Zoom H8

I've only had this for a couple of weeks so cant testify for its durability but so far, I couldnt be happier with this unit. It does everything I want accept have a DSLR camera option (which would have been nice). So far havent noticed any loss in the all-round abilities of the recorder, tried it with both Field recordings and with music and its done the job very well, though it also depends on the mics one uses too. I love the multitrack feature. Navigation is pretty straight forward too, which is a big plus for instruction-phobes like me.

Coming back to this after some more usage, the only issue I've struck with the unit is the touch screen control. Its small and sometimes takes a few attempts before it picks up the touch of my fingers. Maybe that's the fault of the hard worn calluses on the ends of my fingers after years of playing guitars but it can be annoying when you just want to set things up and get to work!

Now several months in after first buying this unit and still very happy with it, in general. However, the touchscreen is a real pain to make fine adjustments to volume, etc. So dont expect to do much on that. Also, strange thing seems to happen when I have it plugged in via usb to the mains supply and I connect a phantom large diaphram mic as well as any other phantom 48v mic - seems that the large diaphram drains a little too much power sometimes and the H8 just shuts down unexpectedly. Lost some work that way.

Another con is the USB power connection. Like all these damned usb connections, the one on the H8 is quite easy to damage. Fortunately, I can still power it and connect it to my computer but I do have to angle the cable now as the connection has been worn through usage over the months since I got this unit. While I am still discovering just what the H8 can do, it is disappointing that the people who design these things insist on putting stupid ports that are susceptible to breakage or wear.

I use this in my little home studio to do DAW-less multitrack recordings with my synthesizers and this works very well. Shame it doesn't do 32 bit floating, but you can't have everything right? The built in microphones are really good but I would advise to get a dead-cat with it to cancel out wind noises if you want to record outside. The one for the H6 fits this one too as they use the same modules. I also got the extra 4 channel add-on module and with that, this is a 10 channel beast of a recorder. Ideal for a home studio or video production setup.

I bought this tool for recording our band's studio sessions, but also for taking it outdoors to our busking missions. This little thing does everything I ever wanted from a recording device.

I am not the type of guy who likes to spend too much time in tweaking knobs. I prefer having a recording tool/gear that is reliable enough and easy to set up in a matter of minutes. Over the years, I have found out that the most important thing of a recording session is to be able to capture the vibe of the moment and not to get lost in the endless parameters that recording gear usually offers these days. I apply the same KISS principle (Keep-It-Simple-Stupid) with my guitar gear. Just a good cranked-up amp (Princeton) that I can control with my volume knob. This way I can focus on my music and not my sound.

My vocal/lyrics buddy loves this tool because it is very small and unnoticeable, so it doesn't affect the chill vibe that we like to replicate during our recording sessions. He uses a vocal monitor which we send via XLR to the ZOOM H-8.

I usually go with the standard recording settings for every channel unless there's something that really bothers me. I want to have a crystal clear sound coming out of the amps with no effects. As with food, having great quality ingredients is the most important thing. The only thing I usually do during editing is chopping and level mastering. Only in special occasions I add some after effect. The results are very impressive, I didn't expect such a high quality sound captured by the H8. I also use a lot the Zoom XYH-6 microphone capsule for mixing room sound (just a tiny 10% maybe) and it does pretty good too.

Bottom line is that it has been almost 2 years since I bought the ZOOM and I am not just happy with it, I love it. If I had to choose again I would definitely go for the same item. I would recommend this item to anybody who cares about simplicity and being spontaneous. I don't want to talk about the podcast or film making capabilities of the ZOOM H8 because I haven't been using it too much but for sure it will not disappoint you. This little buddy ROCKS!