Zoom H4n Pro vs Tascam DR-40X 

Going to work on tightening up my white balancing game for the next one, especially on b-roll. Ouch! Glad you liked the sound and demo!

Does noise bother you? I read reviews that the noise is too much.

Sorry! 🤪

There's also a great budget-friendly option called the Klark Teknic Mic Boost CT-1 sold at B&H. Out of stock at the moment, though.

I will also be using the DR-40X to record nature sounds, namely, Bigfoot! 😮

Does noise bother you? I read reviews that there is too much noise

Thanks. I've got another one in the works. Been working on the script for weeks. 🤦‍♂️

Yes, H4n Pro can pause and resume recording. You press the round “arm recording” button and then the Play/Pause button to begin recording. Pressing Play/Pause again pauses the recording, which you can resume when you press it again.

Thanks!

@LORDLESS I went with the Tascam. It works well and I keep it on my desk. If I traveled more, I would’ve went with the Zoom. I’m happy with the Tascam tho!!

@LORDLESS nice! I use it to record my Twitch mixes and when I’m testing tracks off beatport. Hope it works well for you fam! :D

The Tascam DR-40X isn't a great choice for podcasting. Dynamic mics work well for podcasting, and the DR-40X struggles with dynamic mics. If your brother is doing a podcast with 3 people, he needs a recorder with 3 XLR mic inputs that handles dynamic mics well. Check out the new Zoom PodTrak P4.

Yeah I know where you're coming from, if it were my choice I'd get him a some dynamics and an interface and be done with it. The issue there is not only the budget but that he is studying journalism and needs something that will be able to do a variety of tasks. The Podtrak P4 is unfortunately well out of said budget, let alone with mics on top. Aah yeah just reading about the dynamic mic issue now. It has optional phantom power for condensers so I just assumed dynamic mics would be fine. Was thinking in future he'd be able to hook up another mic for better quality interviews on the go and a 2nd mic if he wanted to record guests. Well, I ordered it hours ago so will just see how it goes. Still far less than anything else I could find so if he only uses it for other stuff that's fine.

@@jackhb7552 The preamps in the DR-40X struggle with dynamic mics. Dynamic mics require more gain to get a good signal, and the DR-40X ends up introducing too much noise when you set levels with dynamic mics. As far as Tascam recorders go, this is only a problem with the DR-40 and the DR-40X. Other recorders like the Tascam DR-70D don't have this problem. For a journalism student on a tight budget, the DR-40X is still a good choice, though. I recommend spending an extra $29 USD on a Tascam WS-11 windscreen, though. The built-in mics are very sensitive to moving air, so the windscreen will help them a lot.

​@@HiddenDriveways Thanks for the reply, I appreciate your comment about the WS-11 and that you didn't just tell me other portable recorders I should have bought :) I wasn't sure what it came with accessory-wise but a wind shield was on the to-buy list incase it didn't (actually an aftermarket one, so the WS-11 is a better shout thank you). Ashamed to say I studied audio production when I can spend days trying to find the perfect solution for the budget and a big detail like that escapes me. It's been 6 years since uni so I'll blame that 🙈

@@HiddenDrivewaysI believe one can use a FETHEAD or CLOUDLIFTER on a Dynamic mic with the DR-40X set to Phantom power and that will give as much as 25dB clean gain! I didn't know about all the effects on the Zoom H4n Pro and would like to hear those.

Don’t. You can always add rev in post. You can’t undo it.

@@WEHAVETHISDREAM A touch of reverb is no harm. Post production is not worth the time in my case, cheers

@@toneranger True that :) All the best.

One of my co-workers told me I looked like him recently. All I need now is a Maseratti that does one-eighty-five.

I remind you of the Jaws guy?

@@HiddenDriveways Mmmmm no exactly... But, from All That Jazz. (Sorry) ☺ Regards, cool vídeo about two recorders.

Yes, you can use the separately available Tascam PS-P520E AC Power Adapter. Here's a link to it - amzn.to/3q8MNFJ (affiliate link). You can also just connect it to the USB port of a computer and bus power from the port can power it.

The tone is printed on the audio track, but it’s also sent to the headphone output, so you can patch it to other devices like the camera. I didn’t do that. I used the “sync clips” feature in Final Cut Pro, which I explain how to do in this video - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OFk9o5sZUww.html

The Zoom H5 came out in 2014. The Zoom H4n Pro came out in 2016. Plus, the H5 costs around $280 USD, and the H4n Pro costs around $230 USD. That's still around $50 more than the DR-40X, but it's definitely a closer competitor than the H5.

@@HiddenDriveways Hi Sam - you're absolutely right! I was thinking of the once great but now very long in the tooth H4N. The H4N Pro actually came out in 2015 here in Europe, a year after the H5, and they now retail for practically the same, which I why I always wondered why anyone chooses it. It has the same preamps as the H5 but loses bus power, dedicated gain control dials and the option to swap out the mic capsule. It is also consumes more power than the H5, giving it a much shorter battery life despite both recorders using two AA cells. Does make me wonder why Zoom released it.

You are better off with the H4n Pro. You want to plug a guitar into it, that's all I needed to hear. The H4n Pro is designed for that, the DR-40X is not. For line-level stuff, you just need to remember to only connect line-level signals to the 1/4" inputs on the H4n Pro. Keep that in mind and you'll be fine.