Page 1 of 3
Using a Zoom H4n as a Two Person
Podcasting Station
Plug in the H4n using the power adapter.
(You can use batteries, but the recorder goes through them very quickly)
Microphones hook up via XLR cables to the bottom of the H4n. You will need an
additional XLR cable and two vocal microphones. Each port records to a separate
channel. Request to borrow the
Audio Recorder Accessory Kit. The Kit
includes
2 mics, 2 stands, 10’ XLR cable and audio adpater
Plug in your headphones (You can borrow a splitter if you’d like to connect two
headsets)
Power on (use the slider located on the left side of the H4n, slide down to power on
)
To operate the menu of the H4n, use the wheel to navigate up and down and click/press the wheel in to
select. The “menu” button serves as the back function.
Set date and time: Menu->System->Date/Time
Set mode to stereo: Menu->Mode->Stereo
Confirm your input settings as follows: (Menu->Input Setting)
Lo Cut – Off
Comp/Limit- Off
Monitor- On (important as it will allow us to see our input signals without going into standby)
½ Link – off
Level auto – Off
Mono mix – Off
MS Matrix – N/A
Phantom - +48v
Set the recording format: Menu->REC->REC Format
WAV48 kHz/16bit is suggested if recording audio for video.
IMC
Innovate Make Create
https://library.albany.edu/imc
518 442-3607
Page 2 of 3
Very Important
Make sure your inputs are set to the external mics. On the front left side of the H4n press either the 1
or 2 buttons, this should transfer the red led from the MIC button (which indicates the H4n’s internal
mics) to lighting up both the 1 and 2 buttons (1 being the left channel and 2 being the right.)
Hit REC once to enter standby mode. The ring around the REC button blinking indicates this. You
will see the levels from each microphone and make adjustments before recording. To adjust have each
person speak into their microphones and adjust the input volume using the REC LEVEL buttons
(located on the side of the H4n under the menu button).
Press the + REC LEVEL button and you will see a prompt on the screen to choose the channel you
wish to adjust. Choose the channel by pressing either the 1 or 2 button on the front of the H4n and
then use the REC LEVEL buttons to adjust volume.
You should aim to hit around a -12db average when speaking at a normal volume. Repeat process with
both channels. When ready to record, simply hit the record button again. The red ring will stay lit and
the time stamp at the top of the screen will begin to count. When finished hit the stop button.
Page 3 of 3
Audacity Post Production Option
Recording default is one stereo track. The option to split the track into 2 mono tracks may be desirable
if you need to edit recordings separately. The two mics on the left can be separated from the two mics
on the right to create two audio tracks [left channel and right channel].
Below is an example of a recording. Export this recording to a stereo audio file to preserve the original
recording; you may need to refer to it later.
To separate the left and right channels select the drop-down menu.
Select Split Stereo Track to split into two mono tracks, one panned hard left
and the other hard right, or Split to Mono to create two mono tracks both
center-panned.
Be careful not to make any cuts while the tracks are separated; they may cause
the tracks to be out of sync with each other.
To export each mono track separately, select File > Export > Export Multiple
To export as a stereo track, select the drop-down menu of the top/first track. Select Make Stereo
Track. To export, select File Export …
For more information see:
https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/splitting_and_joining_stereo_tracks.html
Ryan C. Clow, Digital Scholarship Instructional Specialist, IMC 7/2020;4/2021
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To
view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Illustration of Split to Mono,
center panned. Original stereo
track’s left and right channels
edited as separate mono tracks
