Oh Ray, you sweet siren song of new and awesome looking gear. I seriously had made it through 2020 with no gear buys, and then you do this to me. On Dec 28. I adore you Ray. You temptation filled super star!
@@RayOrtega btwy, I bought one, and love it. There are a lot of great features, but the primary feature was the Mix minus capability for recording phone calls for podcast interviews. I've already used it for that, and it's also great for social audio platforms while using the iPhone. I already owned, and love, a Zoom H6, but that doesn't have the mix minus. My only complaint now, is that I do wish there was a single device that did it all. The new Tascam Portcapture X8 looks amazing, but no Mix minus. I know it also doesn't have 4 headphone jacks, but that was a nice-to-have, and not a NEED. I'll wait, and hope that competition ramps up, and a single device comes out with the features that I need. In the meantime I love both of the handheld devices that I have.
@@patbollin what about the Rodecaster Pro? it has 4 xlr inputs, 4 balanced monitoring out, bluetooth , trrs connection, built-in noise gate, de-esser, compressor, aphex and can be used as an audio interface and could record to memory card simultaneously while being used as an interface?
This caught my eye as a great utility recorder / Swiss Army knife. To record phone interviews, use as a audio interface with a computer, and a four channel mic recorder, and also with the sound pads, it’s a great portable utility device device. Good stuff.
@@RayOrtega Meaning that recording a video which has sound recorded at 48khz, and recording audio with P4 at 44khz, would not be an issue when syncing in post?
@@syedahmadisraasyedibrahim9022 the audio could drift if the video was long enough but I don't recall any issues for me with this video but you can always export a version of the audio that is 48khz and drop that into your project.
@@RayOrtega and the drift is *really* easy to fix (at least within the adobe suite). I learned this the hard way (about to or three months of doing it the wrong way).
It will capture whatever you put into. In other words, a different audio recorder wouldn't likely give you different results. So it's a good option if you need a recorder. I would also consider recording clean with a good mic and then creating the sound you want in post production but I understand that using that exact mic might be part of the appeal.
I agree with other comments, the most comprehensive review of this product on the Internet, by far! Do you think the p4 would struggle with the xm8500 dynamic microphone? It being a close copy of the Shure SM58? Great great video thank you 😁
Thanks! I think it would be just fine with the 8500 although I have never used one. But the SM58 works great with the P4 and it can even push the SM7B which is one of the tougher mics to power cleanly so it should be fine.
I've been eagerly awaiting your review of this thing. I wish they would have added rechargeable power supply instead of standard batteries. Does it offer any type of compression feature?
Hello. I am interested in PodTrak P4. I want to ask you some things before purchasing. 1) My main setup is just one microphone and use the audio from my computer, so i will use the audio interface feature. I read that is not quaranteed that it will work with AMD processors. Will it work with mine processor? See attachment please. 2) As i am not a professional podcaster, i need the recorded file to be saved as an ''One File Recording''. I read that chanels are recorded separately and need editing after in order to create the final mix. Can't they also be recorded as ''One File'', without needing editing afterwards? Thank you. Stavros Tzathas. Athens, Greece.
Unfortunately I have no idea about the issue with AMD processors so I can't say if it will work with yours or not but just make sure wherever you buy it from, you can return it. As for files, one of the files that is recorded is a stereo mix so it will have everything on one track and you can use that for your podcast but also since you are using this as an audio interface, you can just use the track that you record into your computer. Either way, in most cases, you will still have to do some processing to get the file from a .wav file into an .mp3 for podcast delivery but that is easy enough.
Great review, as always, Ray. Two questions. If I connect USB to a PC I do not need a power brick? And I’m guessing I can connect my iPad with i-Jingle Pro app to third input to make unit even more versatile for sound bites, etc.? Thanks.
Thanks, Dan! Correct, the P4 can be powered by your PC's USB connection (bus power) and yes you could connect the iPad to the 3.5mm input and bring in more sounds that way.
