Thanks for the clear instructions. Just took out my Zoom H4n. I used it to record my choir sometimes in the 2010 time frame on it's own. Just tried to connect to my laptop, all good, but bummer. I can't record the 2 XLR external AND the built in XY mic at the same time. I wanted to record a grand piano, using the 2 ext as close proximity, and the built in as ambiance/room. Am I missing something? Also, it would be nice to remind viewers that when using the condenser external mics, you need to turn on the phantom power. A pain that when you turn off the unit, the phantom power is set back to off, and you have to turn it on again. By the way, do you find that the phantom power (48v) really chews up battery power, like only around 30 minutes or less? Have to use the AC adapter.
If you connect to a PC then the H4n behaves as a 2 in 2 out interface, so you can only record from two mics (XY pair or two XLR). However, you can record all four inputs if you use the H4n as a standalone recorder. You'll need to put it into 4-channel mode and then you'll record all four mics. It's even possible to record with 4 XLR microphones, 4 Lavalier mics, or a combination of them. I explain in this blog post www.diyvideostudio.com/how-to-record-with-4-mics-on-zoom-h4n-h4n-pro-h5/ Regarding battery life when using phantom power, I think I got a reasonable length of time. But if you need to record for longer without plugging in the AC adapter, check out this video. ua-cam.com/video/pFXtfpKlmI4/v-deo.html Good luck with recording the piano.
Thanks for the confirmation. Read briefly on your 4 track recording, really cool. I am looking to get an H6, but maybe I am better off getting a dedicated audio interface instead? I would like to be able to get a nice mix, to do live stream, straight into the camera etc. I do remember my H4n external mic recording was pretty noisy, compared to the built in mic, which is really quiet. Of course the sound quality was better on the external mic. Also the headphone output on the H4n was quite a bit muted and hollow, I think.@@DIYVideoStudio
@@dannygo4230 From the H4n Pro, Zoom improved the preamps, making them less noisy. The weird thing is that noise has never been an issue on my H4n. If you need to minimize preamp noise on your recordings you could get inline mic preamps, like the Cloud Lifter, FETHead, FETPre, etc. These are effectively noiseless but boost the signal by about 28dB. You'll then be able to keep the H4n's record input dial turned low, reducing the noise from the internal preamps, but the mic level will be high. Effectively you're improving the S/N ratio. If you use dynamic mics, which have low outputs, this will be one of the best things you can do.
Cool idea. Will those pre's take it to the limit of the mic quality and rendering the H4n as just a storage device? Looked it up, it could get pricey though if you are running a set of mics. Anyway, I just got an H6 on the cheap on Ebay. The guy said that it would not power up, it could be due to corrosion on the battery terminal. I also know that the unit will power through the USB, which my primary application will be anyway as audio interface. Hope all goes well.@@DIYVideoStudio
Hello, nice video 😊. I have a question. Would be very nice if you answer me. I bought Zoom H4n pro new, honestly I have no idea 🙃, maybe you can give me a setting tip? For motorcycle. thank you in advance
If you mean you want to record your speech with the H4n Pro while riding a motorcycle, you will need to get a microphone close to your mouth so that you can be heard over the engine noise. It would not be safe to hold the recorder while riding the motorcycle, so use an external microphone that can be fixed close to your mouth. A lavalier mic fixed inside your helmet might work, since the helmet will help reduce the engine noise.
darnit, i was hoping you'd address how to set input level. When I push Input Level Up or down nothing happens when as interface. Works as expected otherwise.
Hi @marcodanieli2467 Yes you can. The default mode of the H4n is STEREO, so you will need to go into the H4n menu, choose MODE, and then select 4CH. Once you return to the standard recording screen you will have audio meters for MIC 1&2 and INPUT 1&2. The MIC meters are for the built-in microphone phones (or the 3.5mm mic input on the rear of the recorder, but make sure the jack is TRS and not TRRS), and the INPUT meters are for your two XLR mics. If your external mics need it, remember to turn on the phantom and plug-in power. Good luck.
