It's a shame Zoom removed those mics from their more recent multitrack recorders. I don't know what they were thinking. For quick and dirty recording I still use my R8 over my R20 purely because of the mics. Still, you've found a nice way to overcome this limitation!
Yeah, like I mentioned I don't think it's dealbreaker to prevent people from buying the R20 or R12, but I'm a little surprised Zoom didn't at least include a built-in mic on the smaller R12. The R20 is designed to sit on a desk and sort of stay there. The R12 is all about portability and having a built in mic on that unit would have made a lot of sense to me. At least for me, this little $20 solution sort of gets the job done for that quick recording purpose.
looks like a great travel unit. i bought the tascam x8 and wish i didn't, way over priced, could've bought 2 R4's which i think are much much better @@ozhoodguitar
Here a thought. Use an audio cable, 1/8 TRS, from H1n audio out to the Movo adapter to use its mics? Will try this with my H4n Pro I bought the Movo adapter and paid up for the Boya BY-M100. Interesting that it needs the phantom power on to work. It gives a nice deep tone without being muddy. Distance to mic makes a big difference. As an aside: Your video on loading and changing patches is great. Started editing with them and they are actually pretty good. Too bad they ant be added to a dry track. Finally, very found that plugging 45 degree patch cords into the 1/4 holes are easier to get out than the straight ones. There’s got to be a designer story behind that. On,y Zoom product I have that takes 5lbs of pressure to get them out! Wants: 1. Punch in and out. 2. Track naming. 3. Track assigns of plugged in mic to a different channel. Oh yeah, better quality midi patches.
All good comments. The H1n can output it's own power, so I don't need the MOVO adapter for that. I can run a 3.5mm TRS cable out of the H1n and then into a 3.5mm TRS female to stereo break out cable that goes to two 1/4" male plugs that are TS and put those into inputs 1 and 2. That works. I just like the convenience of my little compact DIY for quick recordings with acoustic instruments. I actually have the BOYA BY-M100 as the USB model. I got that one first, which led me to the PY4A model. I got the PY4A model because it was the cheapest option I could find. I think the BY-M100 is a better mic, and it rotates 180 degrees instead of just 90, but it is more expensive. Interesting that 45 degree patch cords are easier to remove. I don't have any 45 degree ones...I'll have to look for one and try it out. Agree with all your wants. Here's hoping at least punch I/O makes it to a hypothetical v4.0.
You're welcome! I do think the R8 and the H1n built-in mics are a little better, for the price, I feel like this DIY solution is serviceable. Thanks for watching!
I'm not sure? Do you have the right combination of mic and adapter? For this particular combo the mic needs to be the TRS version, not the TS or TRSS versions. And then the 3.5mm to XLR converter definitely needs to have that phantom power step-down converter built-in to lower the voltage being delivered. And obviously, you need turn on the 48V phantom power for the input on your R20 or mixing board that you are using. Depending on what you are recording, you'll need to turn up your gain. For acoustic guitar on the R20, I need to put the gain up around 50-60% usually. For vocals, or general room recording, I often need to go past 70% gain, and then sometimes I turn on the noise gate for the channel.
Thanks for this info. I use my H4n for stereo recording and dump the files to the R20. For $20 or $40 for stereo, it’s a great fix. I like the high end this mic, which can be adjusted in post.
You're welcome. The H4n is good. I think the built-in mics on that are slightly better than they are on my H1n. That's an easy workflow if you can record with the H4n and then import the audio files into R20 tracks afterwards for further editing.
Surprising how good the small mics are on the Zoom and Boss BR recorders. For what they are, they do get the job done. Checkout some Boss BR-80 videos. You'll be surprised. Even on vocals. Boss (others) also used something call "plug-in power" condenser mics that required only 2.5v of power. I am not sure if they are still made or if the mic you have here would be a good option. Another great video.
I've seen the BR-80 and have been intrigued by it, but I have a Zoom H1n for pocket sized recordings (albeit it not a multitracker). I also compared the BR-800 vs the Zoom R8 way back when I made that purchase. I've always liked BOSS/Roland's effects in their devices. However, the built in mics on lot of those multitrackers are adequate performers to pick up a single instrument or a dirty recording of a band. I didn't use them often, but the mics on the R8 are serviceable under most conditions, and there are two of them for stereo recording.
Thanks! You probably don't have to get that specific mic, though. You can likely get any TRS mini condenser mic and it should work as long as you get that phantom power step-down adapter as well.
Thanks. If you do try to build a mini mic like that, just know that it's "ok" quality at best. And you want to make sure you get the correct type of 3.5mm to XLR adapter that steps the phantom power down for those types of mini mics.
