Best Settings for ANY Audio Recorder (for Video Production) | Zoom H6 H4n F8 F6 Tascam D70
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- Опубліковано 7 сер 2024
- Whether you use a zoom h4n, Zoom h6, Zoom f6, Zoom f4, Zoom f1, Tascam D70, or Sound Devices recorder, this is how you should configure your settings if you're recording audio for video production.
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Finally a simple explanation of audio, thank you. You have no idea how much this has helped.
That's exactly what I was hoping for! Glad you found it helpful. If you've got any other questions left unanswered let me know, I'm always looking for ideas for next videos.
Appreciate the time and information that you shared in this video! I recently just purchased a Zoom H6 and this helped tremendously!
Glad it was helpful! That's a fantastic recorder. It served me well for many years. I've since swapped it for the Zoom F4 and then the F6.
This 9 minute video has more useful information than a weekend long sound recording course I attended. Gets straight to the point.
Ha! Glad to hear it. I hope the weekend taught other stuff, too!
@@ShaunHautly
Very well explained.
Keep up the good work Buddy.
I just subscribed.
Love how he leaves all the BS out and gets to the point. Super helpful video I’ll be referencing often. New sub here. 🤙🏻
Thanks for the love!
If you find any new questions, say the word!
I agree he is spot on
Exactly the type of video I was looking for. Clear and succinct. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
Super video and super information.
Loved it.
Especially the beginning were you blacked it out for a couple seconds.
Cool Bro
Keith
Ha! Thank you! I'm glad you liked it. My sense of humor doesn't always land on UA-cam...
Huge thank you to you Shaun, for such a simple, clear and short explanation! That was really hepful, now I understand it way much better! You have that skill/ability to explaine and deliver things clearly, so it make it easy to understand, I watched few of your videos, and i really see it in each of them
Thank you so much! I'm glad it was helpful.
@@ShaunHautly it realy was! thank you!
Paused at 3 min to already thank you. How in-depth people can go (with cause at times) leaves a bunch behind. You directly comparing to video frame rate etc is an excellent way to convey with max understanding. Really appreciate it already...
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the happy comment!
@@ShaunHautly Does recording audio at 48kHz prevent audio drift? where the video and audio slowly goes out of sync the longer it plays & then requires constant adjustment?
Got my H8 and you did a very good job explaining! Thx and greetings from Austria!
Thank you! Glad it was helpful! And thanks for the Austrian hello!
Concise and clear! Great Video! :D
Great! I love the first part, I wish more instructional videos would like strait to the point. Details later. Seriously. Great!!! And funny. Thank you!
Thanks for the happy comment!
This is what I need to know about my new H5
THANKS, Shaun
No problem! Yeah, same principles apply to everything on the H5.
Found this very helpful, thank you!
So glad! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!
Just got H8 and being nervous to not be able use it as it best capability, but your explanation simplified everything. Thanks mate 👍
Glad it helped! Enjoy the H8!
Thank you, very clear and concise! Much appreciated.
Glad it was helpful!
So…In the spirit of the summary offered at the start of this video to encompass of all the info you were about to perfectly expound upon: OHMYGOSH THANK YOU!!!!
Great job!
Genuinely well explained video.
Thank you! I'm glad it was helpful!
great information, thank you so much.
My pleasure! If you have any lingering questions, let me know!
It was nice to has listen to this it solves many things
Nice one Shaun now I can record my sound at the best rate
Just like video frame-rate, pick whatever is best for your project. Extra Sample Rate does not translate to higher quality. 48 kHz is pretty standard for the internet. 96 kHz is more common for HD finishing (DVDs, HDTV, etc.). Just match your recorder to the project.
Great breakdown thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
I just clicked whatever had high numbers on it, so I was at Wav 24bit 96khz, every filter etc off cause I can do that in post if I have to. Since I put out in 48khz I`ll turn that down from now on. Very helpful video Shaun :)
Thanks! Yeah, using a crazy high sample rate is akin to filming at 120fps. If you’re going to play it back at 24 anyway, there’s no reason to film at that rate.
Super helpful. Next week I'm shooting my first short film, and hiring audio gear for the job. It's very new to me so this is a great help!
Congratulations!! Good luck with it!
How'd it go?
@@ShaunHautly shooting on the weekend, so we'll see! Nice of you to ask though 😄
@@ShaunHautly hey Shaun, I'm setting up the Zoom H6 with the Sennheiser MKH 416, following the settings used in this video, but there's a bit of a background hiss. Any thoughts on that? Many thanks!
