Some brief notes on recording levels, and trim settings (mixer) with the Zoom H4n. More than a year ago I made a post on how to get better vocal recordings out of the BOSS Micro BR digital recorder. Because I am writing this rather late in the day, I will make the notes rather brief.
None of the built in Zoom H4n effects are used in any of these settings. Although, I would be wary of using any of the more esoteric guitar type effects like Fender Clean, or Bass Man on anything other than guitars. The standard Low cut filters might be useful.
I will leave it for another post on how a light touch of applying a light amount of post processing on tracks from the Zoom H4n when used with an external dynamic microphone can be used to obtain clearer vocal recordings with a more acceptable noise floor. This is due to the unique sound / gain signature of the Zoom H4n preamps.
This is not a review of any of the products. These are merely my notes taken as a cumulative production notebook of sorts from using the following combinations of products together.
Equipment
- Microphone is a bog standard all purpose Shure SM58.
- Zoom H4n is a 2010 successor to the Zoom H4.
- Mixer used was a readily available Yamaha MG82CX.
The main objective is to get recordings recorded at approximately –12db to –6db (about 3/4 quarters of the way in the level meters, as it says in the Zoom manual) with as little noise reduction/normalization processing . This may not always be achievable but when you have a mixer with preamps and faders in the chain to increase the gain on a microphone, this can be achieved.
As always when it comes to noise reduction, a good strong recording level with low noise ratios is still dependent on ambient noise. I don’t enjoy it very much. Its not as fun to fix but can make a huge difference in reducing the amount of filters. Whether its a rotating fan, hum of air conditioning (easy to fix in noise reduction filters) construction site or if you live next to a busy road. Its not a question of equipment. But taking simple small steps to reduce the amount of noise you unintentionally allow into the recording environment. See Portable recorder noise : The sounds of silence
Recording format
WAV 44.1 kHz/24 bit
Recording mode : Stereo
Zoom H4n (built in mic)
Leave at the factory default level.
Usually a good starting Rec Level: 80.
Lower the levels if it starts picking up too much ambient noise.
Makes great sterophonic ambient tracks.
Makes possibly interesting backing sounds for a podcast, documentary, or screencast.
Listen to these ambient tracks from a Zoom H4n user. Good fun.
Pretty good for interviews too since it picks up the subtleties of the spoken word with crystal clear clarity without the need for any external microphones. Like the original H4.
I have yet to experiment changing the orientation of the microphones from the default 90 mark to the wider degree position (wider sound capturing field)
Dynamic microphone + Mixer
If you have a mixer, and a dynamic microphone (XLR jacks), you will get better results by taking the output of the mixer into the Line In jack of your computer (some newer notebooks don’t have this anymore, leaving you with the standard Microphone and and Headphone jacks. Desktop computers with a sound card always do.
Computer Line In volume : 100
Mixer Microphone Gain – about 5 o clock on the dial, at –60.
Mixer Level/Trim – about 5 o clock on the dial.
Instead of using the Zoom line in jacks, as it is also an audio interface/sound card, I suggest monitoring the waveforms with Audacity using the Line In jack of your notebook or computer. You might notice a much lower noise floor (just room noise), cleaner sound recordings even as you raise the levels and gain on the mixer.
You will be able to start off with much cleaner recordings than the slightly noisier line in jacks on the Zoom when used as an audio interface. But nothing that you cannot fix with some simple sound processing.
The one I have currently does) If all you have is a microphone jack, then this won’t work. The Line In jack is generally more suited to take the output from the Rec Out of a mixer without adding too much noise into your recordings.
Zoom H4n + Dynamic microphone
Set the recording levels to 100.
Good for most purposes. You’ll need to do some post processing to increase gain/loudness to about –3db, clever EQ and noise reduction due to the nature of the Zoom external inputs/XLR jacks.
