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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

I have previously owned the following zoom products: MRS 12cd, PS 04, R16, H2, H2n, H6Zoom has made some real strides in sound quality, preamps and conversion, while hamstringing themselves by losing features. The R 12 is a great example. Recording mandolin, banjo, guitar and vocals, I’m pleased with the sound of my tracks using an EV RE 20 and a Triton Audio Fethead. However, this R12 will never take the Place of a DAW. There is no auto punch feature. The way effects are applied to individual tracks is limited. Drum beat selection and BPMs area even more limited. I like the touchscreen, but if you are older than 3yrs, it’s hard to be precise enough with your fingertips to maneuver through the menu without occasionally making the wrong selection. I may buy a touch screen stylus to see if that helps. If Zoom had simply taken a clue from the R 24 feature set and updated the preamps, AD/DA conversion, and headphone amp, you could make very good recordings ITB. My advice is to buy this recorder if you are looking for a portable way to get some tracks down outside your studio and then bring them into your DAW for mixing. The battery life and USB power options make the R12 very useful in that way. If you want to replace your DAW, better luck next time.

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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

I've only had the new unit for a few days but I've yet to actually record anything with it. The quick start manual that comes with it is so vague unless you've already owned a Zoom product similar to it good luck. After downloading the 196 page operation manual for it online I'm even more confused than I was. I believe it's probably easier to recalibrate the phase matrix on the space shuttle than learn to operate the R12. But I'm looking forward to learning and enjoying it someday.