This was helpful! Thanks
You're welcome!
Great video! I'm curious if you have a video for best settings in post. I'm sure that would be really helpful.
That's a good idea. I used to use izotope 6 and then a handful of tools from Accusonus. But for the past year, I've just clicked "voice isolation" in Final Cut Pro and that's it. I'll make a video soon about my workflow.
Wow!!! What a great channel! 🙌 Here I will find answers.
And if I may say you have such a beautiful and unique voice! Totally interesting! Your intonation is so lively! Can't stop listening to your voice. I love listening to audiobooks, but there are hardly any narrators whose voices I really like ;)... I think I'll listen to your videos instead and learn a lot too. Probably I will also upgrade my equipment in the future as a result 😉🤭.
Glad I found your channel 🥳Best regards from Germany
I'm glad to hear it was helpful!
Thanks for the lovely comment!
Thanks for this!
Of course!
Awesome info Thanks
Glad it was helpful!
Very helpful info
Glad it was helpful!
I have my eye on a chap AKG c4000b condenser- Will I be able to use this outside with a zoom recorder for interviews? (I know it’s more of a studio mic, I had hope to do a bit of both with it, enabling me to also record outdoors with it) thanks for your help in advance - Great video!
Yes, you can take this outside. If you're trying to record someone with it when they're not close to the mic, it'll struggle. This really needs to be up close. So if you can't hold it right against someone's mouth, you might want to consider a different mic.
But try it! See for yourself!
Hi, currently have a zoom f4 and new to audio. What would be the proper trim and gain settings for not picking up self noise.
Trim and gain shouldn't affect self noise. Get your mic as close to your sound source (subject's mouth?) as possible, and get rid of as much ambient noise as you can (HVAC, fans, crowds, wind, etc.). Then almost any amount of gain should be fine.
I've never had a situation where self noise was louder than ambient noise in my signal.
Thank you!
You’re welcome! Thanks for the happy comment.
Hi sir. I was just wondering about how to connect headphones from recorder to the director's monitor? Please answer this, ot would help me alot🙏🏿
That really depends on the monitor. I'm not sure what inputs it has. You can take a headphone out from most recorders and run it through a 3mm cable into many monitors. Usually when I'm on set, the audio engineers have wireless headphones for anyone who needs to hear. I'm not sure what system they use for that, though.
Is the compressor somewhat a very similar to normalizing audio ?
Thanks. Keith
It's very similar. It's a way of saying, "any time the sound is above level X, multiply the volume of that song by Y, but never let any of it get above Z." So it amplifies the quieter sounds to bring them more in line with the louder noises.
I learned something good!
Glad to hear it! (Get it!? HEAR it?)
I’m use I guess my zoom hunt as an interface with Auria Pro and can’t figure out how to get rid of the noise at play back. My recordings are unusable. I live in a camper for the summer which is powered by an inverter shut off all lights with no improvement. I’m a musician but spend to much time trying to figure out recording equipment. Great video I changed all of my settings which were basically turning everything off. Thanks for any help you may be able to give.
I haven't used Auria Pro, so I can't help there. However, I'd start by readjusting all of your levels to try and bring the noise down (monitor with your headphones). Get it low enough to disappear, and then start to turn your instruments up and see if you can get things balanced that way. It sounds tricky! I'm sorry I can't be more helpful. Good luck!
@@ShaunHautly thanks I’ve now done that and tried all settings with head phones and am convinced it is electronic noise from within the electrical system of my trailer
But if you want a simole setup to record a band for instance in rehearsal, you need the limiter on to prevent clipping. Right?
If you're going to have your levels so high that it's clipping, the limiter isn't REALLY going to save your signal. It's just going to record the clipped sound a little quieter than full volume. You'll essentially just clip at a lower volume.
I suggest getting your levels dialed in and then making adjustments in post rather than relying on the digital limiter that's built into this (and all) recorders.
Good luck!
What audio editing software do you use? I try to do everything in premiere pro but don't its audio editing seems limited. .
I use Final Cut. The audio tools are really robust. All the Logic plugins are included, but the new Voice Isolation powered by machine learning is genuinely remarkable.
Hi!
Great video. I’m studying classical song and right now it’s more of recorded parts to produce. I have a Zoom H6 that I want to use as a audio interface with just a smartphone or tablet since the sound is the most importens. I have two questions:
1. What sound quality is the phone allowing? The same as the Zoom recorders quality settings? Is there some settings I have to charge in order to get the best possible resultat?
