Item : B000LGA2K6 Customer Reviews Good for what I wanted it for by .. Brass player (USA) I bought the H4 a couple years ago because I wanted an affordable four-track recorder. It is and is not ok for that. I think for multi-tracked recordings (i.e., I play all four tracks one at a time) this is not the best device. However, using it as a stereo device for field recording has worked well. I was replacing a worn-out minidisk, and this was the best I could find. I still kind of like the minidisk (Sharp) better in some ways, but the H4 does have good sound quality with the built-ins. I'm not an electronics geek; I'm a nearly-60 female who likes to tinker with stuff and who is reasonably computer literate. The h4 had way more "features" than I would ever want; what I record is brass instruments (like a brass quintet) and occasionally strings. So I don't need or want guitar effects and find having to pay for those features a pain. The screen is hard to read. The manual is decipherable but only with study. I've never understood why they don't just take the time to get it in English instead of translated whatever language it is. Like, why don't they want to make it easy to use for people who are not electronics geeks? Maybe the rest of us would like to be able to figure it out too. All that said, the recording quality with the built in mikes was better than I expected; even the tuba recorded well. It is not professional sounding but you need a $10k mike to get it professional sounding. It did not sound any better with my $400 stereo mike, so I just use the built-ins. I used a tripod from about ten feet away from the quintet. The files transfer easily to my Mac and I can put together what I want in Garageband and even cut a CD if I want. I'm not concerned about the flimsy-ness of it; I'm old enough that I don't expect it to take a beating. It is frustrating to try to read the tiny little screen that is not well defined or lit for older eyes. My first recorder - working well. by .. L. Kristjansson () This is my first handheld recorder. Been thinking about buying one for a long time. I haven't been using this one for long but it's up until now at least met all my demands. Excellent high quality product by .. The Healthy Beaver () The recorder has the ability to record in surround sound and can record a voice from across the room. It is not the easiest to operate, but includes a detailed manual. Small enough to fit in your pocket but not so discreet looking if you are trying to hide it from the conversation. I saw it online for $100 more and checked Amazon.com and bought it. It was a wise purchase. zoom h4 by .. Frank A. Schilling (sf,ca,usa) I own the H2 and the H4 is a better machine though it is a bit harder to work the menus. The condensor mics get a better vocal sound than the H2. I record a quartet of eletric guitars, bass and percussion live, no P.A. and get a good sound for mp3s to put up on the net. Both are good but I wouldn't spend the extra if you don't need the cubase software. Not Hard To Use and An incredible Tool At An Insane Value by .. Kory A. Pedersen (Manhattan, KS) This is great. I easily link up to sound boards when I'm on tour. To do everything that it does, it of course is pretty complex with buttons, but it was easy to pick up and I actually like how the buttons work after using it for a few minutes. I can see the screen fine. The windscreen fell of and got lost. That was the only bad thing on it. I need to go buy a new clown nose. I wish I wouldn't have waited so long to get this.