Nice Tip man. It doesn't sound that bad. I think the zoom h1 sounds more focus. The R8 sounds very bright and roomy. The DIY mic doesn't sound that bright but maybe it works fine with some EQ.
The DIY mic does work better with some EQ adjustments and a little compression, but it is flatter than the other mics. But I probably prefer the R8 mics, especially for acoustic guitar. I think the physical spacing of the two mics on the opposite ends of the R8 gives it the best spacial sound.
Yeah...I think my favorite are the R8 mics. The DIY and the H1n all "work," but I think the R8 is better for acoustic guitar among this batch of cheap mics.
The R20 rhythm options are very different compared to the R8's. The R8 with the sample pads and rhythm sequencer offer something much different compared to the stock 1-measure samples with the R20 or the synth kit #19 (drum kit). I only used the R8's sequencer once in awhile, and I rarely use the R20's rhythm options. Lately I've been making up my own percussion tracks on an external drum machine, recording that on the R20, and then work on my song from there. I think if you rely heavily on your multitracker to provide your backing rhythms, I can see where the R8 has more advantages there...especially with the sequencer. I was just personally limited by the 2 inputs with the R8 at times, which is ultimately why I bought the R20.
No. That's a very processor intensive operation. Many DAWs offer that feature nowadays, but in my limited experience, it can be sloppy. I think Ableton's audio quantize is the only one that is consistently reliable. But with the processor demands, I don't you are going to see audio quantize on a stand-alone multitracker unit anytime soon.
I tried out a DP-008EX for awhile and I liked the form factor and I thought it's built-in mics were perfectly capable, but I just prefer faders vs knobs for controlling levels. Plus it was only 16-bit. That's why years ago I ultimately went with the R8 instead.
![My Easiest IEM Recommendation of 2024 | Kiwi Ears KE4 Review [English]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/GCU6e1T3cyg/mqdefault.jpg)
great idea bud, you've done it again !
Thanks!
It's a shame Zoom removed those mics from their more recent multitrack recorders. I don't know what they were thinking. For quick and dirty recording I still use my R8 over my R20 purely because of the mics. Still, you've found a nice way to overcome this limitation!
Yeah, like I mentioned I don't think it's dealbreaker to prevent people from buying the R20 or R12, but I'm a little surprised Zoom didn't at least include a built-in mic on the smaller R12. The R20 is designed to sit on a desk and sort of stay there. The R12 is all about portability and having a built in mic on that unit would have made a lot of sense to me. At least for me, this little $20 solution sort of gets the job done for that quick recording purpose.
i was thrilled to see they included a mic on the new R4
@@pirateshack9315 Zoom R4 heh? I hadn’t seen that come out. I’ll have to have a look
looks like a great travel unit. i bought the tascam x8 and wish i didn't, way over priced, could've bought 2 R4's which i think are much much better
@@ozhoodguitar
Here a thought. Use an audio cable, 1/8 TRS, from H1n audio out to the Movo adapter to use its mics? Will try this with my H4n Pro
I bought the Movo adapter and paid up for the Boya BY-M100. Interesting that it needs the phantom power on to work. It gives a nice deep tone without being muddy. Distance to mic makes a big difference.
As an aside: Your video on loading and changing patches is great. Started editing with them and they are actually pretty good. Too bad they ant be added to a dry track.
Finally, very found that plugging 45 degree patch cords into the 1/4 holes are easier to get out than the straight ones. There’s got to be a designer story behind that. On,y Zoom product I have that takes 5lbs of pressure to get them out!
Wants:
1. Punch in and out.
2. Track naming.
3. Track assigns of plugged in mic to a different channel.
Oh yeah, better quality midi patches.
All good comments.
The H1n can output it's own power, so I don't need the MOVO adapter for that. I can run a 3.5mm TRS cable out of the H1n and then into a 3.5mm TRS female to stereo break out cable that goes to two 1/4" male plugs that are TS and put those into inputs 1 and 2. That works. I just like the convenience of my little compact DIY for quick recordings with acoustic instruments.
I actually have the BOYA BY-M100 as the USB model. I got that one first, which led me to the PY4A model. I got the PY4A model because it was the cheapest option I could find. I think the BY-M100 is a better mic, and it rotates 180 degrees instead of just 90, but it is more expensive.
Interesting that 45 degree patch cords are easier to remove. I don't have any 45 degree ones...I'll have to look for one and try it out.
Agree with all your wants. Here's hoping at least punch I/O makes it to a hypothetical v4.0.
Thanks for the detail, much appreciated. The DIY mic stacks up pretty well and a good price too!
You're welcome! I do think the R8 and the H1n built-in mics are a little better, for the price, I feel like this DIY solution is serviceable. Thanks for watching!
