Using H4N as a USB Mic for voiceover

R

rossagrant

Member
Hi guys,

I am actually very impressed with the quality of the H4n's built in mics for recording voiceovers.

The only thing I'm wondering is can you record using the built in mics in mono though to stop sound panning from one speaker to the next if you move everso slightly during recording.

Or can that be done in post?

Thanks again!

Ross :)
 
Recording VO in stereo is not good.

I suggest you just get a decent mic and do it right. If budget is your issue maybe a nice Rode (EDIT: M3) will give you a cheap all around mic that you can use for indoor dialogue for film as well. Though the H4N mics sound pretty good when you first get the new toy, they are not so hot really. But if you must only use the H4N, which I do not recommend, just turn off one of the stereo channels in post and you'd have mono.
 
You can also just pick one of the mics and toss the other channel. Though for VO the SM57 is probably still a better choice.
 
Just hooked up the SM57 and it's actually really quite nice.

I've just put it into Adobe Audition and it's obviously mono.

Is there a quick way of making it stereo in audition for Mac? I've tried putting it into the timeline twice and then throwing one to the left and one to the right but it isn't doing anything???
 
That's the problem with the H4N, it only makes stereo files. If you can turn off the unused channel in Audition, then do a mix to a mono file, that should be good enough. I use an audio editor (WaveLab) and select/drag the side of the file I want, then make a mono file out of that bu just dropping it onto the work area. But doing a moo mix should work. Better if you can turn off the unused channel to avoid any noise from that.
 
Hey Chad, cheers for the advice.

Lastly I've just recorded a Skype call which I will be using for a podcast.

I used a program fro mac called Skype Call recorder. Now this throws out 2 tracks. One for me and one for the caller. Looks like they are both stereo tracks but my SM57 only records to one channel of the stereo track.

Putting this in audition shows a dead right channel and my voice on the left channel.

How would I mix this to play through both speakers as when I place both my track and the other skype callers track together I am only heard from the left speaker.

Sorry for sounding so dense by the way. Still finsing my feet but learning fast thanks to you and the others on here! :)
 
Actually chad it looks like if I just drag it into a mono track I get it from both speakers.

Is that the best way to do it do you think?
 
Ross if you read my above post I suggested you check to see if there is any noise on the "unused" channel. If not you could try an export as a mono file. If there is noise on the unused channel, see if there is a way to turn that off. Like in Final Cut pro, when you put a stereo file up, you can mute say, the right of the file which mutes the "silent" channel. Then take a copy of that file and place it on another track so that the "good" side is coming out the right channel. Is that too confusing? Put up two copies if the audio file so that the "good" channel is coming out of both Left and Right channels, and turn off the silent channels. Then bounce a new stereo file with the voice on both sides.

If your unused channel on the file has hiss in it do the above. If it is completely silent try dragging it into a mono track. When I recorded with my old H4, the unused channel would have some hiss in it. So you don't want to ass that hiss to the good channel unnecessarily.

It's so much faster to just show it than type it!
 
Chad, I really appreciate your time on that post!

Got it done and it sounds pretty sweet! Tried both methods and it actually looks (or should I say sounds) like the silent side of the channel is just that when I go through the Apogee Duet rather than H4N. Can't hear any hiss or noise which is nice!

Think I've just found my solution for podcasts through Skype!

Thanks very much indeed. It's crazy isn't it having to juggle kit to find the best solution in each scenario. I can see this getting expensive as I start collecting more kit for specific jobs!

Thanks again, i owe you one!
 
Once you get your basic set of mics, wind protection, a good recorder that can do individual mono, wireless, camera(s) lights, stands, soundcard, apps, talent, cables, workstation, jibs, dollys, reflectors, and filters, you hardly need anything else!
 
rossagrant said:
Hey Chad, cheers for the advice.

Lastly I've just recorded a Skype call which I will be using for a podcast.

I used a program fro mac called Skype Call recorder. Now this throws out 2 tracks. One for me and one for the caller. Looks like they are both stereo tracks but my SM57 only records to one channel of the stereo track.

Putting this in audition shows a dead right channel and my voice on the left channel.

How would I mix this to play through both speakers as when I place both my track and the other skype callers track together I am only heard from the left speaker.

Sorry for sounding so dense by the way. Still finsing my feet but learning fast thanks to you and the others on here! :)
Click to expand...
In Audition split the stereo tracks into two mono tracks each and throw away the track that was the dead channel. Place the two remaining mono tracks in parallel on the timeline and use Audition's mixer to route each track to centre between the left and right output channels.
 
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