I need advice on recording a band using my ZOOM HS4 recorder

[Sparcc001]

Hi guys,

I'm working on a budget here. I've recently done a live video for my friend's band, recorded using a Zoom HS4 recorder. On this occasion there were two of them - a bass player and acoustic guitarist/vocalist, but the next video might include a drummer as well.

Here's the first thing...
The vocals are too low in the mix, so is it best to buy a microphone? The picture of the band in the manual (using 2xguitar, drums and keyboard) seem to be playing without a mic, with the recorder dead centre, so am I just doing something wrong? Granted, the mic was to the right of the singer in my video (so as to be out of shot) but I’m still not sure if that was the problem.

Also, is using a mixer is the best way of getting the best sound here?

The Zoom manual says it is great for recording bands, but I'm a newbie and the jargon gets the better of me.

Hopefully you can make sense of this.

Kindest,
Chris

 

[bouldersoundguy]

Don't take the picture too literally. You may have to move the recorder around and/or rearrange the players for optimum balance, and the space you play in will have a large effect on things.

That thing has two XLR input on it, right? Consider getting a vocal mic and recording that on its own track. And while you're at it you might hook the bass up to the fourth input. That would give a bit more control over the final product.