home recording equipment focusrite scarlett or Zoom H4N ?

[noah finn]

I'm interested in recording myself playing some tunes on my mandolin. I'm mainly interested in recording audio however I would like to have the option of recording some videos with decent sound quality.

I've read through the many excellent threads on here on home recording and have come to conclusion that perhaps the best option for me would be to record video and sound separately and sync them using editing software afterwards.

I have a panasonic point and shoot camera that I think would take care of my video recording needs however I have no knowledge of recording equipment. Having gone through the threads on here I have highlighted the following two products -

http://www.thomann.de/gb/focusrite_scarlett_studio.htm

http://www.thomann.de/ie/zoom_h4_n.htm

Which would be the better of the two for my requirements?

As I've said my knowledge of recording equipment is non existent so I'd be very grateful for any advice you wish to share.

[almeriastrings]

These are very different pieces of equipment, intended for different purposes.

The Zoom H4N is a handy "field recorder". For taking to a jam, or recording yourself "live", it is very good. It is not so well suited to recording over-dubs or "multi-tracking", though you can use it as an interface as well. It has microphones built-in, but you can connect others.

The Scarlett is an east-to-use basic, 'studio' interface. For overdubbing/multitracking it is fine, but it is not portable (except in that it will work with a laptop). It needs to be connected to a PC/Mac to work.

The answer is that for some things the Zoom would be better, for others, the Scarlett. If you are exclusively going to be recording in a "home studio" situation, I would go with the Scarlett. For recording out and about, the Zoom is the way to go.

[Dave LaBoone]

I have a Zoom H4 and I use it as an input (via USB) to my PC. I can use the internal mics or plug mics or 1/4" cables into the Zoom and record multitrack projects using Adobe Audition. You could use Audacity (free) or any other DAW and get similar results.

And yes, the H4n as a field recorder would be super.

My $0.02.

[davidtoc]

I have both and agree with everything almeriastrings said.

Although you can use the H4n as an audio interface for your computer, it's certainly not optimal for that purpose. Adjustments are hard to make on the fly and all the settings are in a menu system. But it's an excellent microphone and field recorder.

The Scarlett is perfect for home recording, but you will also need to buy a microphone to attach to it and software on your computer to record the sound into.

If your goal is to make home videos with better sound, then in an ideal world the scarlett plus microphone (I use a Shure SM81 or a Rode NT1A) plus microphone stand plus sound editing software (I use GarageBand or Adobe Audition but I've used Audacity successfully as well) gives you the most control and flexibility and probably better sound quality, but it's definitely the more expensive proposition.

Based on your stated needs, though, I'd consider getting a Zoom H1 or H2n (I have those, too, and both offer excellent sound quality) and position it near your instrument while recording. Put the video camera where ever you want to. Then synch up the sound from the Zoom with the video from your camera in iMovie (or in whatever the equivalent is on a PC). That will get you really good results, and a HUGE improvement over audio straight from the video camera. I really think the H4n is overkill if you're not using it with separate XLR microphones.

Try that set-up for a while, and when you're ready to upgrade, consider the scarlett and a new microphone down the road.

Hope that helps.

dave

[noah finn]

Many thanks to Almeria, Dave and David for your replies. That's made things a lot clearer for me. I will check out the zoom H1 and H2N.

[avaldes]

Kind of on a tangent, but i heard the Focusrite had issues on the latest Mac OS (Mavericks). Anyone on this forum have personal experience, good or bad?

[almeriastrings]

Mavericks is not officially supported (yet), although will be shortly. I have tested it with the Scarlett 18i8 and 2i4 interfaces using the current (March 03) public Beta driver and had everything working as it should.

http://beta.focusrite.com/releases/scarlett_mixcontrol/

The previous problems on recent Macs fitted with flash drives appear to have been resolved with the latest OSX update. This affected not only Focusrite, but other interfaces using USB and Firewire connectivity.