Great Video. Will a cloud lifter or signal booster stop the hissing sound or is there anything else that can minimise this type of disruption? Also is the new zoom P5 better than this? Thanks in advance.
So if you hook up your phone you can use it as a recorder? All 4 mics will be sending a recording to your phone which in turn u can save on your phone or tablet as one recording?
The phone demo I show in this video via the phone input is for brining phones into the P4, so if you had a host on the phone (remote) you could bring them into the conversation. However, it can be used as an audio interface which means you might be able to bring it into a phone via USB but I haven't tested that. Back when I had this device, iPhones didn't have USB. And I would imagine that it would depend on if the type of phone you have supports USB interfaces. Most audio interfaces work with newer iPhones that have USB-C so I imagine it could be used to bring multiple mics into those phones, you'd then have to have an app that supports multichannel or if using a regular recording app, you would likely get a stereo mix of all the mics plugged into the P4 and you'd then record that via the app.
@@RayOrtega I received it yesterday. I was able to get my test audio to my MacBook Pro, but the phone feature didn’t work as far as uploading the audio from the P4 to the phone. It was worth the shot, though I didn’t feel that was going to work even though the instruction manual says you can technically do it, I haven’t tried my iPad. I wonder a slightly different interface if that would work I like to edit and do everything from my tablet. I’m an iOS person the little easier believe it or not the MacBook in my opinion.
Thanks for the review mate, question - could you essentially plug a USB microphone into the USB port instead of computer ? If so, can you still increase the gain via dial on channel 4 ? Just trying to use gear I have rather than purchase additional mic. Thanks !
I am using 2 Audio Technica 2005 USB/XLR mics. They worked fine with USB, but when I plug in the XLR cables to the P4 I get significant hiss at 5-7 on the gain knob. Any thoughts on a good solution? Thanks for the great review! I love this device, but need to find a way to make it work without all the extra noise.
Thanks for your review. I do not understand a couple of things: the sound pad- is it a prerecorded audio use in live broadcastings? Why you don't like the Bluetooth adapter for remote calls, the sound is bad? Some interferences?
Sound pad has some prerecorded audio that you can use (typical stinger type stuff), Zoom has more details here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RlSeL-8LhOE.html and you can load your own sounds into the pads. I don't like the sound I've heard through other blutooth connected devices but I didn't get to try Zoom's. If I have the choice I'm going to go wired but if BT was my only option, I wouldn't be afraid to use it, whatever gets the job done;) Thanks for watching.
Hey Ray, you recorded this video using the rodemic pro? Sound is great. What about the AT 4043B no longer using it? What kinds of mix are you applying to treat sound? My rodemic pro always sounds "echoe" indoors.
Thanks for the review Ray. It’s almost the perfect device for my needs but from what I can see, one major drawback is the lack of options for taking a backup. With my current Tascam DR60Dii, I run one of the line outs into a Zoom H1 as just a simple stereo backup should the main recording fail when interviewing somebody for my podcast. Is there a way you can think of doing the same with the P4? Maybe splitting one of the headphone outs and feeding it into the H1? Many thanks.
Great review. One question, how would I use the Podtrak P4 with a remote co-host assuming my co-host has the same setup I have? We'd still want to be able to conduct remote interviews with guests, but would like the best audio quality for us as the hosts.
The cohost would simply record themselves (mic. channel 1) and then you'd have to sync those files in the edit. You could also just try a system like zencastr.com/ which will connect everyone via Chrome and record every channel separately and already be in sync.
Thanks, David. You can use any DAW really. Most DAW have most of the things you need for basic audio editing. I use Adobe Audition but there are many other options including Audacity, Garageband, Logic Pro, Reaper, Hindenburg Journalist, etc.
Technically yes but not in the same way, with the same ease as the P4. For the H6 you would have to output the phone to the H6 and then send the signal back to them which requires other gear. The P4 has all this built in.