I have an H4 that im trying to connect to the sm7b but ive not been successful though ive tried several things. I have a cl-1 cloud microphones cloud lifter attached as well. Any advice?
I assume you've connected the SM7b to the CL1 and then connected to Input 1 or 2 using and XLR cable. What you may have missed is that you will need to turn on phantom power on the H4n to power the Cloudlifter (the SM7b obviously doesn't need phantom power but the inline preamp does). I hope that helps.
Hi, i'm a total novice videographer and curious how you synced the H4n audio to your Canon's video for this tutorial video. Did you record the audio completely separate from the video and then synced them up in post-production, or did you sync the audio & video together somehow in real-time? thanks!
In this case, as I do on most UA-cam videos, I plugged the microphone directly into my camera’s audio input. The audio was therefore recorded to the video file. If I’m recording a video for a client, or where I want better audio quality, I’ll record on the Zoom recorder. In the latter case, I sync the audio by eye (looking at the two wave-forms) or use auto-sync in Adobe Premiere. I have an article about this on my website. www.diyvideostudio.com/how-to-manually-and-auto-sync-audio-and-video-in-premiere-pro/
I'm trying to use my H4n as a mic to record my voice to my PC, but the audio comes out with harsh, broken-up, digital-sounding distortion. Yet if I instead record to the memory chip in the H4n and then move the audio files to my PC they sound fine. So I think the mics are fine and the recording levels are not too hot. Where could the problem be? I tried setting both the H4n and the PC software to 44.1 and then both to 48khz, and got the same problem either way. I thought maybe the USB cable? But I use the cable to move large audio files (and video files from my camera) and it works fine there. Could it still be the cable? What else should I check? Thanks!
That's interesting. As your test showed, the audio level doesn't appear too high, at least from the H4n. But have you tried adjusting the input level in your computer's Sound Settings? From the Start button go to Settings > System > Sound. Then ensure that the selected input device is the H4 and reduce the input level with the slider. However, your description of the audio sounding "broken up" isn't good. I'm guessing it could be a driver or memory issue on your computer or the recording app. Ensure you don't have any other programs running in the background, for instance, Chrome hogs loads of memory. Try rebooting and then recording before opening any other programs. Also, update your recording app, or try a different one. If you're not already using Audacity, give it a go since it's free. Lastly, make sure you have plenty of free space on your C: drive and your media drive. Because I create a lot of audio and video content, I frequently need to archive projects, if I don't audio and video can become choppy. The USB cable probably isn't the issue (although you never know) since the audio only needs USB 2.0, so most USB cables should be fine. However, if you have a spare cable, try it. Also, try the H4n on another computer, if it works fine you then know it's a problem with your PC. I hope this helps.
@@TheBrutumFulmen additional... if you're on windows 10, right click the volume control icon on the lower right of your taskbar, then select click "sound". From there, you have to set both "playback" and "recording" entries of the h4n via "properties" > "advanced" > "default format" drop down to match the one you have selected when you plugged in your h4n. If you selected 44.1k on the h4n device when you plugged it in, set the playback and recording setting to 44.1k. Same goes if you choose 48k.
Thank you for the video. Very helpful. Quick question, is there a way to record on the H4n at the same time you are sending the audio via the USB? Almost like a backup of the audio.
Hello. Is it possible when using the H4n in interface mode to receive inputs from an XLR microphone at the bottom and also a lavalier microphone through the top?
When used as an audio interface the H4n is 2-in/2-out, so I don't think it would work with an XLR and the 3.5mm input since you can only use those together with the H4n to be in 4-track mode.
Yes you can. I just did a quick test with my H4n and Samsung A53-5G phone. After connecting the H4n to your phone as an audio interface, open the camera app that comes with the phone. You should see a message like "Using audio through USB" (or something like that). When you record your video the sound will be through the H4n (either the XY mics or mics plugged into the H4n). Good luck.
