Topic: recorder and mic recommendations for radio-quality interviews

[nathan fairbairn]

Hey, all. Total noob here. Not an audio guy at all. But my wife is a freelance radio reporter and I want to buy her a nice recorder and mic for X-mas. After doing as much research as I can stand, I'm thinking the H4 coupled with a good condenser mic, most likely the AKG 1000-s, would suit her needs, and would constitute good value. Basically she needs to be able record radio-quality interviews in all manner of locations and environments, as well as maybe some ambient noise. She has a mac.

Sorry for the noob post, but I'd sure appreciate someone telling me if I'm making a mistake. Thanks in advance guys, and Merry Christmas!

[Frosty]

MHO - this unit will do that job.  But, also MHO, the Edirol R-09 is simpler to use.  Practically point-and-shoot.

[Will_S]

With a real mic like the C1000s that has an XLR connection and can run off phantom power, the H4 is actually a lot easier to use than something like the R9.

Since your wife uses a Mac, get her a USB SD card reader ($15) as for some reason the Zoom H4 is limited to USB 1.0 transfer speeds when used with a Mac.

[nathan fairbairn]

With a real mic like the C1000s that has an XLR connection and can run off phantom power, the H4 is actually a lot easier to use than something like the R9.

Since your wife uses a Mac, get her a USB SD card reader ($15) as for some reason the Zoom H4 is limited to USB 1.0 transfer speeds when used with a Mac.

Great advice! Thanks so much, Will and Frosty! Anyone else got words of wisdom for me?

[Frosty]

So many good choices, eh?

Which reminds me, I do have an H-4 and the +48v drives a Rhode NT1A and Octava MK-12 mics just fine.  My XLR cables are all 20+ feet, less than ideal to carry around for field recording!  Can anyone recommend a good source of short length mic cables? 

[caymanreview]

what kind of quality of cables you looking for? budget?

[stirinthesauce]

 Can anyone recommend a good source of short length mic cables? 

http://www.kindkables.com/catalog/default.php

For your custom cable needs 

[nathan fairbairn]

Hey! So I bought the Zoom H4 and my wife loved it, but I'm testing it out now and I can't seem to figure out a way to record in stereo (or on two tracks, I guess) in stereo mode with only the one microphone. It only records in the left or right channel, and the other has this irritating high-pitched whine in the other. Do I need to record in 4-track mode and then bounce the one track onto two later? That seems excessively complicated, but I've read the manual and screwed around with it for a couple of hours now and I'm getting frustrated. Any more excellent advice for a guy who clearly doesn't know what he's doing?

[Will_S]

The stereo mode is intended for making a stereo recording with two microphones simultaneously.  If you can only use one microphone at a time I think the bouncing option is the only possibility.

It would probably be easier to download Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/, free) or Sound Studio (http://www.freeverse.com/soundstudio/ may have already come with your Mac) and edit together separate "stereo" recordings later, on the computer.  Garage Band can probably do this to but I've never really used it.

[nathan fairbairn]

Thanks. My wife is confused, though, because she has used a minidisc before and it records in stereo. Or does it just record in "stereo"? I mean, is it even possible to record in true stereo with only one microphone? Does a minisdisc and other devices that record in stereo with only one microphone actually just always double up a mono track and bill it as "stereo"? Thanks for humoring a noob. I'd love to figure this out for my wife and I really appreciate the help.

[Will_S]

What kind of microphone was she using with a minidisc?  It is possible to use a stereo microphone, which is really two microphone capsules in a single body.  A lot of minidiscs come with a cheap stereo mic like this.

With a single AKGC100s, you cannot record true stereo.  You could open up a track in an editing program and copy the recorded track over to the other channel as well, but that would be dual mono rather than stereo.  It's also possible that the minidisc does this automatically if fed a mono signal.

