How to Use the Zoom H6

The Zoom h6 is a high quality professional portable audio recorder this video is designed to introduce you to the basics of recording with the h6 more advanced features are outlined in the device manual which can be found on zoom's website at zoom-n-a dot com the h6 is powered by four double-a batteries found in the compartment on the back of the device also on the back of the device is a quarter twenty thread allowing you to mount it to a tripod turn on the device by sliding and holding the power button on the left hand side to turn off the h6 slide the power button down and hold until you see the zoom logo appear and fade to black the h6 records to an sd card located on the left hand side of the device the h6 has multiple options for recording audio you can plug microphones or instruments directly into the device via the four xlr quarter inch combination jacks located on both sides of the device the h6 also features swappable microphone modules that can be swapped by pressing in and holding the silver buttons on the side of each module and inserting it into the top of the h6 the xy stereo microphone module has two settings for audio capture direction the 90 degree setting as shown by the markings on the microphones is ideal for recording a subject that is directly in front of the h6 and will have improved ability to record at a distance you can rotate the microphones to the 120 degree setting to have a wider pickup pattern the xy module also features an input for microphones that utilize a stereo mini jack when using a microphone plugged into this input the h6 will record that microphone rather than the xy stereo module the ms stereo mic which stands for mid side is ideal for voice over narration recording although it looks like one mic this is actually recording from the sides of the device as well the input of the side recording can be adjusted by simply moving the scroll button located on the right hand side either upwards or downwards if you do not need the side recording or are unsure simply press upwards until the side mic level displays as off if you're unsure of which mic module to use perform a comparison test by reading the same lines at the same distance from each mic listen back with headphones and compare which sounds best for your use the display on the front of the h6 features several important pieces of information recording status indicator which will display as stopped paused or recording time code which displays how much time has elapsed during a recording battery life indicator recording folder location and file name recording format which displays the digital audio sample rate and bit depth remaining recording time on the sd card which is impacted by the space remaining on the sd card and the current recording format the middle of the display shows a mixer of all five available input channels each input lists indicators for that channel such as panning volume with volume meters low cut indicator compressor indicator and phantom power indicator on the front of the device there are six input buttons labeled l r one two three and 4. to record using one of the stereo microphone modules select either the l or r buttons to record using an external microphone or instrument select the numbered button that corresponds to the input channel you have plugged that device into for example if you have connected a microphone via xlr cable into channel one select the button labeled one if you are creating a stereo recording with left and right channels coming from separate inputs such as from a mixing board or a pair of microphones you can combine channels 1 and 2 or channels 3 and 4 into a single stereo channel by pressing both buttons simultaneously this is referred to as stereo link notice that the mixer on the display now shows a single stereo track press the two buttons simultaneously again to revert back to two individual channels each channel's input volume is controlled by its own volume knob to properly set input volume select the appropriate input button and begin speaking while adjusting the volume knob until your levels are peaking or at its loudest point between negative 12 and negative six decibels as shown on the volume meters when recording with multiple inputs each input will be saved as its own individual file with the exception of channels that are stereo linked those will be recorded as a single stereo file if you are using the zoom h6 for the first time it is recommended to first format the sd card this process will delete all files on the sd card and properly prepare it for recording with the h6 so be sure all files on the sd card are properly backed up before formatting on the right hand side press the menu button and use the scroll button to navigate to the sd card icon and push the scroll button inwards scroll to format and press the scroll button in when you are asked are you sure select yes and press in on the scroll button when done press the menu button until you return to the home screen the zoom h6 saves recording files in a series of 10 folders on the sd card to select which folder your files are saved to press the menu button and navigate to the folder icon press the scroll button in and navigate to the folder you wish to save your recordings to then press the scroll button in to view the contents of that folder to select that folder as your recording destination press the record button you will be returned to the home screen and the folder you selected will be displayed as the destination to begin recording press the record button once you will see the time code change color to red as well as the recording indicator light appear next to the record button you can pause a recording by pressing the play pause button and then resume by pressing it again to stop a recording press the stop button or the record button always be sure to wear headphones to monitor your audio as you record a headphone jack can be found on the left hand side of the h6 the volume control on this side will adjust the volume of what you are hearing but does not affect the actual recording volume to review the recording press the play pause button after you have stopped recording you can use the track forward and track backward buttons to navigate to the beginning of a file or to navigate through all files in that folder on the sd card to transfer your audio files turn off the device remove the sd card and insert it into your computer or card reader if you do not have access to an sd card reader you can also transfer files via usb turn on the h6 and plug it into a computer using the mini usb cable connected via the port on the right hand side press the menu button and scroll down to usb press in the scroll button and then select sd card reader the h6 should now appear as a drive on your computer and you can access your files when done press menu to disconnect navigate to the folder where your files are and notice that there are subfolders for each recording that contain all files from each input each file is named with a suffix relating to the channel it was recorded on for example the first file has the letters lr at the end indicating this was recorded using the microphone module the file with tr3 indicates this was recorded from input channel 3. stereo linked files will have two numbers as part of their file name suffix from here transfer these files to your desired location the zoom h6 defaults to recording 16-bit audio at 44.1 kilohertz which is suitable for most recordings to change the recording quality press the menu button and navigate to the red record icon and press in the scroll button select record format and select your desired settings wav 96 kilohertz 24 bit will give you the highest quality recording but also larger file sizes more detailed features are outlined in the h6 manual

Channel: Smith College Digital Support

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Length: 9min 28sec (568 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 31 2020