@@DIYVideoStudio @DIYVideoStudio I run Reference grade IEMs, and have trained my ears for a long time, that Sennheiser defintiely had the lowest noise, but for a test like this its really better for the raw audio with out the mutes/noisegate.. that way you can listen to the noise floor of the preamps along with the mics, with the other mics, you can hear a noise floor when your voice is on, but with the me66, you can just barely hear as the difference in loudness of your voice and the noise floor is so great that your voice almost perfectly masks noise the floor, would of been nice to still hear the raw floor for this vid as its a demonstration of its abilities , but in a production settings it is PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111
![ZOOM H6 | USE AS AN AUDIO INTERFACE [6in/2out]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/fa13gS1lpyA/mqdefault.jpg)
It was so much ahead of it's time. I still use it as a recorder and interface.
Thank you for great information. I hadn't use my H4N pro for months and misplaced the manual. Your video really helps.
I'm glad you found the video useful.
Thanks very much for the instructions. You have a excellent clear voice for narration!
Thank you kindly!
Great video! I always have troubles with all videos I try to use for this kind of things, but yours is amazing! Thank you soo much
You're welcome
very nice information to configure zoom h4n
Thank you.
great!
A lot of helpful information in a short amount of time - thanks!
You're welcome and thank you for commenting.
Good information! Thanks for sharing
I'm glad you found it unseful.
Thanks for the video mate!
You're welcome.
Thanks. I love a succinct and to the point explanation like this. Very helpful. A well-deserved "Like" and "Subscribe". Cheers.
Thank you.
Brilliant. Thank you.
You're welcome. I'm glad the video helped.
Thanks. Very informative.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for the clear instructions. Just took out my Zoom H4n. I used it to record my choir sometimes in the 2010 time frame on it's own. Just tried to connect to my laptop, all good, but bummer. I can't record the 2 XLR external AND the built in XY mic at the same time. I wanted to record a grand piano, using the 2 ext as close proximity, and the built in as ambiance/room. Am I missing something? Also, it would be nice to remind viewers that when using the condenser external mics, you need to turn on the phantom power. A pain that when you turn off the unit, the phantom power is set back to off, and you have to turn it on again. By the way, do you find that the phantom power (48v) really chews up battery power, like only around 30 minutes or less? Have to use the AC adapter.
If you connect to a PC then the H4n behaves as a 2 in 2 out interface, so you can only record from two mics (XY pair or two XLR). However, you can record all four inputs if you use the H4n as a standalone recorder. You'll need to put it into 4-channel mode and then you'll record all four mics. It's even possible to record with 4 XLR microphones, 4 Lavalier mics, or a combination of them. I explain in this blog post www.diyvideostudio.com/how-to-record-with-4-mics-on-zoom-h4n-h4n-pro-h5/
Regarding battery life when using phantom power, I think I got a reasonable length of time. But if you need to record for longer without plugging in the AC adapter, check out this video. ua-cam.com/video/pFXtfpKlmI4/v-deo.html
Good luck with recording the piano.
Thanks for the confirmation. Read briefly on your 4 track recording, really cool. I am looking to get an H6, but maybe I am better off getting a dedicated audio interface instead? I would like to be able to get a nice mix, to do live stream, straight into the camera etc. I do remember my H4n external mic recording was pretty noisy, compared to the built in mic, which is really quiet. Of course the sound quality was better on the external mic. Also the headphone output on the H4n was quite a bit muted and hollow, I think.@@DIYVideoStudio
@@dannygo4230 From the H4n Pro, Zoom improved the preamps, making them less noisy. The weird thing is that noise has never been an issue on my H4n. If you need to minimize preamp noise on your recordings you could get inline mic preamps, like the Cloud Lifter, FETHead, FETPre, etc. These are effectively noiseless but boost the signal by about 28dB. You'll then be able to keep the H4n's record input dial turned low, reducing the noise from the internal preamps, but the mic level will be high. Effectively you're improving the S/N ratio. If you use dynamic mics, which have low outputs, this will be one of the best things you can do.
