Zoom h4n and dj Audio mixer

K

krunchielloyd

Well-known member
Wondering if anyone can help me.

I'm shooting a wedding on Saturday

I want to set up my zoom h4n to record exactly what the dj is sending out. He is going to be controlling audio from the ceremony and at the reception. So I figure if I can just record what he is sending I'll be great.

So if I get an xlr line out from his mixer and plug the xlr into my zoom h4n xlr input I'll be able to set my levels and i'll be good?

Or will I have to do something else.


(I useually run wireless lavs to the zoom and record that way, but I figured I can get great audio from the DJ and run the lavs to my af 100)

If anyone knows if that will work or if their is a better way.

Thanks
 
If you send a line-level XLR signal from the mixer to the H4n, you'll fry the pre-amps in the H4n.

Your best bet is to get an auxiliary feed from the mixer, but this really depends on the make and model of mixer being used. Whatever you get will likely be line-level, either +4dB or -10dB, and either way you'll need to have an inline LINE>MIC pad to knock the signal level down to something the H4n can take. Just be sure to set your recording levels a little on the conservative side. DJs tend to push their levels pretty hard and peg the meters as a matter of practice (depends on the DJ, but prepare for the worst).
 
Let's establish some numbers, which should make things a little easier to understand:

Sound is rated in deciBels (dB). There is no absolute value for a dB measurement: it is merely a relative value to a given reference point. That reference point is indicated as 0dB. There are also different dB scales. There's a dB scale for acoustic sound levels, there's one for amplitude of sound as it is adjusted through different mixers, recorders, and other devices, and then there's the dB scale that measures the voltage level of sound as an electrical signal flowing through cables. The latter is what we're looking at here.

Mic level is generally between -60dB and -50dB. Line-level comes in two flavors: consumer (-10dB) and professional (+4dB). -10dB uses unbalanced connectors (only two conductors, signal and ground). +4dB uses balanced connectors (three conductors, positive signal and negative signal and ground). Either way, you're talking about +/- 50dB difference between mic and line.

There is no such thing as mic-level recording. Everything must be raised to line-level to be recorded properly. This is where pre-amps come in. The job of the pre-amp is to raise the mic-level signal to line-level for recording. A pre-amp is designed to take mic-level signals, so if you feed it a line-level signal (i.e. a much stronger voltage level) you can cause massive distortion and even damage the circuits. So the signal must be padded before it enters the pre-amp. The inline pad barrel you linked would help.

The unbalanced 1/4" in on the H4n is labeled in the specs as "line-level", but it is not. It is actually instrument level, which is lower than line-level but higher than mic-level. It would still need a pad. I'd run an XLR cable from the mixer, through the inline pad, to the H4n and then lower the input levels to correct the rest of the way. That's going to get you in the right neighborhood.
 
ok after some research that is what I was coming to also. To bad everywhere I'm looking in toronto doesn't sell pads... Thanks man.
 
>>>>To bad everywhere I'm looking in toronto doesn't sell pads...<<<<

C'Mon, really?!? Long & McQuade????

GJ
 
Another question for you. How would I know if the preamps were blown on my zooh4n? Because sometimes when I'm recording audio I get a random static wave that lasts a second. I think its the wireless lavs but I'm not sure. Now with blown preamps I'm worried that something is wrong with the zoom maybe because of this random static...
 
krunchielloyd said:
Another question for you. How would I know if the preamps were blown on my zooh4n? Because sometimes when I'm recording audio I get a random static wave that lasts a second. I think its the wireless lavs but I'm not sure. Now with blown preamps I'm worried that something is wrong with the zoom maybe because of this random static...
Click to expand...

You'll know if the pre's are blown. No matter what you have plugged in (wireless, hard line) it will be crunchy, distorted, and thin, no matter where the record levels are set. If you're getting short bursts of white noise when using wireless, you need to find a different frequency or check to make sure there are no obstacles in the transmission path. Or make sure that all cell phones are off.
 
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