Zoom H6 Opinions?

OldReliable

Senior Member
I’ve been looking for a quick solution to Tape my drums and have them sound good, and the Zoom H6 seems like it could solve my problems. Have any of you guys used them, and what do you think about the audio quality?

Thanks,
OldReliable
 
Ive used the Zoom H4n and it delivered good results, but I used external mics, not the internal/built-in ones. This gave me less of the room sound, and a tighter drum sound.

For best results, make sure you don't clip any audio while not using the limiter. It takes a few tests to get the input settings right, especially if your dynamic range is large (i.e., play soft to very loud).
 
Recording-wise I am a rank amateur, but I have found the H6 simple to use with very good audio quality using both the built in and external mic options.

I am at work now but when I get home I may be able to post a sample or two.

Bo Eder used to use one as well so if you do a search he has a lot of good info on them.
 
I had one and it’s handy. It sounds great. If you use with just the mounted microphones that comes for it, then cool. As soon as I used as a six-track recorder, it became this unwieldy box with octopus arms sticking out of it - not ideal. But as a stand-alone, it’s great.
 
It kinda depends on what you want to do. If you just plan on using it with the built-in stereo microphones, you don't necessarily need all the options the H6 will afford you. When I got mine, it came wit the stereo mics, then a ball mid-side microphone. I also purchased the extra XLR module which gives you up to six XLR connections - turning it into a 6-track recorder. There are also other accessory mics you can get, like a shotgun mic.

If you don't need all those option, the H6 will probably be overkill - because there's a lot of smaller stereo recorders with built in stereo mics that sound just s good.

The Zoom H2n is their smallest stereo recorder, and that does a great job, and cheap at $129 (I think). I also have a Tascam DR-05, which is just a basic stereo recorder with built-in mics, and that does a great job. A lot smaller then the H6, and only costs $99 at most places. So if all you want to do is throw it up on a stand and record yourself and don't ever see yourself plugging extra microphones into it, maybe you don't need the H6.

And if you do get to the point where you want to use a bunch of mics to record something, the H6 may not be the best choice for that as I have found out.

What are you planning on doing with it? Maybe I can save you a rental fee ;)
 
I love mine. Yeah it looks silly with 4 cables coming out of it, if you care about that. I don't. The included X/Y condenser pair sounds excellent to me (if a little dull in the top end by default – that's a good thing probably) and serves as an excellent overhead pair. The snare always sounds great coming through those mics too. The mid-side mic, I haven't found much use for but picked up more of that top end when I tried it (seemed to not be able to handle the SPL as well as the X/Y). Pair one H6 with a bass drum mic and you're doing great – and you can add 3 more close mics and use it as an interface too. Hard to beat IMO.
 
When recording audio for video on location I use a Tascam DR-70D. I used it on a couple drum videos to see how it handled the transients and was very pleased with the results.

For this video of a Starphonic snare I used two condenser overheads, an SM57 on the snare, and an EV N/D868 on the kick.

dr-70d_p_user.jpg
 
What are you planning on doing with it?
I was really just going to use it as an overhead, occasionally pluggging in something like an SM57 on the snare, and a Beta52 on the kick. Looking at the H6 with this angle, and I realize that some/most of the stuff on here I probably won’t need.
 
I was really just going to use it as an overhead, occasionally pluggging in something like an SM57 on the snare, and a Beta52 on the kick. Looking at the H6 with this angle, and I realize that some/most of the stuff on here I probably won’t need.

You should look at the zoom R16 if you plan on plugging extra mics. That unit can record 8 mics simultaneously for a total of 16 tracks. But it’s laid out better for working with microphones. I’ve done stuff with the R16 that sound pretty good.
 
I was looking at the R16, and I really like how it’s configured, with it modeled to look like and as simple to use as an analog mixer. If I get my own pair of external overheads, does anyone know of good ones that are affordable? I’m not looking for stuff as pricey as the Neumann KM184’s, but I still want them to sound good. My price limit for a pair would probably be around 250-300 bucks. Or, should I go the vintage/mono route and just get a single LDC overhead like an Audio Technica AT2035, or the more expensive AKG C214 and use something like a Shure Beta 24 as a kick mic?
 
On a related note, which of the Zoom (or Tascam or other) models you recommend that has the video AND audio, preferably with the ability to plug in a stereo aux source? I'd like to run a stereo feed from my electronic drum module to the camera and record video of me playing.
 
On a related note, which of the Zoom (or Tascam or other) models you recommend that has the video AND audio, preferably with the ability to plug in a stereo aux source? I'd like to run a stereo feed from my electronic drum module to the camera and record video of me playing.

If you want video, you’ll need a camera that takes a stereo input from your mixer’s output. If you’re gonna play to a backing track, then that music needs to feed into your mixer along with your drums.

What I did for this test video is:
  1. Play the backing track in software on a computer
  2. The backing track was sent to my headphones through my mixer
  3. Record my drums through the mixer
  4. Send the mixed audio of drums + backing track from a stereo output from the mixer to Left & Right audio inputs on the video camera (Sony EX-1 in this example).

The resulting video did not need any editing or audio alignment. It was finished “in camera”.
 
If you want video, you’ll need a camera that takes a stereo input from your mixer’s output. If you’re gonna play to a backing track, then that music needs to feed into your mixer along with your drums.

What I did for this test video is:
  1. Play the backing track in software on a computer
  2. The backing track was sent to my headphones through my mixer
  3. Record my drums through the mixer
  4. Send the mixed audio of drums + backing track from a stereo output from the mixer to Left & Right audio inputs on the video camera (Sony EX-1 in this example).

The resulting video did not need any editing or audio alignment. It was finished “in camera”.

Yup yup! That's what I meant by finding something I can do "in camera"... thus my question was specifically which Zoom, Tascam, or other camera models people recommend. Something in the $0-200 price range preferably. Just doing YT videos.
 
On a related note, which of the Zoom (or Tascam or other) models you recommend that has the video AND audio, preferably with the ability to plug in a stereo aux source? I'd like to run a stereo feed from my electronic drum module to the camera and record video of me playing.

I don’t think Tascam makes a camera. However, any of the Zooms have at least the ability to take a stereo line-in from any source (Q2n, Q4, Q8). I have the Q8 because it gives me two XLR inputs on the back so I can experiment with two-mic set-ups without going through a mixer.
 
If you can feed or store your backing track into the Zoom H6, then it's a great solution. It has an output designed to send directly into a DSLR camera's mic input.

H6_with_DSLR_0.jpg
 
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