ZOOM HANDY RECORDER H6 PORTABLE
ZOOM HANDY RECORDER H6 PLUS

Starting with the optional (but very important) SGH-6 shotgun capsule, you get a mono mic that falls into the hyper-directional class (in tech-speak, the SGH-6 employsВ aВ super-cardioid polar pattern). This ownвЂ™t be terribly in-depth, but just gives the basic user an understanding of why these different microphones exist and why you might choose one over another. The Zoom H6 Handy Recorder can be equipped with so many microphones, we canвЂ™t imagine any style of recording (save binaural) that you wonвЂ™t be able to accomplish (weвЂ™re still waiting on the head module capsule-it could happen!)В With that in mind,В I thought a brief tour of WHY you might want to use these mics was in order. It also automatically disables itself whenever you connect either headphones or the line out jack. You wonвЂ™t get the fidelity you might want, but whenВ youвЂ™re just checking for whether or not a file got recorded, or perhaps searching for a particular track, it works in a pinch. Also, should you need to play something back and check it quickly, an integratedВ speaker on the bottom lets you do that without even having to connect a pair of headphones. The H6 also gives you control over the headphone output with a hard volume control. A side-mountedВ USB port on the Zoom H6 Handy Recorder means that you can actually use it as an external audio interface. Phantom power can be set toВ 12, 24, or 48 voltsВ in the menu depending upon what you require. First, phantom power is provided for when you want to use a condenser mic-just activate it in the easy-to-use menu system. There are a lot of features and options on the H6, but a few stand out. The H6вЂ™s internal mixer even allows you to set what comes out of that jack. When you want to get out of the Zoom H6, the unbalanced stereoВ 1/8вЂі line out is rightВ atВ the bottom of the recorder underneathВ the LCD display. The preamps on the Zoom H6 Handy Recorder also allow for up to 5V of input so even high level inputs wonвЂ™t distort. This pad is also present on the optionalВ stereoВ XLR capsule. For setting your levels, the inputs all have independent levelВ controls and the dual inputs jacks each feature a -20dB pad for high-level signals. Both microphone (+6) and line-level (-10) signals are possible on the XLR/TRS combo inputs via automatic internal switching contacts. If you need to feed a line level to the recorder, the included X/Y microphone capsule (XYH-6) gives youВ a stereo 1/8вЂі input that automatically mutes the mic when used. On top of that, two more inputs can be accessed using the top-mounted capsule system.В This can be theВ X/Y mic, the MS (middle sides) mic, shotgun mic, or two moreВ XLR/TRS combo inputs (for a total of three stereo recording channels or any combination up to 6 mono tracks). ItвЂ™s important to know that the H6 has four primary inputs that can takeВ either 1/4вЂі TRS (balanced tip ring sleeve or unbalanced tip ring)В or balanced XLR inputs. Because of the built-in processing power, something that was impossible a few years ago is now easily accomplished without any dropouts, skips, or glitches. I mentioned field recording above, but truly the Zoom H6 can support nearly any type ofВ live recording, broadcast or even on-set or on-siteВ filmВ orВ videoВ recording so long as you donвЂ™t require more than 6 channels of input. More and more, however, weвЂ™re seeing people jump into these systems for higher budget projects in lieu of more expensive models.

ZOOM HANDY RECORDER H6 PORTABLE

It used to be that portable recorders at this price were for low-budget use.

ZOOM HANDY RECORDER H6 PLUS

This ridiculously cool amount of customization plus the dynamic range of this product make it the perfect tool for field recording that weвЂ™re aware of. The Zoom H6 recorder can be fitted withВ anВ X/Y, MS (middle sides), or shotgun microphone, or you can add anВ additional pair ofВ XLR/TRS combo inputs. Here was a portable field recorderВ with four interchangeable input capsules and support for almost any input source or microphone configuration possible. When IВ got the opportunity to check out the Zoom H6 Handy Recorder, I jumped. In each case I came away impressed with how easy these little вЂњHandyвЂќ recorders were to use. IвЂ™m very familiar with Zoom, having used their H4n for recording field audio on some independent films and film shorts in the past.

Zoom handy recorder h6