Zoom Unveils PS-04 Palmtop Recording Studio
(Zoom | Posted 2003-11-14)
The new Zoom PS-04 is a digital 4-track work station that's smaller than a portable CD player. At only 5 1/4" high x 3 1/4" wide x 1 3/8" deep, it's the smallest multi-track recorder you'll find anywhere. It may be small, but the PS-04 packs plenty of capability, offering 4 tracks, with 10 virtual takes per track. Dozens of guitar, bass, vocal and mastering effects are built-in. It has a programmable drum and bass machine and digital editing capabilities.
Four Tracks, 40 Virtual Tracks
Each of the four tracks provides 10 virtual takes, so you can record several performances, and pick the best for mixing and mastering. Drum machine and bass machine tracks are independent of the four main tracks, so it's like having six tracks to work with.
Plug in guitars and mics via 1/4" jack, or hook up a CD Player via 1/8" jack for sampling. Use the built-in condenser mic to record your acoustic tracks. You can record up to two tracks simultaneously; for instance, a guitar plugged in direct, and vocals using the condenser mic.
Extensive Digital Editing
The best thing about digital multi-tracking, especially with small units, is the fact that when you bounce, you don't loose audio quality. The PS-04 has complete array of digital editing facilities built-in, including copy, paste, erase, trim and bounce----all with no signal degradation. The PS-04 even provides Auto/Manual punch in-out, marker locating, EQ and pan for each track, and other functions comparable with full-sized hard disc recorders.
SmartMedia Recording
The PS-04 uses SmartMedia as a recording medium. SmartMedia cards are light-weight and affordable. Recording time with the supplied 32 MB SmartMedia card is 32 minutes. But you can use a 128MB card for up to 134 minutes of track time.
Import/Export WAV/AIFF files
If you have a personal computer with a SmartMedia card reader/writer, you can use the free PS-04 Card Manager Software to import and export mixes or individual tracks using the WAV or AIFF file formats.