Hello, Ray, great review. How big files are. Couldn't find MB/min in the manual. My podcasts are 45 min long and I'd like to know what would be the file size per channel. Thanks!
I bought it and tried recording to it. Each channel file size is approx. 10MB/min. A one-hour episode recording two channels would take approx. 1.2GB only. :)
They are at least as good but almost certainly better, I was impressed with the preamp as I show in the video when I tested out the noise are high gain, they are very 'clean'
So this is almost a year old. I've been looking into several recorders and even audio interfaces for my own upcoming recordings, and so far this seems to check most of my needs. My question is, have you any idea of how often Zoom releases hardware? Becuae I would be beyond pissed off if I got it and they released a new shiny and better version of this.
@@markkennedy5955 Yes. I have a knack for doing this, lol. So I'm going to wait until the end of the year and make do with a usb mic for the time being. How's the P4 working for you?
I'm using Spreaker Studio and having a SKIPPING issue. The Podtrak records perfectly fine to the card, but the draft I record on Spreaker (I'm trying it offline, to then go live on Spreaker), has skipping issues. My audio on Spreaker cuts all the time, every 5-8 seconds. What could it be?
@@thebigfellajourney Are you putting them in the right place on the SD card? From the manual: "Built-in sounds and audio files saved on an SD card can be assigned to SOUND PAD buttons. Use a computer beforehand to store the audio file on the card in any directory other than the P4_Multitrack and P4_Settings folders." And then you have to go into the menu to assign them, check out page 33 zoomcorp.com/media/documents/E_P4_gyZbKRz.pdf
I know the specs and your review said this records in 44.1k. But... if I use this as a USB interface to a DAW like Audacity, if I set Audacity to record the stereo mix, can I do that at 48k? BTW - great video. I liked and subbed.
Would still be 44.1 as far as I know cause the A/D conversion that Zoom is doing is 44.1. Not matching settings might make it harder on your computer because it has to do real-time translation of the different sample rates.
I ran into an issue with using an EMU 1616m interface to record some bass guitar and 6 string into Reaper DAW. I had the EMU set at 44.1 and reaper was set at and expecting 48. On playback all the sound had a high frequency overtone, almost a buzz, which was really frustrating. It finally dawned on me what it was and when I set them both to 48 k it went away. So I suspect you might have problems if you can't match the DAW to the 44.1k
Excellent. Was only left wondering what the limits were on loading any sampled audio to the buttons - both in terms of length, mono / stereo, sample rate and so on.
Thanks and good question. I didn't find any length limits in the manual, files can be stereo and from the manual: "The following audio file types are supported. • File format: WAV • Sample rate: 44.1 kHz • Bit rate: 16-bit"
In my case, yes, podcasting and Zoom made it with podcasting in mind but of course it could be used for anything that you'd use a mic to record;) Thanks for watching
My question is when I do a podcast show,and then I go home ,when I begin to move the episode from the SD card to my podcast platform will both people be recorded on the episode ? Can I just transport from SD card to my anchor.fm podcast?
The P4 records to .wav file so your final file will be very large because it's uncompressed which is what you want for the raw recording. In general, you'll want to do some editing/processing of that file so that it sounds its best. You could just uploaded the recorded mix as a .wav file to Anchor but you'll probably hit their file limit size depending on how long your recording is so in most cases you'll, at a minimum, need to mix down to an mp3 before uploading.
I sold my Behringer 404 to get the P4. -Now I don't have to plug my old Zoom H4 into it to record a backup for when OBS screws up. The P4's gain is much cleaner, too. The Behringer was a nice machine, but this definitely feels like an upgrade and takes up less desk space. Good if you don't need to run guitars and stuff.
I didn't mention it in the video (should have) but I also don't recall hearing any added noise from the headphone amps. Hopefully I would of said so as well if I did;) Thanks for watching!
What does everyone suggest for how I get a recording from the device to a platform like spotify? I guess I would need some sort of finishing or conversion program.. Thanks for any help
