Using Zoom H4 as a direct mic to Premiere Pro CS3

[Tim Bickford]

Is it possible to use the Zoom H4 as a direct microphone to a PC to be used in Premiere Pro CS3 for voice overs?

I''ve tried to connect my H4 to my PC. It does not seem to recognize the unit as a mic.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

[Andy Wilkinson]

I wonder if it's like my H2 where, when you connect it to a PC you get two options come up on the mics screen, something like Audio or Mass Storage. You would obviously need to select Audio. Also, try a different USB port?

[Seth Bloombaum]

Originally Posted by Tim Bickford

Is it possible to use the Zoom H4 as a direct microphone to a PC to be used in Premiere Pro CS3 for voice overs?

Yes, it is possible.

Have you installed the ASIO driver available at http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/download/software/h4.php ?

Have you selected Menu | USB | Audio I/O | Connect ?

[Tim Bickford]

Thank you for the suggestions. Thanks to you I've made some progress. Here are the steps I took to get there.

1) Downloaded and installed the ASIO driver available at http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/download/software/h4.php

2) Plugged H4 into USB (with unit power off).

3) Selected "Audio I/O" off H4 menu

4) Set sample rate to 48 (48000 Hz) to match the audio sample rate in my premiere pro project. VERY IMPORTANT. If this does not match you will get P-Pro error messages.

5) Selected "Connect" off H4 menu

6) Selected "Mic" off H4 menu (so that I could use built in stereo mic). If using an external mic... select the appropriate mic 1 or 2 or 1 & 2.

7) Executed Adobe Premiere Pro CS3

8) Opened previous P-PRO Project (Audio setting 48000 Hz). If you create a new project the audio sampling rate must match the rate you selected off the H4 menu.

9) In P-PRO select.... Edit> Preferences > Default Device {Select ZOOM H4 ASIO Driver}

10) Select ISIO Settings from the Default Device window. Make sure that the sample rate matches the setting on the H4 + the P-Pro Project sampling frequency setting. In my case 48000 Hz.

11) In P-PRO select.... Edit> Preferences > Audio Output Mapping {Select ZOOM H4 ASIO Driver}

12) Follow this tutorial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmvIqkeZyik to learn how to record a voice over


PROBLEMS-

1) While recording with the H4 (as set up above) I had to monitor the audio of the mic + other tracks via the head phones directly off the H4. To hear back through the desk top speakers (after the recording) I had to reconfigure STEP-11 Above to Edit> Preferences > Audio Output Mapping {Select Premiere Pro Windows Sound).

2) Do not disconnect the H4 prior to disconnecting through the H4 menu system. I crashed P-Pro many times before I learned this.

3) During the test voice recording through the H4 I had to deal with a reverb effect that appeared to be controled by Master Slider on the P-Pro Audio Mixer window. The slider seemed to have a life of it's own. Often going up and down while I was recording. The reverb was not in the final recorded voice test.

If anyone has suggestions or anything to add I would appreciate it. I'll tighten this post up after... so that we can save someone the time and hassle in the future.

Thanks again!

[Seth Bloombaum]

Originally Posted by Tim Bickford

Thank you for the suggestions. Thanks to you I've made some progress. Here are the steps I took to get there.
...

PROBLEMS-

1) While recording with the H4 (as set up above) I had to monitor the audio of the mic + other tracks via the head phones directly off the H4. To hear back through the desk top speakers (after the recording) I had to reconfigure STEP-11 Above to Edit> Preferences > Audio Output Mapping {Select Premiere Pro Windows Sound).

2) Do not disconnect the H4 prior to disconnecting through the H4 menu system. I crashed P-Pro many times before I learned this.

3) During the test voice recording through the H4 I had to deal with a reverb effect that appeared to be controled by Master Slider on the P-Pro Audio Mixer window. The slider seemed to have a life of it's own. Often going up and down while I was recording. The reverb was not in the final recorded voice test...

Glad it's working for you!

Problem 1 - monitoring. Right, the H4 is now acting as your sound card. Even if you could monitor the passthrough or recorded output of P-Pro you probably would find undesirable latency.

Problem 3 is probably related to latency. See if it helps to mute the track you're recording on. This may seem counterintuitive, but it should only mute to P-Pro's playback mixer function. You should still be getting the mic direct in your phones connected to the H4.

If you need to hear just-recorded sound to get pacing or spacing on new narrative it would be easiest to switch to a new track... um, that's unclear. Finish sentence A, listen to playback of A, open a new track, mute the new track, and record Sentence B.

Sorry if this is off, I don't actually use P-Pro.

[Tim Bickford]

Seth-

Thank you for all your help. I hope this post helps someone with an H4 in the future.