I tried this exact set up and its not working. Any ideas what i am doing wrong?
I'm not sure? Do you have the right combination of mic and adapter? For this particular combo the mic needs to be the TRS version, not the TS or TRSS versions. And then the 3.5mm to XLR converter definitely needs to have that phantom power step-down converter built-in to lower the voltage being delivered. And obviously, you need turn on the 48V phantom power for the input on your R20 or mixing board that you are using.
Depending on what you are recording, you'll need to turn up your gain. For acoustic guitar on the R20, I need to put the gain up around 50-60% usually. For vocals, or general room recording, I often need to go past 70% gain, and then sometimes I turn on the noise gate for the channel.
Thanks for this info. I use my H4n for stereo recording and dump the files to the R20. For $20 or $40 for stereo, it’s a great fix.
I like the high end this mic, which can be adjusted in post.
You're welcome. The H4n is good. I think the built-in mics on that are slightly better than they are on my H1n. That's an easy workflow if you can record with the H4n and then import the audio files into R20 tracks afterwards for further editing.
Surprising how good the small mics are on the Zoom and Boss BR recorders. For what they are, they do get the job done. Checkout some Boss BR-80 videos. You'll be surprised. Even on vocals. Boss (others) also used something call "plug-in power" condenser mics that required only 2.5v of power. I am not sure if they are still made or if the mic you have here would be a good option. Another great video.
I've seen the BR-80 and have been intrigued by it, but I have a Zoom H1n for pocket sized recordings (albeit it not a multitracker). I also compared the BR-800 vs the Zoom R8 way back when I made that purchase. I've always liked BOSS/Roland's effects in their devices. However, the built in mics on lot of those multitrackers are adequate performers to pick up a single instrument or a dirty recording of a band. I didn't use them often, but the mics on the R8 are serviceable under most conditions, and there are two of them for stereo recording.
This is super clever! I was wondering where you got that microphone!
Thanks! You probably don't have to get that specific mic, though. You can likely get any TRS mini condenser mic and it should work as long as you get that phantom power step-down adapter as well.
I like your idea. It sounds good. I just picked up a Zoom R12 and I think I want to try this.
Thanks. If you do try to build a mini mic like that, just know that it's "ok" quality at best. And you want to make sure you get the correct type of 3.5mm to XLR adapter that steps the phantom power down for those types of mini mics.
Nice! Thanks for the info - looks like a cool thing to have as an available option when needed.
Yeah, it's not bad if you need something compact to work in a pinch.
That's a great hack for the R20
Thanks! It's not perfect, but it gets job done in a pinch.
Nice Tip man. It doesn't sound that bad. I think the zoom h1 sounds more focus. The R8 sounds very bright and roomy. The DIY mic doesn't sound that bright but maybe it works fine with some EQ.
The DIY mic does work better with some EQ adjustments and a little compression, but it is flatter than the other mics. But I probably prefer the R8 mics, especially for acoustic guitar. I think the physical spacing of the two mics on the opposite ends of the R8 gives it the best spacial sound.
Funny how with the R8 you can even hear the scratch of the pick on the strings ^^
Yeah...I think my favorite are the R8 mics. The DIY and the H1n all "work," but I think the R8 is better for acoustic guitar among this batch of cheap mics.
I have the R20 but haven’t felt as connected to it as my R8. I think with the limited rhythms in the R20 and no mics make it more troublesome.
The R20 rhythm options are very different compared to the R8's. The R8 with the sample pads and rhythm sequencer offer something much different compared to the stock 1-measure samples with the R20 or the synth kit #19 (drum kit). I only used the R8's sequencer once in awhile, and I rarely use the R20's rhythm options. Lately I've been making up my own percussion tracks on an external drum machine, recording that on the R20, and then work on my song from there.
I think if you rely heavily on your multitracker to provide your backing rhythms, I can see where the R8 has more advantages there...especially with the sequencer. I was just personally limited by the 2 inputs with the R8 at times, which is ultimately why I bought the R20.
May I ask, can the Zoom R20 quantize audio?
No. That's a very processor intensive operation. Many DAWs offer that feature nowadays, but in my limited experience, it can be sloppy. I think Ableton's audio quantize is the only one that is consistently reliable. But with the processor demands, I don't you are going to see audio quantize on a stand-alone multitracker unit anytime soon.
i used a tascam DP-008EX for awhile and a h1n
I tried out a DP-008EX for awhile and I liked the form factor and I thought it's built-in mics were perfectly capable, but I just prefer faders vs knobs for controlling levels. Plus it was only 16-bit. That's why years ago I ultimately went with the R8 instead.
@@GazRendar makes sense