Zoom H4n + SM 58 = levels too low

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jplaforest

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Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum, and come from a photography/videography background, and want to increase the quality of the audio for my videos. For now my videos are mostly either reviews where I appear on camera, or voice-overs while showing the computer screen. Recording live events in a journalistic fashion would be something of interest also.

I bought a Zoom H4n over a year ago and it works quite nicely, but sometimes it picks up too much ambient noise, and sometimes I want to record more than one talent, so I also got a Shure SM58.

When I plug the SM58 in the H4n and set the rec level at 100, I can only get the sound to go up between -24db and -12db depending how loudly I talk. I can boost the levels in postproduction, but then you hear a lot of noises and hisses, etc, and I'd rather have the possibility to bring it up to -6db in the recording itself.

I bought a 2.88$ lapel mic which draws power from the H4n, and it actually sounds better than the SM58 because I can get it to its proper levels in the recording, so I know the H4n is adequate. And I know the SM58 does provide good quality sound, I just need more volume out of it.

What would you recommend would do the trick? I read that a mic pre-amp or a mixer could do it, but not sure what would work better in my situation. If it could be portable, that would be even better, preferably something with batteries. And I would definitely prefer something on the cheap side, maybe around 50$ or less, but if that's not realistic, I'll ponder any suggestions you might have.

Thank you in advance,

Jean-Pierre
 
In the digital recordings -12db is just fine try moving the 58 closer to yourself.
 
Hi moresound, thanks for the reply. I probably wasn't clear enough in my first post. In general I try to stay within 2-6 inches from the microphone, and yes, when I talk very loudly (the step just before yelling) and reach -12db its quite fine, but when I talk softer, it comes down to -24db which is where problems start to arise. Since I'm doing reviews, tips & tricks, etc, I don't want to be yelling in the videos, so I need an option for when I need to let my voice go softer.
 
I believe that there is a compressor/limiter within the zoom to help you with this then.
 
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