ZOOM H1 Essential - Am Keeping it!? Tutorial & Sound Testing

I’m not a sound engineer. I was only born with ears. I decided to keep the Zoom H1 Essential because it’s actually a pretty decent recorder. I like that I can use it with lav mics or use it to plug into sound boards, instruments or whatever and have the 32 bit float recording benefits for 99 bucks!

Curtis Cole -Im So Lit
Ben Fox - Here for a Good Time

[paulshallbetter]

Blind recordist here. Thank you Zoom, for the accessibility features. While not perfect (cannot read the file list, for example), they are a fantastic start in such a great little tool. At its price, I've found my machete.

[DetroitNinja]

I tested the H1 Essential with a windscreen and rigged it to my motorcycle. Super clear sound. Satisfied with the results.

[paulshallbetter]

One more point: Line level input is very hot, and some kind of attenuated cable or resistor bridge might be required; overload happens. With either a remote condenser mic pair or the onboard mics, levels are perfectly within spec. Plastic body makes it very subject to handling noise. There are a variety of mounting accessories, including a pistol grip and a microphone stand adaptor for the threaded mount on the back of the H1E.

My setup: 15000 maH power bank. Core Sound binaural pair with battery box. Foam and furry windscreens. Cheesy ittle tripod.

Great intro/review, BTW. Great broadcaster voice, too.

[keshermedia]

@8:32 There was no preamp noise, but when you went to the H1 Essential @ 8:42 it became quite noticeable.

@9:25 the bit of preamp noise ads a delightful ambient hiss to your playing... this would not be so appealing for an electronic gig, but for your "all acoustic" setup, this is perfect and appreciated... ads a bit of realism that feels like it should be there.

Excellent video, thank you! 👍👍👍

[newwaveskate]

Amazing review showing the true capabilities. Thank you!

[heythere]

that thing has a insane amount of noise... id 100% send it back. zoom has been failing alot lately... thankfully they got the f3 right though

[SuperRescue]

I have just bought one, I had the H1n for a couple of years but one mic channel died, it still works on line in.
Looking forward to 32 bit float recordings

[BenjaminKanarek]

Thanks for this review. Just got my Zoom H1e with the Godox Magic XT1 wireless system.

[Jonadab]

Great video and very informative! Thanks!

[Rairun]

I'd expect the F3 to have quieter preamps, but the difference here is very rough. I wonder if that's all down to worse preamps in the H1e, or if the H1e internal mics are fairly noisy compared to the mic you're using with the F3 as well? If I ever get an H1e, I'd use it with external mics, but if the preamp is the main culprit here, I don't think it's for me.

[valendis]

On the guitar I'm gonna be honest I much preferred the h1 but I thin it's the stereo and microphone signature

[HeathcliffBlair]

Nice video. Thanks. Seems like a good upgrade to the original recorders. Cheers.

[grabekgrabkowski]

hello, I have a problem: after recording the sound, when I download it to the computer and then it is silent. how to turn up the volume when recording in zoom??? I am begging for help

[stingylizard]

Thanks! Double thanks, a big help. How come ours doesn't suck? Maybe it's our application, plus limited expectations for a $100 USB Mic/Recorder slash "self contained recorder" for our A6000 camera rig(has no mic input). A fine tool mounted on a tripod, too. We have a Tascam DR-40x with double capture but it couldn't handle the dynamics of a very loud train very well. The essential fills the gap for us, with some useable extras. We also dig our 4-track R4 but 32-bit takes a minute to savvy. Cheers, subscribed

[weirdear]

Hey, can it capture loud low end sounds clearly?

[srd-microphones]

At 17:00 did you normalise the audio track at all? I only ask as there seems to be some self noise.
I actually received my recorder today, and didn't notice any self noise through the headphone while monitoring through the recorder with its own mics, and my SR3D binaural microphone plugged in was fine too.
I've not yet imported any files to the computer, so I'll be testing that out tomorrow, but, for my binaural work, I do not normalise or have any filters on the tracks, they are just raw, which is great and a perfect means for recording binaural.

[HollywoodweddingfilmsGREECE]

THANK you for your video
Do you think it is possible to raise the INPUT LEVELS (Gain Levels), somehow ?
(i am not talking about the output levels which can be adjusted)
Thank you for your time.

[wwwww]

I would love it. But this amount of self-noise is unacceptable.

[jamievick]

I can't figure out how to change from Wav to Mp3 recording ..I own several Zooms but can't figure this out on H1 essential??

[alexshnurov]

Hello my friend. Can you tell me if I can to reduce the input signal from my lav mice on this recorder? Can’t find it on menu.