The H4 Zoom Recorder / Basic Steps

Within one compact recorder, the H4 offers a high-performance stereo condenser mic, SD card recorder, mixer, effect section, and metronome.

Operation on Battery Power;
• The H4 can be powered from 2 AA batteries.

• Insert the batteries as follows:
• 1. Open the battery compartment cover, being extremely gentle.
• 2. Insert two size AA batteries.
• 3. Close the battery compartment cover.
• When the unit is operated on batteries, the indication "Low Battery!" will appear on the display when the batteries are exhausted.
• When the unit is operated on batteries, you should not open the battery compartment cover while power is on. Otherwise the sudden interruption of power may lead to data loss.

Power-on:

• 1. Verify that power to the H4 and any peripheral equipment is off. Turn down the volume control on connected instruments, the H4, and the monitoring system.
• 2. Insert the SD card into the [SD CARD] slot.
• 3. Set the [POWER] switch on the H4 to On.

Power-off:

• 1. Turn power to other equipment off in this order
• a) monitoring system
• b) connected instruments
• 2. Set the [POWER] switch on the H4 to Off. The message "GoodBye See You!" is shown on the display and the H4 is turned off.

Recording steps:
• 1. Turn power to the H4 on.
• 2. The [MODE] indicator lights up. Verify that the H4 is set to stereo mode. If the [MODE] indicator is out, the H4 is in 4-track mode. Switch it to stereo mode.
• 3. Use the TRACK [1] – [4] keys to select the recording format. The recording format selected by each key is as shown below. Recording quality and file size decrease from top to bottom. Press the key for the desired format and sampling rate, so that the key lights up.

• For video, we want to select: WAV 48kHz

4. Press the [REC] key. The [REC] key flashes and the H4 goes into record standby mode. The display now operates as a level meter showing the input level from the built-in stereo mic. The input signal can be monitored via the [LINE OUTPUT] jack and [PHONES] jack.

5. Press the [REC] key once more. The [REC] key lights up and recording starts. To stop recording, press the [REC] key or press the top of the [MENU] key.

What is stereo mode?

• In stereo mode, two signals either from the built-in stereo mic or from the [INPUT 1] / [INPUT 2] jacks are used as recording sources to create a stereo file.
• You can select either WAV or MP3 as a format for the recorded file.
• The two main operation modes of the H4 are stereo mode and 4-track mode.
• When power to the H4 is turned on, it will be in the mode that was selected the last time the unit was used.

To enter Stereo Mode:
• 1. Stop the recorder and press the center of the [MENU] key. The main menu for making various settings appears.
• 2. Move the jog dial up/down to bring the cursor to “MODE” and then press the jog dial.
• 3. Move the jog dial up/down to bring the cursor to "STEREO RECORDER" and then press the jog dial.
Select input source:
• 4. You can select either the signal from the [INPUT 1]/[INPUT 2] jacks or the built-in stereo mic as an input source

Input Menu:
• 1. At the stereo mode top screen, press the bottom (INPUT MENU) of the [MENU] key. The INPUT menu for making various input related settings appears.
• 2. Move the jog dial up/down to bring the cursor to “SOURCE”, then press the jog dial.
• 3. Move the jog dial up/down to select the input source.

• When using the [INPUT 1]/[INPUT 2] jacks as input source, verify that an external microphone or other device is connected.

Use the [MIC GAIN] switch (for the built-in stereo mic) or the [INPUT 1 GAIN]/[INPUT 2 GAIN] switches (for the [INPUT 1]/[INPUT 2] jacks) to adjust the input sensitivity.

• There are three settings for the input sensitivity:

• L (Low) → M (Medium) → H (High)

• Note that the signal input to the H4 will be distorted if the input sensitivity is not set correctly.

• In general, switch the gain to M. You can change your mind depending on the volume of your sound source.

• Don’t adjust the gain while recording, or you’ll hear it in the recording.

• You can’t necessarily rely on this recorder for creating sync sound.


Adjusting Levels
• 1. At the stereo mode top screen, press the bottom (INPUT MENU) of the [MENU] key. The INPUT menu for making various input related settings appears.
• 2. Move the jog dial up/down to bring the cursor to “LEVEL”. Then press the jog dial. The INPUT LEVEL screen for adjusting the recording level appears. The alphanumeric indication at the left of the signal level bars shows the input source (“1” and “2” for the [INPUT 1]/[INPUT 2] jacks and “L” and “R” for the built-in stereo mic).
• 3. Bring the cursor to the track whose recording level you want to adjust, and then press the jog dial. A fader icon appears next to the meter display, and the recording level can be adjusted.
• 4. To adjust the recording level, move the jog dial up or down. The recording level changes according to the jog dial up/down movement.
• 5. To record with optimum sound quality, the input signal level should be set as high as possible, without exceeding the 0 (dB) indication on the meter. The setting range is 0 – 127. When the recording level is too high, the sound will be distorted.