How to use wireless lav with Zoom H4N

J

jordy2324

Well-known member
I just picked up the Shure PG14/185 wireless lav.

Also have the Zoom H4n.

Read through the Zoom manual, but it's a little hard to understand and I have a shoot in the morning.

I've ran a couple tests through, and the quality is really good. Problem is I'm getting a lot of hiss when I play it back (and it's mono, which I guess is easily fixable in FCP). I don't know why I'm picking up so much hiss from the lav. The recording from the onboard mics (obviously) has no hiss. The hiss is present from close distances to long distances. I have the windscreen on the mic itself. I've even tried enclosing the mic with my hands.
I went through in Soundtrack Pro and removed most of the hiss. Which is fine. I just want to avoid this process at all costs to streamline my workflow.

Here's what I know/what I've tried.

1. I'm recording in 4CH
2. I have the recording level set to auto (which I think may be one of the problems? Would manually setting the levels solve this?)
3. I've tried XLR out on the Shure to XLR in on input 1 and input 2 on the Zoom
4. I've tried 1/4 out on the Shure to 1/4 in on input 1 and input 2 on the Zoom
5. I've tried using both the XLR out and the 1/4 out on the Shure at the same time to XLR in and 1/4 in on the Zoom (this gives a recording in stereo)

So a few questions --

Is it possible to remove this hiss?
What should I do differently?
What settings are best on the Zoom when using a wireless lav?
Is it better to use the XLR, the 1/4 or both?

Thanks!
 
To help answer some of your questions.
1) If you don't have any other mics going in to the recorder switch to mono. This will greatly increse your record time.
2) Yes Manually set your record level and keep your levels from peaking at -12db.

It is usually best to have a mixer between the mic and recorder. This gives you a little more control over your audio.

What you should do different is answered in 1 and 2.

The settings that I change are the bit depth and sample rate 24bit and 48khz. You could increase it to 96khz but that is arbitrary and it will reduce the amount of record time.

XLR when ever possible.
 
I'm doing a lot of mobile stuff and trying to pack light.... not sure if a mixer would be good for me now. just have the canon 7d, zoom h4n, and a couple other smaller accessories.

Is there any way to monitor from the zoom h4n to make sure i'm under 12db? also, will this eliminate the hiss?

and is there any other advantage to switching to mono? record time isn't a problem. I have a large sd card and i only need audio for a wedding ceremony. (10-20 minutes)
 
Do a mic check with your subject and look at your h4n. Athe the bottom of the levels and you will see the db markings: -48, -24, -12, -6, 0.
 
Cedric Akins said:
1) If you don't have any other mics going in to the recorder switch to mono. This will greatly increse your record time.
2) Yes Manually set your record level and keep your levels from peaking at -12db
Click to expand...

3) You're using a POS wireless system that's likely a source of noise, despite what the reviews say.

Not trying to be harsh, but I've used Shure's cheap wireless systems before and they are nothing but trouble... hissy, easy to break, and terrible frequency response.

On top of that, the lav that comes with the system is cardioid. That means that your subject's voice will drop of if s/he turns his/her head. Omnidirectional is the rule for lavalieres and on-cam dialog.

Honestly, the only way to know for sure is to do some testing with other, better mics and wireless systems. If the noise goes away, you know where it's coming from. Without listening myself, it's impossible to say definitively, but my experience tells me that the Shure system is the culprit.
 
In addition to the good advice already offered by others, I've found my H4N has a few quirks. Here are some additional things you might try:

First, if you try to record using a single mic connected via XLR with phantom power on, the other channel records noise. This seems to be caused by the unterminated XLR input. I just plug in a second mic (turned off) and it reduces the noise.

Second, the right XLR of my H4N has a higher self-noise level than my left XLR input -- strange, but true -- the difference is very noticeable.

So when only connecting one mic I use the left XLR and keep a turned off mic plugged into the right XLR. Seems to work for me. Your mileage may vary.
 
I got noise too in my H4's right channel when I used phantom power to run a condenser in the left channel. It was an odd clicking. I did not get this when I used a battery powered NT3.
 
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