Zoom H4n + Dynamic microphone + mixer
Zoom H4n – Rec Level 45
USB Audio interface mode
Mixer Microphone Gain – about 3 o clock on the dial, a shade under –60.
Mixer Level/Trim – about 2 o clock on the dial.
Mixer compression – none although you might be able to add a very light touch a notch or two, of it since its available.
Mixer (enable the 80 Hz roll off)
EQ – unchanged. Flat.
There is no perceivable difference to the sound signature or slight noise levels when connecting the Rec Out of the Mixer to either the XLR/Line In jack or the Ext Mic jack (near the XY microphones, rear of the device, not seen in the picture)
Additional resources and references
The following pages were extremely useful. You may also be interested in the following pages
- Six Ways I’m Using the H4 Zoom Recorder to Do Technical-Writing Related Things
- How to Record Live Presentations with the Zoom H4 Digital Recorder
- Comparing the Zoom H4n
- Portable recorder noise : The sounds of silence
- Podcasting hacks
- Podcasting Bible
Andy
July 18, 2011
Hi,
This is just the kind of post I’ve been looking for! Could you possibly help me?
We’ve recently invested in a Zoom H4n at work to record our podcasts. For the past year, we’ve been recording our podcasts with an old Sony MZ-RH1 MiniDisc recorder and a Beyerdynamic M58 N(c) dynamic microphone. This set-up – though rudimentary (and making use of whatever equipment we could lay our hands on!) – has actually produced perfectly good results for us, but we wanted to upgrade for various reasons.
One of those reasons is that we wanted a recording set-up in which our interviewer and interviewee both had their own microphone (until now, there’s just been one between them). The Zoom H4n seemed to offer this function, so it seemed like the best option.
I used the Zoom H4n for the first time last week and was looking forward to hearing the results, but unfortunately our latest podcast hasn’t recorded very well at all (undoubtedly my fault – not the equipment!). Consequently, I’ve had to do a lot of post-production tinkering in Audacity and Soundtrack Pro to make it audible – but as a result: it sounds shit.
I’m not sure where I’m going wrong?
For the recording, I had two Beyerdynamic M58 N(c) dynamic microphones attached to the Zoom H4n via two male to female balanced XLR leads (inserted into the two inputs at the bottom of the recorder) . I was recording the podcast (i.e. the interview) in Stereo mode (with mono-mix selected), but the recording levels (set at the default 80) were REALLY low. The levels were barely registering (if I’d pushed the mics any closer to the participants, they would’ve swallowed them!). In a panic, I stupidly increased the recording level to about 100, but the recording was still really quiet and I ended up with a really noticeable hiss as well.
Our podcasts are a simple format: a ten minute sit-down interview (with one interviewer and one interviewee), so we don’t need to record anything fancy. All we need to do is make sure the recording is clear so that we can hear the voices!
Have I set the recorder on the wrong setting for this kind of recording? Have I used the wrong leads to connect the mics? As you’ve probably guessed, I’m very much an audio amateur, so I do apologise for these stupid questions and probably even stupider mistakes!
I just want to make sure that I know what the optimum settings are for recording our podcasts with the Zoom H4n (using two dynamic mics). Can you possibly advise on where I might be going wrong? I’d like to get it right before I record the next podcast!
Thanks.
P.S. – We already had the two Beyerdynamic mics in our kit before we bought the Zoom H4N. As we don’t have a lot of money we thought we may as well keep using them with this new piece of equipment rather than purchase two new ones. They may not be ideal, but I was under the impression that the Zoom could work with any mic?
Writer In Training
July 19, 2011
Hi Andy,
Consider getting a small mixer or a microphone preamp.
A mixer or microphone preamp will help you increase the microphone levels on the m58 before you feed the signals into the Zoom h4n recorder.
This is a pretty standard setup in podcasting for sit down interview applications of your nature.
Looking at the spec sheet for the m58..