2. Is there a risk that the program I use in post production will change the sound quality when making the final file?
If the program you're using to edit the audio in post production isn't on your phone, then I'd recommend you don't use your phone at all. Record natively into the h6 with its onboard recorder. I'm not sure what phone you're using, but you would risk dumbing down the quality to the lowest device quality of the two.
If you do it that way, then your answer to question 1 is the top quality of the zoom h6 (which is 24 bit WAV @ 96 kHz or 192 kHz).
If you use the zoom ONLY as an interface and your phone records the file itself, then you will be limited to whatever quality your phone allows. It might be fine, it might be worse. Without knowing the phone and the program, it's hard to say.
Regardless of which device records the file, the answer to question 2 is yes: The post production software will determine the quality of the file. If you set things up properly, it won't be an issue.
@@ShaunHautly the wavelab le and the cubase le code are included with a h6 would you recommend those two for the decent quality than. Editing on mobile phone thanks.
Hello, can anyone advise me on the best settings to make on the zoom h6 when recording with a cable from the mixing console?
Same as the video is likely best. Just get your gain right. No limiters or compressors or filters. That's what I'd do.
Hello, great video, you are a professional in your field, could you tell us, we have a zoom H8, and we want to record the sounds of crunching, rustling for asmr, for example, watermelon crunching or seeds falling on the table, how would you recommend setting up our recorder with standard microphone XY, thank you
It depends on where you're outputting your sound (UA-cam? DVD? Someplace else?). There's no reason to record sound in a higher sample rate than the destination. So if your destination is 48 kHz, then set your H8 to the same. Then make sure you're in a 24-bit WAV file, and go! With the delicate nature of those sound effects you're capturing, I would recommend against using ANY of the built in limiters, filters, compressors, etc. Just let it fly and tweak anything in post, not in the recorder.
I've never done ASMR, so I am operating off tangential experience for this answer, but that's my best guess. Cheers!
@@ShaunHautly Thank you very much for the information and for giving me a bit of your time, I understood you, I thought that the built-in compressor in the recorder prevents me from recording sound with high quality, Thank you and Creative Success 🥰🙂👍
If it were me, I'd disable the recorder's compressor. If you need to add compression later, do it in post and adjust it, rather than baking it into your audio and not being able to undo it.
@@ShaunHautly I will take your advice, thank you 🥰
I'm having trouble recording gun shot audio for a film. I don't know what settings to change (compressor?). If the audio recorder is turned up to a level that is too sensative, the audio cuts/peaks, but if it's low enough to record the gunshot, then I can't hear the echo after the shot and the shot itself ends up being very, very quiet and almost impossible for me to increase to the volume level I need it to be in post. Any suggestions?
I think you have a couple options:
1) Use two recorders. One with levels set for the loudest, and one set for the echo. Then combine them in post.
2) Use a recorder with 32-bit float recording. You'll capture the full dynamic range and you'll be able to normalize the peak and the echo together in post.
3) Spend $2 on a gunshot sound effect. There are tons of SFX libraries with all kids of sounds that people have taken the time to painstakingly create. You can see how I got away with fixing a HUGE mistake in this video: ua-cam.com/video/FsJsA9CBQtY/v-deo.html
super helpful
Glad to hear it!
thank you
You're welcome!
You said that Zoom H6 is capable of 32 pit float .I don't see it
In the menu. Please advise.
I'm sorry if I misspoke! The zoom F6 has 32-Float, the Zoom H6 does not.
Great details.No you should not leave your phantom on, it will make a small hum in the audio , only use it if the condenser requires it to function.
While that makes sense, I’ve never noticed that in any zoom recorder I’ve tested. I’ll do some more testing and research and update the next version of the video accordingly. Thanks for the comment!
Hi, I’m recording a live event soon. I was going to plug my H6 into the DJ’s soundboard via an XLR cable to record the audio, do I need to have phantom power on?
I hope "soon" means this weekend, and not "later today." Ha.
If taking an XLR signal out of a DJ's soundboard, you do NOT need to have Phantom Power on. If it IS on, it will not affect the sound quality, it just may run your battery down a little faster.
When pulling a signal from a DJ's board, if stereo sound is important, make sure you take two XLR cables. One for the left signal and one for the right.
Good luck!
@@ShaunHautly Yes, this weekend!😂 And thank you so much for your prompt response and reply, it was very helpful!
No problem! Good luck!
