Super no-budget questions about wired lav mics and the H4n...

I have read about the 'helicopter sound' artifact, however neither myself nor my contact at Tascam can replicate it.
FWIW, in some other devices ( personally, a HHB PortaDAT and SD302) that exhibited the 'helicopter sound' it was the result of infrasonic LF sounoverloading the input stage.. and inserting a hi-pass filter was the cure. However on budget devices, the HPF is after the fact.. ie; digital. So an external filter would be wanted, on the mic or in-line.
 
I heard helicopters with my AKG CK93 running on phantom power, with firmware 1.02. Updating the firmware and selecting mono input fixed it.
 
I'm going to exchange the Zoom I got for the DR40 tomorrow. It doesn't seem like there's much info online about the SD cards that work best for it. The list TASCAM provides has cards that aren't really available anymore. I got these for the Zoom. That should be fine, I imagine?
 
Teacam tested cards: http://goo.gl/7ZccUU
In addition.. I've been using standard speed (class 2) 8GB Sandisc, PNY, Kingston and WinTek cards without issue. No problems at all in a DR-40 or 680, with and without a fast or full reformat)
 
In case anyone still cares :grin: I'm going to swap the Zoom for the DR40 and I'll swap the ATR3350 I got for the Shure dynamic lav. Surprised the complaints about the size of the Shure considering it's not THAT much bigger than the 3350. Why not the DR60? I certainly tossed and turned over it for a while, but in the end, I need the slightly easier portability, and stubborn as it may seem, I'd like use of the onboard mics. I also don't like all this stepped level control I hear about when adjusting levels through the analog nobs on the DR60. At my budget, I've got to have the tools that do the best job all around in what I can afford and I also have to have it be useful for my workflow and the many things I'll be doing.
 
Why not the DR60?
> I have no experience with the DR60, nor am I a shooter. Given Tascam's reputation, I would suspect it would work and sound OK.
The main problem I have with dynamic lavalieres is their inherent low output level which is further exasperated by noisy budget recorders with minimal clean gain.
 
Rick R said:
The main problem I have with dynamic lavalieres is their inherent low output level which is further exasperated by noisy budget recorders with minimal clean gain.
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I hear ya. I'm still on the lookout for a lav that's under $100, battery powered or not that I can feed into the DR40. Also, Tascam's site says the DR40 can't take an unbalanced mic. Does that rule out all battery operated condensers anyway?
 
"Tascam's site says the DR40 can't take an unbalanced mic. Does that rule out all battery operated condensers anyway?"
> An appropriate adapter would be needed. However it's usually not recommended for cable runs more than five feet or so. But that goes for any unbalanced mic level connection.
"A lav that's under $100?"
> The pro grade OST mics themselves (TL40, 801/802) are around $100 USD, but closer to $140 with a hardwired XLR Phantom Power adapter. This is a balanced configuration so cable length is not an issue.
 
I'm so intrigued by these OST mics but I can't get them in France so I just have to find something else. I was hoping the Shure SM11 dynamic would do the trick. But there's the low output level. Maybe the 3350 on an adapter will have to do for now.
 
BTW RE the "stepped audio" of the DR60, both the zoom and the DR40 uses buttons to increment the levels so your not eliminating that. Not many of the handheld recorders have actual analog gain controls, though there are a few.
 
Noiz2 said:
BTW RE the "stepped audio" of the DR60, both the zoom and the DR40 uses buttons to increment the levels so your not eliminating that. Not many of the handheld recorders have actual analog gain controls, though there are a few.
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You know, I realised that a few minutes after I said it and looked into it and yes, that's true of all of these. Maybe not of some of the much higer priced NAGRAs. It's fine, I'll deal with it.
 
I think some of the Sony handhelds and the Olympus we had a few years back were analog, and the Marantz handheld (well it used to anyway) have an analog control. It's not impossible to find but it's not common.

In practice I think you will find it's not an issue, but it does "feel funny" to have the steps.

I have a mic pre that I got back in the 90's when it was near impossible to find anything usable and battery powered under $1500. It was designed for film and FX work and it uses rotary switches for level control ;~)
 
Stepped digital volume control changes are usually not a problem with typical dialog recording. OTOH, musical synth pads and other sine wave type sound could have an audible zipper artifact.
 
Modern digitally-controlled audio chips use zero-crossing switching (*) so there is no longer any zipper-noise.
However the older generation and/or commodity "prosumer" gear may not use the most sophisticated chips.

(*) "Zero-crossing switching" means that the chip actually monitors the audio waveform, and switches the new gain only when the audio is at zero volts.
Much like solid-state switches which act only when the power mains crosses through zero to avoid turn-on or turn-off transients (=noise).
 
You would still get what might be called a "zipper" sound because the step on these recorders are easily large enough to hear. Though if you move fast it might not update "as you go", the DR60 has a slight delay, so you might get just one bigger jump.

But you really shouldn't be ridding gain on these boxes anyway.
 
Not sure when this happened but Pss professional sound services in ny and new orleans carries oscar sound tech and can be ordered off their website.
 
Rick R said:
The pro grade OST mics themselves (TL40, 801/802) are around $100 USD, but closer to $140 with a hardwired XLR Phantom Power adapter. This is a balanced configuration so cable length is not an issue.
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Sent an email and got an answer in literally 15 minutes. I'll have to study these now. The idea was that these would provide me with a good quality lav at about $100.
 
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