[Spencer]

I have a Zoom H4n, and am very pleased with it. We use it for recording practice sessions, and have made some demo recordings with it. Records in all kinds for formats, but that is probably the standard today for any system. It is very handy, can be used with a mike stand, or a little tripod. The users manual is clear and you can use good external mikes if you want, though the built-ins work just fine. We continue to be amazed at how well it picks up everything, which makes it good for band practice. I have also used it to record records off of my stereo system.

Like any recording system, it takes a little experimenting on how to make the best recordings, but that isn't really an issue. Don't know the other system you are considering, but I don't have any reservations about the Zoom.

Spencer

[Lord of the Badgers]

another thumbs up from an H4n owner. I really didn't feel sure when I got it.. but it's my go to thing when I'm writing. It's perfect for my needs. I have logic / apogee interface for the more serious stuff, but ultimately the little zoom gets used most because it's so immediate, portable and doesn't take me any more time than switching it on and getting a quick level.

[J.Albert]

For audio recording in a home setup, the package in the link posted above:
http://www.thomann.de/gb/focusrite_scarlett_studio.htm

... looks to be a very nice way to get started...

[tdegnan]

Kind of on a tangent, but i heard the Focusrite had issues on the latest Mac OS (Mavericks). Anyone on this forum have personal experience, good or bad?

I am on Maverics right now with absolutely no issues at all. Plugins were a little difficult to install in Garageband but I was able to find a work around on google.

So far it works awesome and I have no complaints.

Tony

[noah finn]

Just to say thanks to all who chimed in on this thread. Your opinions and advice is greatly appreciated.

I decided to dip my toe into the world of recording and bought a zoom H1. I figure its a sensible place to start learning the basics of recording. Its also nice to have a recorder capable of recording respectable quality audio that I can take to classes/sessions and record tunes etc without having to worry about taking care of expensive equipment.

If I find recording as interesting as I suspect I will, I'll move up to something like the scarlett and I'll still have a good basic field mic in the H1.

I've had it a day or two now am really impressed with it. The quality of sound is excellent and it also doubles as a basic usb audio interface. I've been using it with audacity and its really straight forward to use. Once I get up to speed I'll post some clips here.

[noah finn]

So its been a year since I got my H1 recorder. Its been a pretty busy year and I haven't had much time to use the H1 until recently. I've posted some of my efforts over in the celtic mandolin players group. Heres a link to one -

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/gr...554&do=discuss.

I recorded the sound using the H1 and synced it to video I shot using the camera on my windows 8 laptop. I'm pretty satisfied with the results and it does exactly what I was looking for. Once again thanks for all the advice from those who replied to this thread

[noah finn]

Just in case anyone may find it useful here's a very basic how to video I put together outlining a simple way of recording yourself play using a zoom H1 and laptop/camera.



I'm having a blast recording, thanks to all the folks on this forum who are so generous with their knowledge.

[ald]

Incidentally, I have been using the focusrite interface with audacity to make ordinary sound recordings. My mic is perfectly good (I used for guitar and voice) and I plug in my mandolin and acoustic bass guitar. The results are quite good. But I do find that the recordings of my voice and instruments are quite low. I always have to increase the sound using the software. Does anyone else have the same experience?

[almeriastrings]

What signal level you end up with in the .WAV file depends on several things:

1. Output of the microphone/instruments being used (you will get 'hotter' signals from condenser vs. dynamic mics)
2. Gain setting on the interface (the knobs in the front)
3. Channel input level setting on the recording software

One of the advantages of 24-bit recording is that you can easily increase the levels after the fact without introducing excess hiss or other noise, however, using the 'Normalize' function, for example.

[Bill Burch]

I would add another tip. Start recording on your laptop and the audio recorder and, before you start to play, clap your hands together on camera, holding them closed when you hands come together. This creates a sync point for the video and audio. Its easy to see the video frame where the hands "freeze" and then align that video frame with the spiked waveform on your imported audio. After you get them synced you can trim the video. Saves a lot of trial and error trying to match up the audio.

Bill