Just got my H4n today. I’m hoping to take some samples for the OT but I am wondering if anyone uses a deadcat for theirs? My first test recording had a lot of low end rumble which I am guessing was the wind.
It bleeds audio from the mics into the inputs?
It bleeds audio from the mics into the inputs?[/quote]
no for field recordings.
It bleeds audio from the mics into the inputs?[/quote]
no for field recordings.[/quote]
I have one on my little Zoom.
It sure doesn’t look cool but you can’t really get much of anything without it.
Actually, I have an older version - H4. There are some (significant) differences, but basically, for field recording, they operate very similar. I’ve got windscreen for my Zoom, and the field recordings are rather clean and with very good stereo image. Depending on your source material, you can get some pretty good recordings, but be careful with positioning of the recorder, and, for your model, with angle of built-in mics. One good thing for H4n - you can record simultaneously signals from built-in mics and external inputs. However, the older model gives you full four-track recorder with bouncing, mixing etc. But, for the field (if you are looking for some good samples for your OT), I’d say it’s quite capable. Just use windscreen, and watch the levels!
By windscreen you mean the foam one provided?
I’ll give it a proper test run tomorrow and see how the results turn out. Very new o field recording so it’s all new to me but there are plenty of odd sounds around to find.
You might want to test your H4n, if you want to use it for auto record as I found that it is crippled, I am currently talking to Zoom about this as it is a major problem with this unit.
Try this
Set auto record to on, set start level at -45db and stop level at -45db, set auto stop to zero sceonds, now plug in a line source like a drum machine etc, set the record level so that it is giving a nice healthy peak on the meter when you play a sound.
Now press record and play your first sound, the unit will start recording as it should then when the level drops stop recording as it should, then it will say wait while it saves to card, so far so good, after a moment it will go back into record ready mode, saying waiting on the display, play your next sound and it will start recording and stop when the audio level drops as you’d expect. Continue this process for around 5 - 10 sounds, then press stop.
Now go to play back your sounds just recorded, the first one will play fine, then every other sound will be wrong, what happens is that the first milliseconds of the recordings has been missed. In my opinion this renders auto recording as useless, unless you do not mind your recordings not being captured properly.
And the worst thing is my old H2 does auto record properly with none of these probels with the exact same settings.
If Zoom cannot fix this I will be returning mine as I find this totally unacceptable and it was the only reason I purchased it. In every other way it is a great upgrade from the H2.
By the way I tried a number of different SD cards to rule out any problems, I tried older cards and newer high speed cards, no difference 
Is “deadcat” a British term for windscreen or something? Because in America, a dead cat is a cat that has expired from this plane of existence.
It’s a windguard, the furry kind. I just ordered the accessory pack which has one (plus a bunch of other stuff I dont need).
Thanks for the heads up about auto record. I don’t really plan to use it so it shouldn’t be an issue. I am however wondering about levels. Many of you are recording from your OT main outs right? What levels are you setting? I have to have the rec level down to about 0.6 on mine. Is this right?
It’s a windguard, the furry kind. I just ordered the accessory pack which has one (plus a bunch of other stuff I dont need).
Thanks for the heads up about auto record. I don’t really plan to use it so it shouldn’t be an issue. I am however wondering about levels. Many of you are recording from your OT main outs right? What levels are you setting? I have to have the rec level down to about 0.6 on mine. Is this right?[/quote]
Yeah- leave headroom on small recorders for sure. You can do a bunch of recordings with different main output volumes on the OT to find your sweet spot. Those little preamps weren’t really designed to drive in normalized master tracks.
If there’s ANY clipping (even two orange sometimes and especially low end) prepare for distortion like you’ve never heard before. Just annihilates the recording.
It’s a windguard, the furry kind. I just ordered the accessory pack which has one (plus a bunch of other stuff I dont need).
Thanks for the heads up about auto record. I don’t really plan to use it so it shouldn’t be an issue. I am however wondering about levels. Many of you are recording from your OT main outs right? What levels are you setting? I have to have the rec level down to about 0.6 on mine. Is this right?[/quote]
Input level sounds right. Does anyone know if setting it above or below 1 affects sound quality somehow though? When set to 1 I must turn down the A4 to get peaks around -12dB. At -0.6 I can run the A4 at full volume.