Zoom H6 Audio Recording Essentials

In section two, we'll be turning our attention away from the hardware of the Zoom H6 and spending the rest of our time together exploring the software of the H6. We'll be navigating menus, activating features, and talking about the many essentials of the Zoom H6.

Navigating the Zoom H6 can take a little bit of getting used to. In this lesson I show you how to scroll to different screens, drill down on menu items, and back out to the home/record screen.

When the H6 is powered on, it immediately takes you to the home/record screen. What is this screen and what do all the options mean? In this lesson, I walk you through the different sections of the home/record screen to give you a better idea of what you're looking at each time you power on the H6.

Before using the SD card in the Zoom H6, it has to be formatted by the H6. Formatting the SD card using the H6 will delete any data already on the card and create a file system unique to the H6 that the H6 uses to store files.

Let's take a few minutes to talk about the folder structure that the H6 uses to record and store recordings. It's good to become familiar with this folder structure to take some of the mystery out of it and be able to navigate it with confidence.

The Zoom H6 is capable of recording in either WAV or MP3 formats. If recording in WAV format, each recorded input will have its own audio track in the H6. If recording in MP3 format, all active inputs are combined into one MP3 file. There is a link in the Resources folder to the H6 online manual. On page 81, there is a useful chart showing the file type size relationships.

The Zoom H6 can be provisioned for recording in stereo. In this lesson, I show you how.

One of the great features of the LR Mic Adapters is their ability to simultaneously record a backup file of the currently recording project. Let's talk about it.

The zoom H6 can be configured as an audio interface as well as a stand-alone recorder. As an audio interface, the H6 acts as a mixer connected to your computer or iPad.

The Zoom H6 can be optioned as an SD card reader to eliminate removing and inserting the HD card every time you need to read what's on it. Depending on the type of card, the H6 is compatible with SD cards up to 128GB. See the Resources folder of this lesson for a link to the SD card types and sizes compatible with the H6

The Low Cut Filter is a built-in feature of the Zoom H6 that can be helpful in reducing noise related to low end tones during a recording. The H6 offers several different frequency cutoff levels for filtering out low sounds in your recording. Let's take a look.

The Zoom H6 provides 3 compressors and 3 limiters. These compressors and limiters are applied during recording, not in post production and when applied, you will hear what the audio will sound like before recording.

Some microphones require phantom power to operate correctly. If your does, the Zoom H6 can provide it. Let's take a closer look at phantom power and how to option it correctly in the H6.

When we talked about the XY Adapter in lecture 4, I mentioned the mic/line input jack on the side of the adapter. If you're using that jack to connect a lapel mic, you may need to provision plugin power in H6. Let's talk about it.

Let's give a listen to how the different mic adapters sound when recording. I test each adapter that I have so you can hear for yourself how each one sounds. Note: I did no post production on the audio in this lesson other than level the audio in each video for consistency in volume. I start with a lapel mic plugged into the XY adapter, then I move to the MS mic adapter and test it with the side mic off and at full volume (+6db). I also talk briefly about MS-RAW. From there, I move back to the XY adapter and test it with a 90 degree stereo pattern and a 120 degree pattern. Next is the SGH-6 shotgun mic adapter and finally, the dual XLR/TRS mic adapter. I strongly suggest wearing headphones for this lesson to get the full impact of each module.

Let's take a look at how to set the line out level on the H6.

Let's talk about how to check the firmware version of your H6, make sure you have the latest version installed, and install the latest version if necessary. After downloading the firmware file, you'll need to unzip it and copy the file named H6SYSTEM.BIN to your Zoom H6 SD card. The video gives you all the details and the download link is in the Resources folder in the sidebar of this lecture.

As we close in on the end of this course, let's talk about setting the battery type in the Zoom H6.

Congratulations on finishing the course! I hope you enjoyed it and that it met your expectations. If you have a minute, please leave me a rating and review. That helps others who are thinking of taking the course, make an informed decision. It also helps me to know where things might need improvement or changed. I teach other courses here at Udemy as well on podcast editing using Audacity. Check it out if you're interested. Thanks again and congratulations!