So, what do you want to record?=0D
=0D
I can tell you are interested in recording outdoors but there are basic par=
ameters to get your head around.=0D
=0D
If you sit in the woods ( or wherever) with a transistor radio turned up to=
No 5 on your lap, and record that, almost every portable recorder will mak=
e a good job of it.=0D
=0D
If you turn it off, you'll quickly notice that it takes your ears a little =
while to readjust to the lower level that the ambient sounds are at.=0D
=0D
That's where things get tricky. Most recorder manufacturers blurb about how=
nice their microphones sound, and they usually do, when you are dealing wi=
th plenty of "level". When the levels you are interested in are an order of=
magnitude lower than household habitat levels, the big elephant in the roo=
m is circuit noise.=0D
=0D
The mics create some of it and the preamps create more of it. Eventually, a=
ctually quite quickly, you are having a meditative experience of listening =
to electrons flow through semi-conductor junctions, which is usually not wh=
at you set out to do.=0D
=0D
Yes, getting very close to your subject makes a big gain in your success st=
akes but that's a rare opportunity, and probably more often missed than cap=
tured, to be honest.=0D
=0D
I suppose, by 'video mic road', you mean something like a =C2=A3150 camera-=
top Rode mic or something similar. I don't think the noise will be any less=
with one of those than it is with the H4n's own internals, though it may s=
ound a little smoother at the high end.=0D
=0D
It's hard to really suggest a way forward for you, other than to remind you=
that "noise" is No 1, even before microphone characteristics. Some mic wea=
knesses can be compensated for later in a decent audio processing app' on t=
he computer, but noise can't be fixed much without creating worse artifacts=
from the software algorithms than the noise was in the first place.=0D
=0D
If I was working with a H4n, I think I'd be using an external preamp and fe=
eding it into the line input.=0D
=0D
Church audio in the US have some nice ones, I believe. In the UK, FEL used =
to have a nice one called the FEL BMA2 but it seems they are sold out so un=
less you can spot one on ebay that's not a runner.=0D
=0D
As for PIP ( plug-in-power ) power, it's often assumed that a low voltage (=
which is what many of the portables provide ) is sufficient for low SPL re=
cordings i.e. outdoor nature stuff. That's a misconception, in my experienc=
e. Yes, the SPL will probably never hit the voltage limit, but, no, the mic=
circuit will also never reach it's quietest operation range.=0D
=0D
I don't know what the PIP V level is from a H4n but I can almost guarantee =
it's not really high enough for most mics to be operating at their best. An=
ything less than 5v is troublesome, in my experience, so far. ( I'm actuall=
y quite a newbie to this outdoor recording thing, myself ).=0D
=0D
I hope what I've written is more of a help than it is confusing for you.=0D
=0D
Very best wishes,=0D
norman.=0D
"While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause.
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