Cool idea. Will those pre's take it to the limit of the mic quality and rendering the H4n as just a storage device? Looked it up, it could get pricey though if you are running a set of mics. Anyway, I just got an H6 on the cheap on Ebay. The guy said that it would not power up, it could be due to corrosion on the battery terminal. I also know that the unit will power through the USB, which my primary application will be anyway as audio interface. Hope all goes well.@@DIYVideoStudio
Excellent work
Many thanks
Hello, nice video 😊. I have a question. Would be very nice if you answer me. I bought Zoom H4n pro new, honestly I have no idea 🙃, maybe you can give me a setting tip? For motorcycle. thank you in advance
If you mean you want to record your speech with the H4n Pro while riding a motorcycle, you will need to get a microphone close to your mouth so that you can be heard over the engine noise. It would not be safe to hold the recorder while riding the motorcycle, so use an external microphone that can be fixed close to your mouth. A lavalier mic fixed inside your helmet might work, since the helmet will help reduce the engine noise.
Is there a way for me to hear both tracks in stereo when plugged in as a usb?
darnit, i was hoping you'd address how to set input level. When I push Input Level Up or down nothing happens when as interface. Works as expected otherwise.
When trying to plug in a 1/4 jack from my pickup on my hammered dulcimer the phone jack doesn’t go all the way in???????
Could be an old type of jack. Difficult to tell without seeing it.
USB Recording input meaning either built in mic or XLR 1 2 but not all simulatenously?
That's correct, the H4n can be used as a two-in/two-out USB interface at 44.1kHz or 48kHz.
Can i record on the h4n the 2 xlr’s and the built in microphone simultaneously?
Hi @marcodanieli2467 Yes you can. The default mode of the H4n is STEREO, so you will need to go into the H4n menu, choose MODE, and then select 4CH. Once you return to the standard recording screen you will have audio meters for MIC 1&2 and INPUT 1&2. The MIC meters are for the built-in microphone phones (or the 3.5mm mic input on the rear of the recorder, but make sure the jack is TRS and not TRRS), and the INPUT meters are for your two XLR mics. If your external mics need it, remember to turn on the phantom and plug-in power. Good luck.
I have an H4 that im trying to connect to the sm7b but ive not been successful though ive tried several things. I have a cl-1 cloud microphones cloud lifter attached as well. Any advice?
I assume you've connected the SM7b to the CL1 and then connected to Input 1 or 2 using and XLR cable. What you may have missed is that you will need to turn on phantom power on the H4n to power the Cloudlifter (the SM7b obviously doesn't need phantom power but the inline preamp does). I hope that helps.
Hi, i'm a total novice videographer and curious how you synced the H4n audio to your Canon's video for this tutorial video. Did you record the audio completely separate from the video and then synced them up in post-production, or did you sync the audio & video together somehow in real-time? thanks!
In this case, as I do on most UA-cam videos, I plugged the microphone directly into my camera’s audio input. The audio was therefore recorded to the video file. If I’m recording a video for a client, or where I want better audio quality, I’ll record on the Zoom recorder. In the latter case, I sync the audio by eye (looking at the two wave-forms) or use auto-sync in Adobe Premiere. I have an article about this on my website. www.diyvideostudio.com/how-to-manually-and-auto-sync-audio-and-video-in-premiere-pro/
@@DIYVideoStudio Cool, thank you for the reply! I'll check out your article now, thanks again!!
I'm trying to use my H4n as a mic to record my voice to my PC, but the audio comes out with harsh, broken-up, digital-sounding distortion. Yet if I instead record to the memory chip in the H4n and then move the audio files to my PC they sound fine. So I think the mics are fine and the recording levels are not too hot. Where could the problem be?
