GETTING GOOD CDQ SOUND WITH SENNY G3 LAV ATTACHED TO ZOOM H4n RECORDING SOUND ?
- Thread starter produce12
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If you are asking whether this list of equipment is capable of producing CD quality sound, the answer is "kind of". You haven't specified what lav you'll be using so I have to assume you're using the stock me-2. That's your weak link in quality although the me-2 is not terrible. Given this list of equipment, the weak link is most likely you. How much experience do you have with lav placement? Does the mic have to be hidden? Will the speaker be turning their head while speaking? How are you going to monitor and adjust levels to avoid clipping or an exagerated noise floor? Do you mind that the lav will sound a little tight and "in-your-face" in comparison to a properly deployed boom? What kind of other noise is in the location where the shooting is taking place? Do you have control of the HVAC? Any street noise, or noise from other rooms? Do you have adequate sound blankets? Any equipment in the room making noise (florescent lights, refrigerators, fans, heaters, computers, and any other things that beep, buzz, or hum?
The craft of capturing quality location sound involves many skills, and selecting the proper equipment is only one of them.
The craft of capturing quality location sound involves many skills, and selecting the proper equipment is only one of them.
Is there a reason that you posted this same question twice, within a half-hour? Once will do (multiple posts can clutter search results for other folks looking for similar answers), and please remember that all-caps in Internet etiquette is akin to shouting.
There are so many other parts of the puzzle here that just the wireless system and the recorder won't answer that question. In one way, yes you can get "CD quality recording." That's just a marketing term that really refers to 16-bit/44.1kHz AIFF recording. So if your H4n is recording at 16/44.1 then, technically, you are recording "CD quality sound." And that's not what you want for video, which needs 16-bit/48kHz (or, in marketing hype, "better than CD quality"). And you want to record WAV, and not mp3.
That said, the quality of your recording depends on a lot more than recording resolution as it really can be only as good as the weakest piece of your signal chain. If by "CD quality" you mean crisp and clear, there are several concerns:
The G3 system is a good system with little noise. The stock lav, as gpforet mentioned, isn't the best lav mic for the system, but it isn't the worst.
The H4n is capable of producing decent recordings, but not stellar, from external microphones. It does not have the best pre-amps in the world, through which your G3 system will need to go. This can add noise.
And mic placement and environmental issues (noise in the room/on location) can trip you up. Also, if your system isn't properly gain-staged then you're liable to incur either distortion (overmodulation) or added noise in your recordings.
There are so many other parts of the puzzle here that just the wireless system and the recorder won't answer that question. In one way, yes you can get "CD quality recording." That's just a marketing term that really refers to 16-bit/44.1kHz AIFF recording. So if your H4n is recording at 16/44.1 then, technically, you are recording "CD quality sound." And that's not what you want for video, which needs 16-bit/48kHz (or, in marketing hype, "better than CD quality"). And you want to record WAV, and not mp3.
That said, the quality of your recording depends on a lot more than recording resolution as it really can be only as good as the weakest piece of your signal chain. If by "CD quality" you mean crisp and clear, there are several concerns:
The G3 system is a good system with little noise. The stock lav, as gpforet mentioned, isn't the best lav mic for the system, but it isn't the worst.
The H4n is capable of producing decent recordings, but not stellar, from external microphones. It does not have the best pre-amps in the world, through which your G3 system will need to go. This can add noise.
And mic placement and environmental issues (noise in the room/on location) can trip you up. Also, if your system isn't properly gain-staged then you're liable to incur either distortion (overmodulation) or added noise in your recordings.
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