Thank you for settings info. It took months to find any settings info , APPRECIATED. Question I record nature , Home made parabolic dish , Boya bymm1 mic , to tascam or philips field recorders. I am interested in simplest settings for youtube uploads , and sound settings for recording rocks being thrown , sticks , deep throaty gorilla type ape uggs, big lungs. this rookie needs help . You gave me a better understanding already. simple uploads , simple sounds , long record time , mp3 , wav ?
So you've got a lot going on in this message! I don't have experience recording the things you're recording with the equipment you're using, BUT in general for the highest quality recordings, I'd recommend capturing in WAV (uncompressed) and in the highest bit depth available for your device (likely 24 bit). The sample rate is up to you, but 48 or higher will be sufficient.
Good luck!
@@ShaunHautly Thank you for the reply , Much appreciated.
Hey 👋 How do you tranfer audio files from zoom h6 to laptop and which specific usb cable do you need to do this?
I always took out the SD card and just used the same SD card reader that I'd use for my camera's cards. For a while, my laptop even had a built in ND card slot and you could just transfer them that way. I THINK there is a way to use the H6 as a card reader through the USB interface, but I never messed with it. I've since sold my H6 and gotten the F6, so I can't run any tests for the H6 at this point. But I'd just take out the SD and put it into your computer. Good luck!
@@ShaunHautly Is Express Card a memory card reader?
I do not know. However, this article may help: www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/using-the-zoom-h6-handy-recorder-as-an-sd-card-reader/
thx for the 48khz tip inwill test it out ;)
Yeah, much more can be overkill and just eat up time. Unless you're finishing your project at a higher bitrate, it's just being discarded. Good luck!
Input and output level where should I set it
In general, you want to be hitting -12 with most dialogue, and then your LOUDEST peaks should be around -6. That’s an over generalization, but it’s a good starting point if you haven’t messed with it before.
Hello Mr. Sean, I'm Sami
And thank you for this useful information
I have a problem, please help
I have an h6 recorder
And I encountered a problem, which is that the sound is good when the speaker begins to speak and his voice is low
But after the speaker begins to raise his voice during his lecture, the sound is bad and completely different from the quality at the beginning of the conversation
I tried to reset it and changed a lot of settings, but to no avail
Please help me and if you allow me I can send you some models in links
I apologize for my language, I used Google translator because my English is weak
Thank you
I will try to make my answer translate well. :-)
With the H6, you have to adjust the gain level according to the volume of the subject. So if the speaker gets louder, you must adjust the gain knob on the H6. Generally, try to keep the signal where the loudest parts are between -12 and -6 dB.
This video should help. You may need to adjust the knob constantly during a recording if your speaker changes their volume constantly.
ua-cam.com/video/wa5sI8EcT7s/v-deo.html
@@ShaunHautly Thanks Mister shaun , I'll see the link
But I forgot to tell you that I record with a wired microphone
Please I want you to help me with the settings that I can set so I will be able to record in a noisy place (h6 + ntg 2 rood).
My friend can record in any place, even where there is generator noise or road side, and you will here no noise in the audio, and I have been begging him to show me and he refused be he ask me to give him money, and I don't have money. Please sir can you please help me out
Sir please answer me sooner I beg you with name of God, am from Nigeria please help me, am an up coming sound engineer
Your friend must be magical. No settings in the audio recorder will have NO noise in the recording. Use the settings I've laid out in the video and you'll have the highest quality recording that your microphone is capable of creating. If there's noise, there are different software plugins that can help to mitigate some of that noise, but there is no magic trick to stopping noise. Get your mic as close to the sound source you're trying to record, put it in a windscreen if it's windy, and then use some software to clean it up.
I don't believe your friend can record anywhere no noise. I've never met someone capable of that. Fighting noise is our job!
this doesn't apply if you are recording and also Streaming...
That's correct. With streaming, your streaming software can often do much of the compression and high/low pass filters needed. The bit rate, sample rate, and format are still important. And it really depends on if you're going to try to edit your audio recording separately after the stream is complete. If not, prioritize the streaming settings. You may lack flexibility later in editing, but your stream will be better and your workflow will be simpler.
But try a few things!
@@ShaunHautly i found the Zoom LiveTrak L-8 Portable, and it has a lot of options, the best for what i need right now.
Do you recommend any software to improve the audio for my zoom h5?
There are a ton of options. As a Mac user, I've used Final Cut, Logic, and GarageBand. But Adobe Audition is popular, ProTools, and Premiere and Davinci Resolve both have built in basic tools. Try a few and see which fits your workflow best.