I tried setting both the H4n and the PC software to 44.1 and then both to 48khz, and got the same problem either way.
I thought maybe the USB cable? But I use the cable to move large audio files (and video files from my camera) and it works fine there. Could it still be the cable?
What else should I check?
Thanks!
That's interesting. As your test showed, the audio level doesn't appear too high, at least from the H4n. But have you tried adjusting the input level in your computer's Sound Settings? From the Start button go to Settings > System > Sound. Then ensure that the selected input device is the H4 and reduce the input level with the slider. However, your description of the audio sounding "broken up" isn't good. I'm guessing it could be a driver or memory issue on your computer or the recording app. Ensure you don't have any other programs running in the background, for instance, Chrome hogs loads of memory. Try rebooting and then recording before opening any other programs. Also, update your recording app, or try a different one. If you're not already using Audacity, give it a go since it's free. Lastly, make sure you have plenty of free space on your C: drive and your media drive. Because I create a lot of audio and video content, I frequently need to archive projects, if I don't audio and video can become choppy.
The USB cable probably isn't the issue (although you never know) since the audio only needs USB 2.0, so most USB cables should be fine. However, if you have a spare cable, try it. Also, try the H4n on another computer, if it works fine you then know it's a problem with your PC.
I hope this helps.
@@DIYVideoStudio thanks for the reply and the ideas about additional things to try!
@@TheBrutumFulmen additional... if you're on windows 10, right click the volume control icon on the lower right of your taskbar, then select click "sound". From there, you have to set both "playback" and "recording" entries of the h4n via "properties" > "advanced" > "default format" drop down to match the one you have selected when you plugged in your h4n. If you selected 44.1k on the h4n device when you plugged it in, set the playback and recording setting to 44.1k. Same goes if you choose 48k.
Thank you for the video. Very helpful. Quick question, is there a way to record on the H4n at the same time you are sending the audio via the USB? Almost like a backup of the audio.
Thank you for commenting. Unfortunately, once the H4n is in Audio Interface mode you cannot record to the SD card.
@@DIYVideoStudio Thanks for answering. Too bad. Seems like a feature they could add for future Zoom versions.
Hello. Is it possible when using the H4n in interface mode to receive inputs from an XLR microphone at the bottom and also a lavalier microphone through the top?
When used as an audio interface the H4n is 2-in/2-out, so I don't think it would work with an XLR and the 3.5mm input since you can only use those together with the H4n to be in 4-track mode.
thanks very much. great videos btw.
@@DIYVideoStudio
@@janestanley495 Thank you, I'm pleased you think so.
Can I use zoom H4n to sumsung phone for shooting, and result a better sound ?
Yes you can. I just did a quick test with my H4n and Samsung A53-5G phone. After connecting the H4n to your phone as an audio interface, open the camera app that comes with the phone. You should see a message like "Using audio through USB" (or something like that). When you record your video the sound will be through the H4n (either the XY mics or mics plugged into the H4n). Good luck.
I hear a noise gate, did you record that or does it automatically do it?
Well spotted. That was me manually muting my breaths.
@@DIYVideoStudio @DIYVideoStudio I run Reference grade IEMs, and have trained my ears for a long time, that Sennheiser defintiely had the lowest noise, but for a test like this its really better for the raw audio with out the mutes/noisegate.. that way you can listen to the noise floor of the preamps along with the mics, with the other mics, you can hear a noise floor when your voice is on, but with the me66, you can just barely hear as the difference in loudness of your voice and the noise floor is so great that your voice almost perfectly masks noise the floor, would of been nice to still hear the raw floor for this vid as its a demonstration of its abilities , but in a production settings it is PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111
is it normal to have noise when connect it to my pc?
No. That's not I get
Anyone else having latency problems with this device when using as an Audio Interface?
thank you so much! you have helped me! thank you again!