Quick overview of and first impressions from the new Zoom R4
Пікірлер: 60
@guitargod699712 күн бұрын
I could only wish that every manufacturer of tech products produce this type of truly helpful video! So helpful and supportive. And I am impressed by the R4 performance!
@trashtbyghosts5 ай бұрын
best overview ive seen on this so far, thanks plamen
@charlesgraham42864 ай бұрын
Thanks for video a nice little recorder
@Kdm7028 ай бұрын
Thanks for this review. I've bought/sold multiple 4 track recorders because the mixdown, bounce, and export functions require so much time in a maze of drop down menus and confusion. I want simple when I'm in a creative headspace, like an old cassette 4 track. Have you had time to record, mix and export any files and how did that go?
@PlamenSivov8 ай бұрын
Simple recording and overdubbing works like a charm with this unit. I recorded a song with about 7-8 separate tracks and 2 intermediate bounces. Comparing with previous units I've owned, this so far is the simplest and easiest to work with. However, simplicity comes at a cost: limited track editing options (no regions copy, cut, paste, etc.). There is punch in/out, but you can control it only with the record button (no footswitch control) and there is no autopunch. Also, the punch parts are not recorded as separate tracks (so you do not have different takes and parts of takes in post). What you get is a bunch of whole tracks only. For my style of music (acoustic singer-songwriter) this is not a big drawback. Unlike other units that I've used (Tascam portastudios) there is no mastering option, so you have to do this in post (which I normally do anyway). In general, this is a unit to put your ideas together fast and easy and then finish them in a DAW.
@Studio_4to15 ай бұрын
Thanks for that amazing video. Could elaborate on editing and overdubs/punch in? I was wondering if one could, say, record several times on the same track without erasing anything? Like, recording A from 0:00 to 1:00, recording B from 1:30 to 2:00, recording C from 3:00 to 5:00, etc? And is it possible to navigate through a recording by bar or beat increments? Cheers!
@SynphamyMusic8 ай бұрын
Hi, great video! I've been looking at getting one of these mainly for recording vocals and acoustic guitar so I can record in a different room and then bring it over to the DAW for mixing later, what I really want to know is, could I put my song on this and load it onto a track to use as a backing track while I'm recording? This would be really useful because I can set up a microphone in a room that has better sound.
@PlamenSivov8 ай бұрын
Yes, it supports importing files onto tracks.
@diogomp818 ай бұрын
Hello, can you comment on the track effects, the reverb and echo? I can't get an answer from them on the reverb and delay type? Is it a plate? A hall? Tape delay or digital type delay? Do you get a sense of this? I was also wondering if you tried plugging the headphone output to a set of speakers with a Y cable? Thank you.
@PlamenSivov8 ай бұрын
In the menu these effects are not specified, it says only "echo" and "reverb" with a simple slider for the amount. I would guess the "echo" is a digital delay and the "reverb" is a hall type.
@dozzaz8 ай бұрын
A question about case material - does it have non-slippery rubber coating, like some other zoom devices? ir is it just plain plastic?
@PlamenSivov8 ай бұрын
There are two rubbery anti-slide pieces on the bottom (for table-top placement). Other than that, yes, it's all plastic.
@user-xo3by8vt2p5 ай бұрын
Have you ever pressed record, only to find that the track doesn't appear on the memory card with no sign of recording? I shot a wedding and reception in a day, but the clips from before the reception aren't showing on my memory card, despite pressing record and stop.
@jmudd2357 ай бұрын
I purchased this product and have experienced some issues when trying to record a backing track from a device (both PC and iPhone) to one of the tracks using a 3.5mm audio cable with 1/4 inch adaptor (multiple cables and adapters so I have ruled out those pieces as malfunctioning). When I record using this method, the volume is low and has some sort of interference. I have tried input A and B with same results. I was able to use this method with my old Zoom MRS-4 without issue. It is almost as if the backing track is too much to handle. Any ideas?
@StephenSmart7 ай бұрын
If you look closer at the inputs to the two-track recorder (not 4 as there are only two inputs) you will see that the jack inputs are unbalanced so make sure the corresponding cable and adapters you are using are also unbalanced. Or record the backing track to two tracks (ie stereo L& R) with a proper splitter cable.
@thomasusheriii9713 ай бұрын
No line out?
@neftalianthony8 ай бұрын
Is that have looping the track is going playing when the record stops
@PlamenSivov8 ай бұрын
No looping option for this model.
@jackcimino88228 ай бұрын
Would it be better to get this or the Tascam DP-008EX?
@PlamenSivov8 ай бұрын
The Tascam portastudio series units (incl. DP-008EX) are certainly more versatile and have more options, focusing on the editing, exporting, mastering, etc. However, as major drawback for me is the bitrate of the .wav files produced (44.1kHz/16-bit) which is not enough by today's standards. Also, the connectivity - it's a completely standalone unit, no computer interface (soundcard) options.
@jackcimino88228 ай бұрын
@@PlamenSivov Thank you. I am looking for something that's standalone and sounds good, so what else do you suggest?
@StephenSmart7 ай бұрын
Say what you want it for . For me Tascam should be ashamed of themselves for selling something with just two inputs and does not deserve the title Portastudio. Doing any video work? then for audio you shouldn't be looking at 16-bit technology.
@azimut2azimut2183 ай бұрын
is it possible to record a track while listening to another track ?
@PlamenSivov3 ай бұрын
Sure, it's called "dubbing".
@bigbizz1188 ай бұрын
Does it connect to the computer to extract as a wave file
@PlamenSivov8 ай бұрын
Yes, it's fully functional both as an audio interface and an external storage device.
@angeluomo6 ай бұрын
@@PlamenSivov So does this mean I can transfer a WAV file from my laptop to the Zoom R4?
