Hello!
Frustrated by the lack of support I’ve received from the majority of Adelaide radio stations (community, commercial AND government), I loosened my extremely tight belt and forked out $254 for a decent microphone: The Zoom H2 Portable Audio Recorder.
Since I began my love affair with radio and audio-based comedy circa 2006, I’ve never actually had my own microphone. I’ve always relied on the facilities of which ever radio station on which I was currently broadcasting, or at times resorting to sneaking into a station on which I was NOT broadcasting (Some of our recent Triple M show was recorded at Radio Adelaide! Funnily enough I think neither radio station wanted us on their property). But now… screw them! I’ll make my OWN DAMN RECORDINGS!
Verdict: I LOVE this microphone! As these photographs clearly demonstrate:
The Zoom H2 is incredibly versatile. I takes 2 AA batteries and it’s portable so I can record anywhere. It’s actually got 4 small microphones inside it, so it can record stereo in 2 different directions, allowing for surround sound recordings. I can hook it up to my PC using a USB cable and record directly into Adobe Audition, which is great because I’ve had a lot of trouble in the past with Vista and microphones. And I’ve finally solved the problem of recording straight off the sound card. Ever since I upgraded to Vista in 2007 I haven’t been able to record what’s playing through the speakers into Adobe Audition. Why would I need to do that, you ask? Sound effects for sketches. You can’t always download an audio file. Sometimes you can only stream it, or it’s in a weird format, or you want the audio from a video. With Windows XP I could just change a setting in Audition and press record and get an instant recording. With Vista they changed the “Windows Mixer” or something and it just didn’t work. But now I can use the Zoom H2 almost like a mini broadcast panel, and record onto the SD card from the computer speakers, and then copy the recording back onto my PC. And this is great that this has happened now, right at the start of my first summer in 4 years where I’m NOT doing a radio show!
I have to admit, there’s no creative motivation like having 60 minutes of air time to fill every week. But even when I’m not doing a show I still get ideas for sketches and segments. I’m at my happiest writing, recording, editing and listening back to radio sketches. In that order, obviously… I mean, I’m hardly going to listen back to it before I’ve recorded it. So even though I’m not doing a show on radio this summer, I still plan to make some new sketches. I’ll still call them radio sketches, because that’s what they are. “Off-Air Radio Sketches,” if you will. So to kick off David M. Green’s “direct-to-Internet” summer of podcasting, please enjoy this sketch, which I did mainly simply to test out my new microphone…
Sim City 2000 A Cappella
Overlooking the appalling singing, I think the audio quality is excellent. It sounds like it was recorded at a radio station like all my other sketches. And apparently it’s not just me who thinks the same. I went to a music industry charity luncheon yesterday for the SALSA Debonairs, hosted by Radio’s David Day. To my total surprise, resting on the podium in front of him was a Zoom H2 recorder. The exact same model I’d just purchased. Not only that, another radio/production veteran, Greg Clarke, had one too! They’ve both had them for years, and I had no idea! I mean, I’ve already decided I like my Zoom H2 based purely on performance, but knowing that these two legends of the industry also use one confirms my suspicion that this was $254 well spent.
Kind regards,
David M. Green
Unemployed radio comedian
