files on it, usually false starts or something, so it's easy to remember what is what or to just get rid of the ones that are only 2 seconds long). I usually upload my recordings right after I make them. Then I just listen on the computer if I can't remember where I stopped.

5. No help on the closets, though I was in a large home-goods store today (no spam, right? It's the one from Sweden ) where they had some lovely sliding doors to cover up hanging clothes, and I wondered if it would be weird to install those in an actual closet, as opposed to out in the bedroom as they had displayed. ha.

I'll agree with the things that Esther and Laurie Ann have said. Just a couple points in response:

* It is possible to rename the file right on the H2. When you turn on the transfer function and you see the list of files, it's just like using Windows Explorer (sorry, don't know Mac-speak). So, before copying it to your computer, you can rename it right there. It always starts with the default name, so each time you do this, you just know that the lowest numbered one is the first one you recorded, etc.

* I too keep the recording running during breaks or interruptions. I only stop the recording when I'm done with a section. It's much easier to delete the long silence than it is to combine the files in the right order afterward. I put in a bigger card, which makes this easier.

John

Guero wrote:it's just like using Windows Explorer (sorry, don't know Mac-speak).

The Finder, on a mac.

Here is how I use my Zoom H2:
I have my H2 setup on an old camera tripod, freestanding in a quiet place.
MIC Pattern I have set for FRONT 90 degrees.
I use ear buds that came with it while recording and do not worry about viewing levels, since I can hear them.
I Record within 2 inches from the microphone, with the foam pop filter that came in the box.
Can not pause, so just record in one large take, and edit out pauses, breathes and gaffs later.
I have a big pillow behind the microphone a few inches away as a dampener.
Hitting the record button a second time so that the record light is steady and not blinking in preview mode is my only weakness.
Recording in MP3 mode produces the same size file, so I just record as an uncompressed stereo WAV and use Audacity to change track type to mono, edit, and convert final selection to MP3 later during editing.
Connect via USB later and rename the files on the computer after copying but before editing.

CalmDragon wrote:...Hitting the record button a second time so that the record light is steady and not blinking in preview mode is my only weakness...

I actually take this one step further -- I verify that the time counter is incrementing numbers. Many times I've clicked what I thought was 2 times and saw that the light was steady. So, I started reading. Then, not until later did I realize that I must have hit it 3 times instead -- essentially starting and stopping the recording without intending to.

The only way I am 100% sure it is recording is by seeing that the counter is incrementing numbers.

Thank you, everybody, for those tips. I can tell this is a topic that many LVers are interested in; had NO idea so many of the uh ..... 'experienced' recorders (can I say better? No?, ok then I won't say it) use a ZOOM of one sort or another.

I will be starting a new thread in the Forum to assemble everything in some order so we can add a Wiki article about it for everyone's future benefit. Hope no one minds if I steal take their ideas directly from the forum for inclusion. I may even make a video tutorial if I can decipher the instructions on my new little webcam

ps I love the little 'hat' they provided for my H2. It looks so cute wearing it.

Mind? Not at all. Everything I write in these forums is public domain.

Guero wrote:Mind? Not at all. Everything I write in these forums is public domain.

Me too.

Esther

Starlite wrote:

Guero wrote:Mind? Not at all. Everything I write in these forums is public domain.

Me too.

Esther

me three!

Has anyone ever used the ag-comp feature to record for lv? I've used it for a round table discussion type thing, but never audio books.

Never heard of it. What does it do?

Esther