Need some help with Vocal on Zoom H2

R

radiation8

New member
Hello all I dont really help anyone here becuase I dont know that much myself as far as Instraments and Vocals go. I know what sounds good, and I know what I like.

I mainly am into recording ambiant type stuff, like nature sounds, church halls, caves, malls, stuff like that just because its my weird hobby lol.

I am thinking of starting my own podcast but I need some help and test runs before I fully commit to it. I know alot about DAWs and Computers, just not the "musical/vocal" sence of things, if you get what Im saying.

I have a Zoom H2 which does GREAT for recording Nature Sounds, and the above mentioned.

The external mic input on it is that stupid 1/8 jack type....I have some off brand Dynamic Omni Microphone that came with the Yamaha Keyboard I bought and it works fine on the Keyboard but SUCKs on the H2(make ALOT of static/noise), my friend has a Audio Technica (forgot which model) that has XLR connection on it but had a XLR to 1/8 jack I used on my H2 and it sounded fine, more suited for my voice....for a beginner anyways, and he bought his offline.

The problem I am having is that I thought all XLRs are 48volt, and I know the H2 doesnt supply that to the Mic, so how is it the Audio Technic sounded so much better than the Off brand (kinda a retorical question). What mic can I buy or use to be the best suited for voice on the H2? That either has a 1/8 jack or a Converting Cable, and that also makes shure it works "if it is XLR" because to my understanding not all XLRs will work without 48volt??

Someone correct me if Im wrong and shine some ligt my way thanks and take care.
 
First, XLR is just a type of connector. It doesn't have anything to do with whether or not a mic requires phantom power. The only inputs on the H2 are a stereo 1/8" mic in, and a 1/8" line in. You can use an external stereo mic, but unless you spend a bunch of money, it's not likely to sound much better than the Zoom. For that, I recommend SONY ECM-MS957, but that's a $250 mic. The way I see it, you have 4 options:

1. Just use the Zoom. Plug it into the computer by USB and use Audacity (free) or Reaper ($50) to process- Voila!-podcast. The Zoom was built to do that.

2. Use any dynamic mic or any condenser mic that is battery powered. XLR to 1/4" and then a 1/4" to 1/8" adaptor (about $3 at GC or Radio Shack) into the mic in and pan to center. If you plug a regular mic into the stereo input, I think you will only get output on one channel, left or right. That's easy to fix in the computer by panning the one channel you have to center.

3. Use an external preamp, such as M-Audio Audiobuddy, and send a line out to the line in on the H2. Then you can use any damn mics you want to.

4. Break the piggy bank and buy a Zoom H4n. Then you have a better microrecorder that will work with any mics you want to use.

There's an assortment of solutions from $0 to $350.-Richie
 
Ok thank you very much for the tips, I know I can just use the Mics on the H2itself but heres the reason why I "kinda" wanted to use external mic....

1.even with the mic gain turned down on the H2 it still picks up room ambiant noise, which I can get rid of or fix but its not a huge issue.

2. I kinda wanted a mic to use where the H2 stays stationary, and I can move around the room if I have to with the mic.

again these arnt big deals but just "wants" lol.

The H2 serves as a Quazi audio I/O device on my computer, I use audition 3, and it actully even sends audio from the computer to the headphones on the H2.

Thanks for the tips and I might just go out and buy a USB Mic Preamp with both 1/4 and XLR Connections....
 
That works- consider M-Audio Fast Track or the Line 6 equivalent that Darrin loves. I think it's UX-2 or something like that. I like the H4n because it does *all of the above*-Richie
 
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