@PlamenSivov6 ай бұрын
@@angeluomo Yes, you can import a .wav file to a track. There is a short video in the official Zoom channel that is demonstrating this.
@angeluomo6 ай бұрын
@@PlamenSivov Thanks for the info. I ordered mine yesterday and should have it by next week.
@Sunshine-Light4 ай бұрын
Excellent video but please demonstrate the item
@infn8loopmusic6 ай бұрын
How are the FX on this? Comparable with the zoom multifx pedal everyone uses for synths?
@PlamenSivov6 ай бұрын
Acceptable, still pretty basic. I would use them just for preview purposes during initial mix.
@incaroads0018 ай бұрын
I've been in contact with the unapologetic reps at zoom about this device. We live in the future now, not 1986. They had almost everything right when they built the MRS-8. That was a decade and a half ago. There is no reason for this device not to have a function as fundamental to home recording as auto-punch in the year 2023. Yet it does not have this function. Zoom claims that all of its engineers are musicians. I would like one of those engineer/musicians to explain to me how you can punch in and out while simultaneously playing an instrument. Additionally, the R4 has zero midi capability. So it cannot even sync with an external sequencer such as the Circuit Tracks or MPC ONE, etc. It also has no ability to shift/nudge a track forward or backward in time, which would allow someone, at the very least, to pseudo-sync an external sequencer or arpeggiator. Why not? These are not hard asks. They are, in fact, no-brainers. I'm sorry. I'm a big fan of Zoom products, but this is an incredible unforced error. We have the technology. Guys are building their own space ships these days; but Zoom just took a dive on a digital recorder that they could easily have gotten right out-of-the-box by including nothing more than an auto-punch feature. It's appalling. It's infuriating. It's disappointing as hell. I would gladly have given them the extra ten, or even twenty, dollars per unit that it would have cost for R and D to implement this one feature alone. And before you say something like, "they'll probably fix this with a firmware update", I urge you to take the advice of guys like Gabe Miller, who implore us all, to never buy equipment that fails to meet our expectations at the time of purchase. Never expect a corrective firmware update; much less, one that will correct the issues that concern you in particular. Frankly, I don't trust the assertion that Zoom's engineers are all musicians. Anyone who has ever touched a musical instrument would not have missed such an easy goal. Phooey ! ❤
@PlamenSivov8 ай бұрын
Yes, auto-punch is missing. Definitely a big drawback for an overdubbing multitrack device. I also miss a control switch input for that same purpose.
@dozzaz8 ай бұрын
Is it me, or EQ used to be more functional as well? Like, at least you could have set the frequency and Q for the middle band - but not anymore... Not even asking for 5-band EQ... And when I had an R16, I used to think faders on that device were too small for riding, so might as well use rotary knobs like Tascam 008... This almost looks like a joke
@stephenchambers26378 ай бұрын
I've been playing and recording for years...auto-punch may be a draw back, but I don't really care. When I am recording myself I do not use an auto punch feature even in my DAW. I want to be able to play it through without stopping. If I can't play it all in one take, I will do it all over. Takes more time.
@incaroads0018 ай бұрын
@@stephenchambers2637 That's a fair point. Thanks.
@sonorous80288 ай бұрын
All of the features that you want from a device like this are well out of this device's price point.
@BAND-MAID-USA7 ай бұрын
1 of these days these companies need to incorporate a way to actually send what you’ve recorded to someone via email or WiFi or cellular. It’s absolutely insane to me that function isn’t available on all 2023 recorders. Does anyone know of one that when I’m done tracking and mixing ON the device, I can then send it to someone’s phone or email?
@PlamenSivov7 ай бұрын
Spire Studio had a similar sharing option, but the company seems to have abandoned the project recently.
@BAND-MAID-USA7 ай бұрын
@@PlamenSivov it just seems so important. At least for me it is. Would be the biggest selling point for me.
@mickd227 ай бұрын
Why not just plug a usb card reader into your phone? It would probably take just as long to connect over Bluetooth/wifi
@BAND-MAID-USA7 ай бұрын
@@mickd22 how is plugging in a usb card reader into my phone going to text my song to someone elses phone?
@mickd227 ай бұрын
@@BAND-MAID-USA I can’t believe I’m explaining this but - the R4 uses an SD card. A card reader attached to your phone would let you send the mix down files to someone else.
@EdwardKilner7 ай бұрын
I was interested in seeing a well done review of this unit. Didn’t happen. After a long recounting of recorder ownership, replete with left hand rolling over and an occasional glimpse of the bottom two inputs, you didn’t do the expected thing of saying what the four inputs were, and what kind of inputs they had. That imagined list should have been followed by a similar list of output connectors and their possible uses. But, you chose to push buttons while making out of focus views of the display. Tuner? Yes, it has a tuner you say? What does it tune? FM, perhaps? Suggestion: if you are using a bedspread as a background, put the unit on the bedspread and get your hand off the unit, except to turn it over or otherwise position it. 😢 unlikely to watch your promised next video on this product completely, unless the first minute proves your technique has significantly improved.
@mickd227 ай бұрын
Get your negative ass out of here, Edward. This isn’t Yelp. You aren’t at an Applebees.
@michaelsilverman3417 ай бұрын
LMAO, I kept fast forwarding looking for when he turns it on, I had same feelings
@pagpapaitim6 ай бұрын
Even if it was sarcastic you asking about a tuner and mentioning FM tuner still shows that only a noob would ask that. Let me ask you, was there ever an FM tuner on a recording device?
@EdwardKilner6 ай бұрын
@@pagpapaitim Well, it was loud and overt sarcasm. If you look at my photo and see a noob, see an ophthalmologist at once. And, I still don’t know what kind of tuner was being referenced. Do you?