The m58s – which are good, robust news gathering microphones but due to this require a much higher signal level to drive them adequately for the Zoom h4n. The zoom h4n as with all current recorders in this price range will exhibit this with the m58.
THe quality of the ZOom h4n lies in its built-in mics which will match most expensive mics -however this maynot suit your sit down interview setting.
I have not used portable microphone preamps. Instead I use a small Yamaha mixer instead. But ultimately they achieve the results – amplify the gain levels of a dynamic microphone.
Andy
July 20, 2011
Hi,
Thanks so much for replying, I really appreciate it.
I’m really confused by all this! After reading the Zoom literature online (and watching some of the demos and reviews on YouTube) before I bought it, it gave the impression that it would work with any microphone. Now I’ve got to spend more money!
Are mixers and preamps different things? If so, will one work better over another? Can you recommend any good preamps or mixers that will work with our mics and recorder?
Sorry for all the questions.
Writer In Training
July 21, 2011
The Beyerdynamics M58 which are ENG microphones are made to be used or handheld in noisy environments, rejecting more noise and made to be more robust.
I use a Shure SM58 which is common vocal dynamic microphone – works fairly well with the Zoom H4N without amplification. Passing the Shure SM58 through a mixer preamp to the Zoom H4n increases the levels on the mic, reducing the amount of post production gain.
In some of the forums reviews I’ve read of the Beyerdynamic M58 with the Zoom H4N, your experience is not unique, but is a reflection of the technical characteristics and functional use of the particular microphone in use.
The Juicedlink microphone preamps seem to come highly recommended.
I use a Yamaha MG82CX, a fairly modest, easily available, 8 channel mixer/preamp.
The Art Tube preamps seem to be fairly affordable but note that it typically comes with only 1 XLR input which may not meet your needs for the second microphone unless you incorporate an adapter.
I would go with a small 6/8 channel input mixer/preamp with modest quality. The Behringers are known for value for money, great for starting out. Your experience may vary though.
I wanted something that would last over a longer term, and withstand movement, so I had a look at the Yamaha ones, which are built a bit more compact and solid, available locally but have quieter ‘preamps’.
The M-Audio Audio buddy has just about the 2 inputs you need. But may or may not scale well for your needs as they grow.
Have a look at Amazon. I hope the reviews help you.
Andy
July 21, 2011
Once again, I can’t thank you enough for your helpful advice. I seriously appreciate it.
Right, no more questions – I promise!
andytoots
September 20, 2011
Hi,
It’s me again. Apologies for returning to ask you more stupid questions, but I hope you can help.
Since you last helped me (with some truly great advice about mixers/preamps for the Zoom H4n, in order to boost the levels on our Beyerdynamic M58 mics) we’ve been getting by with a couple of borrowed Sennheiser mics (taken from a DV camera kit!) which have produced perfectly good sound results during our recent podcasts (recording straight into the Zoom).
However, as we’re now having to return those mics and will be returning to the much quieter Beyerdynamic M58′s, I’m going to have to invest in a mixer ASAP (so that we’ll actually be able to hear something when people speak into them!).
In terms of affordability (a big thing for us) and good ratings from users, the Behringer Xenyx 802 keeps coming across my radar. From what you know about this kind of thing (which is a hell of a lot more than me!) do you think this will this be adequate for our two-mic podcasting set-up (and to boost the low recording volume of the Beyerdynamic M58′s)?
And finally, if the Behringer Xenyx 802 is suitable for our needs, could you possibly explain how it would be set-up? And by that I mean: what plugs in where?!
http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/houstonbayou/0502_070.jpg
Basically, our set-up is:
x2 Beyerdynamic M58 N(c) dynamic microphones
x2 Balanced male to female XLR leads
x1 Zoom H4n
x1 Pair of headphones
I’m guessing I’ll need some additional leads, but I don’t know what?
Once again, I can only apologise for returning to your blog with lots of questions. But I hope you can help me out.
Cheers,
Andy