I’ve used a lot of Zoom Corp devices over the years – guitar multi-effects, video cameras, and especially their recorders. I wouldn’t say the user manuals have been useless, but they sometimes take a bit of exploration and experimentation to understand. So I’ve done a few posts over the years addressing specific issues with some of these gadgets.
The Zoom H6 packs a lot of functionality into a pretty compact device – six input channels with three different paths, effects, overdubbing, mixing, headphone and speaker and line outputs – there’s a lot to cover in the manual. I guess it’s no surprise that some of the functions don’t work in a way that is immediately obvious. It took a bit of trial and error to figure out how to delete a single file from the SD card, so I put together this video demonstrating file management on the H6.
As always, I hope these demonstrations are helpful to other Zoom H6 users.
I usually record audio for my “Look At Me Play Guitar” videos on a PC and audio interface or a standalone recorder, but I understand that the audio system in the latest Lumix GH cameras has upped the quality of camera audio, especially with external mics. And I happen to have a pair of Schoeps mics designed to connect to devices like cameras, the CMBI mic bodies. Naturally I had to hook them up and see what happens.
The CMBI bodies are out of production now but they are still out there in the used market. These little mic bodies are battery powered and use a DIN 5 pin connector instead of XLR output. This configuration was optimal for DAT recorders and other portable recorders that were common in the 1970s. Schoeps created a flexible cable system that allowed mono or stereo setups, but these cables are also no longer in production. Fortunately there are cable specialists who can create functional cable sets. I had Vark Audio create cables for mono and stereo attachment and also a pair of DIN to XLR cables so I could connect to my current recorder.
Here’s the video tutorial showing the setup I used to create a video with the CMBI mics into my Lumix GH5:
and here’s the resulting “Look At Me Play Guitar” video:
It was fun rigging this setup and shooting a video with this equipment, but the capabilities of the newest portable recorders has convinced me to keep using separate audio for my videos. I’m still keeping my mind and eye open for upgrades to camera audio, it’s sure nice to be able to skip the process of syncing audio and video in post.
I usually shoot my videos with a set of Panasonic Lumix GH series cameras and record audio on a separate device, then I edit in REAPER and Edius to create the final clip. But I thought it might be interesting to see what I could accomplish with an iPhone replacing all the other hardware.
I have found that mic placement is really critical for decent audio recording and the built-in camera mic is rarely in the best place, so a separate mic or two really improves the quality of a music video. I’ve tried a few different gadgets that connect external mics to the iPhone and I’ve settled on the iRig Pro Duo for that purpose. It has decent mic preamps and a/d conversion and provides phantom power if needed.
After capturing the performance in the iPhone I used iMovie to edit the clip. Here’s a look at the setup and the editing process:
Just in case you’re interested, here’s the completed video that I posted on my slack key channel:
I must admit that I didn’t totally enjoy the process of editing on the phone, I expect to continue using my laptop, Lumix cameras, and separate recorder for my videos, but at least I now know that I can create content with just a phone, an interface, and a mic or two.
Oh my, am I ever embarrassed. In my look at Shotcut I dismissed HitFilm Express after a very cursory trial. Now I’ve spent a bit more time with the program and discovered that HitFilm Express 2017 provides the holy grail for Look At Me Play Guitar video – automatic audio sync. I’ve only tried it on one clip, but HitFilm took my video and audio, compared the camera audio track to the external recording, and created a new merged file with the replacement audio and ready to edit. (more…)
I hear Mac users have it easy when it comes time to edit their Look At Me Play Guitar videos – their free iMovie application handles trimming heads and tails, syncing external audio, and rendering high quality video. Until recently those of us in PC land have either opened our wallets, struggled with the Microsoft offering, or struggled with some open source alternatives.
Lately, though, things have changed a bit. For folks with a big hardware budget and a willingness to learn, DaVinci Resolve is available as a free download. Hitfilm Express is also available for free. And good old Shotcut has either gotten more solid, or I’ve finally absorbed enough to avoid crashing. (more…)
I’ve shot a few self-duet vidoes over the last few years, playing both sides using different tunings or instruments or just having a lead with accompaniment. It took me a few years to figure out the tricks that make this kind of video work, but with some careful staging and framing of the shoot and a powerful NLE (Non-linear Editor) for the editing the process is actually pretty simple.
I’ve gotten requests to do a tutorial on self-duets, and happily REAPER video features have advanced enough to make self-duet edits a snap, so I set up in the living room and played through my old favorite, Salomila, on the slack key guitar with `ukulele accompaniment. And I did a tutorial video as I went through the process of editing a self-duet video in REAPER. (more…)
At first glance evaluating audio gear seems like it should be perfectly simple, all we need to do is trust our ears. But it turns out that we don’t hear with our ears, we hear with our brain and with the nervous system circuitry between our ears and brain, all in a wildly complex network of sensing, filtering, focusing, and feeding back. And this network is both amazingly sophisticated and hilariously inept at the same time, able to discriminate between small differences but also certain to occasionally make up the answers. (more…)
I had a lot of fun the other day shooting a self-duet video but I ran into a couple of snags trying to use the Zoom H6 metronome and overdub functions. Perhaps my experiences can help you out. (more…)
Howdy, my name is Fran Guidry and this is my Homebrewed Music blog.
I play Hawaiian slack key guitar and recorded my solo acoustic CD at home. Most of the recording information I find on the internet seems focused on bands, drums, multitracking, and so on but my main focus is recording solo acoustic guitar. Lately I’ve been enjoying video recording along with audio, so that shows up in the blog as well.
I’m also a guitar nut. I love big ones and little ones, handmades and factory guitars, cheap ones and expensive ones. So I’ll be sharing the fun of exploring guitars as well, along with the challenges of amplifying acoustic guitars for live performance.
Welcome!
Philosophy
My recording philosophy is pragmatic, skeptical, not super critical. After all, the performance is by far the most important component of a track, and every aspect of any recording is a matter of taste.
But I do like to know “about stuff.” Back in hifi days I learned about double blind testing. I learned that we humans can easily hear differences that don’t really exist. The more I’ve learned about our human auditory system, the more I’m skeptical of what people say they hear, especially if they claim that a particular microphone or preamp or cable has some magical property.
I’ve only been recording since 2001, and when I started I found the usual places on the internet. I sought advice and accepted it, thought I would improve my recordings by using more expensive equipment. It didn’t work.
Two things that did seem to lead to better recordings were experience and room treatment. Getting an appealing sound is the combination of many small details, and learning those details only comes from experience. Amd the sound of the recording space is obviously a big factor.
I’ve only recorded seriously using digital technology, but I remember trying to record rehearsals and gigs back in analog days. I don’t have any nostalgia for analog recording and playback systems at all. I think even low end digital systems can capture marvelous recordings. So when I look at gear, I look for good specs: low noise, broad flat frequency response, wide dynamic range, low distortion. I’m not interested in colorful components, mics and preamps with a sound, I want the sound to be the sound of my guitar.
But the last word is that I’m just learning and I hope you find something useful in my posts.