Zoom H2N

138 Guitarist March 2012
QUICK TEST
MISCELLANEOUS
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Line 6 Mobile
In and Mobile
POD app
£64 & Free
A POD in your iPhone or iPad?
CONTACT: Line 6 PHONE: [phone] WEB: www.line6.com
The Bottom Line
We like: Great sound quality
with no feedback problems;
Mobile POD offers a wide
range of tones
We dislike: Reverb can only
go in effects slot seven in the
Mobile POD app
GUITARIST RATING
The Mobile
In is an audio input
device for Apple’s iPhone 4 and
both versions of the iPad. It is
designed to partner Line 6’s
free Mobile POD app but will
work with GarageBand and any
other app that uses CoreAudio
input. It connects via the 30-pin
connector and has two mini
jack sockets – one for stereo line
input and the other for guitar
via the supplied six-foot
standard jack to mini jack cable.
In Use
Made of robust polycarbonate,
the Mobile In offers a strong,
clear guitar signal with plenty
of dynamics without any of the
sound quality and feedback
problems associated with input
devices that connect via the
headphone socket. The Mobile
POD software offers a rig of
amp, cabinet and up to eight
effects, four in front of the amp
and four after. There are 32
amps, 16 cabs and 16 effects to
choose from and swapping
them around and tweaking
GUITARIST RATING
Verdict
The variety of its recording
modes sets the H2N apart,
offering real versatility in hand-
held portable recording. If
surround sound and control
over the stereo picture is
important to you, you should
seek it out. [TC]
The Bottom Line
We like: Flexibility of five mic
capsules; wide selection of
recording quality; included
Steinberg Wavelab LE 7
software; phrase training
We dislike: Not supplied with
a USB cable
The latest
in Zoom’s range of
Handy recorders, the H2N is
unique as far as we’re aware,
in that it features five
microphone capsules behind
its grille that can be utilised in
four s lectable recording
modes. It’s the first handheld
recorder to offer Mid-Side
(MS) stereo recording (a mid
mic facing at the sound source
and a bi-directional side mic to
capture sound from left and
right), but also has an X/Y
stereo mic array for
conventional stereo and can
record two-channel and four-
channel surround sound.
In Use
Easily held in the hand and
with 20 hours of use available
from a pair of AA batteries, the
H2N is eminently portable and
a doddle to use – a large screen
lets you see exactly what’s
going on and mic gain can be
instantly set by a very
accessible knurled knob.
Initiating recording from a
standing start is very quick, as
is file transfer to and from
computer via USB – the unit
can also function as a music
player and has variable speed
and pitch phrase-training
facilities. Sound-wise, the mics
do a great job of making quality
recordings in all modes but MS
mode is particularly useful if
you want to control the width
of the stereo field (even after
you’ve done your recording).
CONTACT: Zoom UK PHONE: [phone] WEB: www.zoomcorp.co.uk
parameters to create your own
sounds is easy if none of the
10,000 presets suit you. With
our iPad 2 we got a sound loud
enough for practice out of the
internal speaker, but plug in
some headphones and you’ll
get a range of superbly playable
sounds in full stereo detail.
Verdict
Mobile In is a cost-effective
way to get quality audio into
your device anyway, but
combined with Mobile POD
it’s a brilliant portable resource
for guitarists. [TC]
Pocket-sized recorder offers two
kinds of stereo and two kinds of
surround sound
Zoom H2N £199
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