[nathan fairbairn]

Interesting. She's not sure what kind of microphone she used with the minidisc -- it was just the mic provided by the CBC. Maybe it was a stereo mic. Can you recommend a good condenser stereo mic? Although it wouldn't help with the H4, since it takes the signal from one XLR input and always records it in mono, right? Speaking of stereo mics, what's your opinion of the built-in mics the H4 comes with? Do you know if the Microtrack or the Edirol record in true stereo? Sorry for asking so many questions, but my dad always told me that if I didn't know an answer I should ask someone smarter than me. 

[Frosty]

Speaking of stereo mics, what's your opinion of the built-in mics the H4 comes with? 

I think the built-in stereo mics sound very good! 

Can you recommend a good condenser stereo mic? Although it wouldn't help with the H4, since it takes the signal from one XLR input and always records it in mono, right?

Another option might be an AT822, self powered by one AA battery, it comes with a cable that splits the left/right channels into to 1/4" TR phono plugs which can go into the jacks at the bottom of the H-4.   (Those XLR inputs allow 1/4 TR and, I think, TRS plugs as well.) Couldn't say whether or not the fidelity would be better than the built-in mics, though.

[Brian Skalinder]

Stereo recording is capturing two independent signals and storing each in a single track - one left, one right.  For stereo recording you need either <1> a single microphone that uses two diaphragms inside a single enclosure, usually referred to as a single point stereo mic, or <2> a pair of (mono) microphones each with a single diaphragm.  Examples of single point stereo mics:  Rode NT4, Audio Technica 822, Studio Projects LSD2, AKG 422 / 426, AKG C34.  Most other mics used here are pairs of single mics.  Doubling up the signal from a signal mic so the same signal is on both the left and right is just dual mono, not stereo.

Most of the recorders used by people here are 2-ch or 4-ch recorders.  They all record stereo, or even two stereo pairs.  The H4 will record in stereo, as will the M-Audio MicroTrack, Edirol R09 and R-4 (4 channels), Marantz PMD-671 and -660, Tascam HD-P2, Sound Devices 722 and 744 (4 channels), etc.

Most recorders with XLR, RCA, or 1/4" inputs are set up so that each input connector records a single channel - only left, or only right.  Recorders with mini-connectors (like the mic-in on the MicroTrack, the R09, iRiver Hx00, JB3, etc.) record a stereo signal - both left and right channels - via the single connector.

In order to get a stereo recording with the H4, you need to send it a stereo signal, i.e. an independent left channel and an independent right channel.  One may do so either by using two (mono) mics as noted above, or by using a single point stereo mic that has two outputs.  Some single point stereo mics output over a pair of XLR or 1/4" connectors, and some output over a single stereo-mini connector.  If the latter, then you'll need adapters to convert the stereo-mini connector to a pair of XLR connectors for inputting to the H4 (or a pair of mono 1/4" connectors if the H4 uses dual XLR-1/4" connectors).

We really need to know the mic in use in order to provide more specific info about how (or whether or not it's possible) to capture a stereo recording with the gear in question.

[Will_S]

[looks like Frosty and Brian beat me to some of this, but it's already typed out so....]

I haven't used the built in mics of the H4 much, but they are better than I expected in limited use.  Can sound pretty decent actually, give them a try.

In terms of stereo mics, most will output to two XLRs (or two 1/4" plugs, which will also work with the H4).  The H4 can record in stereo, as long as you feed it two inputs.

So it's a matter of how much you want to spend.  My opinion:

< $200 - don't bother.  Just use the built in mics, or record in mono with the one AKG (you could always get a second one, although a stereo mic can be more convenient).

250 look at the Audio Technica AT822.  It runs off an internal battery (be sure to turn Phantom power OFF on the H4) but includes a cable with two 1/4" plugs on it, perfect for plugging into the H4.

350 look at the Audio Technica AT825.  Similar to the AT822, but runs on phantom power and has XLR connections.

450 - the Rode NT4 may offer a slight improvement over the Audio Technicas, or not, depending on your tastes.  The Rode does seem to roll off the high end more than I like, from the recordings I've heard with it.

600 - the Studio Projects LSD2 has a lot of fans.  It's big and heavy (for a mic) though.