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1. Re: Noisey shotgun mic setup - need advice
emmrecs Feb 22, 2014 8:31 AM (in response to mikec82)Have you posted this also to the Zoom forum? There are a number of regular contributors there who are also users of the H4n.
Perhaps, in order to hear what "effect" the shotgun mic has on your recording it would be useful to carry out the same test, but using only the H4n's internal mics. Certainly, the level of hiss on your recording is rather high! I own and use the H2n, often with a Rode Videomic Pro, and obtain rather better results than you are getting.
As to the settings you mention, the two lo-cuts are, IMO, only serving to "emphasise" the hiss. 237Hz (is that a "standard" setting on the H4n?) is actually removing some of the definition of your voice, I think. The usual advice in situations like this is to NOT record with any "effects" on the recorder, but to use the facilities of Audition to "correct/improve" your recording. I suspect also that "Auto-Level" is doing you absolutely no favours, by essentially raising the level of the hiss in the "silences" between words to the point where it is intrusive, to say the least.
My method of working, using the Rode VideoMic, is to record to the H2n without any effects, allowing peak levels (as shown on the H2n's input meters) to reach a maximum of about -12 to -6. Yes, the resulting recording is often quite surprisingly "low" level, but using AA to Normalise to, say, -3dB, sometimes with some compression if there are especially quiet passages that need to be raised, gives me an audio track which is suitable for what I need. Occasionally I may also need to use Noise Reduction (and BTW I'm afraid you have rather overdone this with the result there are some quite unpleasant artifacts on your voice), in which case I am fortunate in being able to call upon Izotope RX3 Advanced to carry out this work.
So, the strict answer to your question as posed, IMO, is set the H4n to record everything "flat", i.e. no settings at all other than the manual setting of the input level!
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2. Re: Noisey shotgun mic setup - need advice
ryclark Feb 22, 2014 2:13 PM (in response to emmrecs)The spec for the NGT 8 looks pretty good both for output level and noise.
As emmrecs poited out 273Hz is much to high for lowcut. You probably need some so set it to either the 80 or 98Hz setting. Certainly turn off the Rec Auto Level setting. But it might be worth using one of the Limiters just to protect against any unforseen high levels.
Also always record 24bit .wav files as the extra 8 bits will give you more dynamic range allowing greater opportunities for changing levels in the edit.
Message was edited by: ryclark
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3. Re: Noisey shotgun mic setup - need advice
Bob Howes Feb 22, 2014 7:59 PM (in response to emmrecs)Having listened to your recording I'm pretty sure you're bumping your head against a known problem with the Zoom H4N. As good as it is for the money, when you crank of the gain on the external mic channels, the pre amps get noisy. Emrecs has some spot on advice but a few extra thoughts:
-First, do NOT use the auto levels. Get a mic level test, set the level manually then (barring an emergency) leave the gain control alone. The auto level will result in the noise "pumping" and make it even more obvious (and harder to correct) than a steady, even amount of noise.
-Second, I agree with all the others. 237Hz is way too high for a low cut filter. Try around 100Hz or even a bit lower.
-Third, work on your mic positioning. You mention it being 12 inches above you and pointed down. Move a bit in front of you and have the mic angled (at, say, about 45 degrees) pointed at the mouth. This should get you a bit more level and allow you to turn down the noisy mic pre--at least a little.
-Finally, I've never tried them myself but I've had reports from several people that the Triton "Fethead Broadcast" placed in line between the mic and the H4N does a good job of boosting the levels so you can turn down the H4N pre amps. As I say, I've never tried them but several people whose judgement I respect say they're good. http://tritonaudio.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=4&id=22&Itemid =42
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4. Re: Noisey shotgun mic setup - need advice
SteveG(AudioMasters) Feb 23, 2014 2:18 AM (in response to Bob Howes)Bob Howes wrote:
Having listened to your recording I'm pretty sure you're bumping your head against a known problem with the Zoom H4N. As good as it is for the money, when you crank of the gain on the external mic channels, the pre amps get noisy.
I've got one, and it's true. You are better off under-recording and adding the gain later. All other advice stands, as far as I'm concerned.
It's not really surprising about the mic preamps. In fact it's amazing that they work as well as they do, considering that they have such a small supply voltage to work from, and that the H4N is built down to a price. Using an external mic pre into the line input is definitely a better way to go. I wouldn't know about the auto levels thing as I've never used it (there's a bit of a clue there...).
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5. Re: Noisey shotgun mic setup - need advice
ALLENT Mar 23, 2014 9:19 PM (in response to SteveG(AudioMasters))The Zoom h4n is a great little workhorse recorder (for the money), and I have used one many times. But unfortunatley it does not land in the "PRO" level audio recorder zone (the pre-amps are just not good enough). Sound Devices makes some great Pre's and recording devices. But, when using it, record "flat" (i.e. no effects) at only moderate levels, definitely NOT any Auto-gain... it will straight up raise the NOISE level! That way you won't have to noise reduce so hard, and you can then sweeten and warm up (and boost) the voice in POST (protools / Audition).


