Audio Recorders For Podcasters - Podtrak P4 vs Zoom H6

[@bemiwuzhere865]

Thank you for not taking us through a bunch of tech talk before getting to the point. Answered my question within the first two minutes of the video! Well done!

[@motadotfm]

Glad I could help!

[@chadtabary]

Agreed. Answered my question right off the back. Appreciate you!

[@itscrewston6684]

The reason why there’s 2 usb c ports is because usually, when a device charges through a usb c port, there tends to be audio interference/glitches through that port. In order to combat this, they have a regular usb c port where the device cannot be charged from so you can get a clean input from there

[@trevorofde]

It can actually take power from the standard usb port too.

[@amitkumar-wj8gn]

Thank you... You helped me decide within the first mi minute that the Podtrak suits me much better. Cheers... :)

[@Madcowe]

underrated video

[@motadotfm]

Thanks for watching!

[@petrzajic4945]

Thank you for the upfront information! That was absolutely awesome. :-) I watched it all but it was great to get to the simple answer fast.

[@motadotfm]

Thanks for watching!

[@moladeorioye]

Love this, just saved me a ton of cash. I wanted to get the H8 but since I only use this for a Podcast and a sit-down style KZbin setup, I think this can work for video also. Thanks, Mate

[@motadotfm]

Awesome, I definitely think the H8 is overkill. I've personally have never had more than 3 guests on a podcast. Good luck!

[@moladeorioye]

@@motadotfm UPDATE: I got the Zoom P8 instead of the the P4 so I don’t have to do so much in post. Plus I have more people. Thanks for this review again

[@genredpod]

FYI: the USB works on an Android device as well. I use my smartphone to do videos, and the P4 works great as an external microphone input. Excellent sound.

[@Matthew_Raymond]

I think the extra USB is so you can power the device when you have it connected to a laptop (or other mobile device), so you don’t drain the laptop’s battery.

[@motadotfm]

Good point!

[@patbollin]

Great and quick breakdown of the uses and pros/cons of these two devices. I kind of wish that there was a single handheld device that could do all the things that these two devices can do, but I haven't really found one. I now have both for completely different use cases. The H6 for video and field recording, and the P4 for podcasting and specifically for doing remote interviews over iPhone with the Mix Minus capability.

[@motadotfm]

Thanks for watching! I think the H6 has turned out to be top of the line for podcasting. Although the rise of remote recording has complicated things, the P4 is decent on the consumer level. I believe remote recording will be better developed more on the software side of things.

[@codingreel6594]

I'm a beginner for the podcasting world and I was going to buy p4 but i have red online reviews about the p4; that it's terrible canceling background noise if you used already can you share your experiences

[@motadotfm]

I think what the online reviews may have been referring to is gain noise, not background noise. TLDR: Gain noise on the P4 is present, but manageable and can be reduced in post production as long as you capture a good noise sample. The higher the gain, the higher the noise, no matter what preamp you use. For the $200 price point, it's fair game. If you would like a device with even quieter preamps, I would suggest SoundDevices MixPre 3 ii.

[@codingreel6594]

@@motadotfm thank you for clearing that out

[@jonmc3]

I really am torn between the two. I like what I see regarding the P4 but I think I like the H6 for future expansion. It's not that much more. All comments welcome.

[@motadotfm]

It’s on sale right now for $279. I would spend the extra $100 to get an H6 over the P4.

[@mmsk2010]

"Buddons?" "Butt-uns."

[@TheChineseJamaican]

Right at the end you said the H6 can do mix minus but it was manual. How do you do that?

[@motadotfm]

It involves using a few extra cables and adapters! Essentially you do mix minus by how you use L/R pan on certain tracks. It’s possible for things like bringing in a caller from a mobile device. Here’s a video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d2muo5x9Z7SHrKs&feature=shares

[@hamzaa9396]

Can you record directly on to the camera for the P4?

[@motadotfm]

You can use one of the headphone ports to bring a line out into your camera. It’s not designed for this, but it’s a workaround.

[@joesquadcoptervideos2067]

I hope you've changed the batteries in your smoke detector since you posted this video 🤭

[@rickmunneke1621]

So apart from sound quality flexibility, is there anything the H6 can do that the p4 can't?

[@motadotfm]

You get a few extra settings. You can adjust things like pan and volume. You also get a line out that you can adjust the db for.

[@freeshavocadoo]

One and only, zoom h6 and p4 compare.

[@JPBotero717]

If I want to do a video podcast why the H6 would be better?

[@motadotfm]

You can use the line out on the H6 to insert into the line in (mic jack) on your video camera. This is recommended to avoid delays in audio for live streaming. Otherwise your audio would be coming from your recorder and video from the camera separately, and you would have to add an audio delay to align AV.

[@JPBotero717]

@@motadotfm that option is not available with the podtrak?

[@motadotfm]

@@JPBotero717 Technically speaking you can use the headphone line out on the P4 for this. Main reason I recommend the H6 is for its light up color display, better sound quality, and 1/4" thread for mounting on top of a camera (with an adapter) or tripod.

[@JPBotero717]

@@motadotfm thank you so much

[@TheTruth70777]

You think podtrack p4 can handle instruments/band recording?

[@motadotfm]

The p4 is XLR only, but it should be able to take in the signal using a 1/4" (instrument) to XLR cable. Keep in mind you may be putting a line-level input into a mic-level recorder. I don't have the P4 at the moment so I'm not sure if you can switch the mic inputs to line. I would go with the Zoom-l8 for your use case since it gives you more control over EQ and levels.

[@rajkrjha]

are they selling it, can not find in any online store

[@motadotfm]

In the currently available online at Best Buy

[@mariellerus]

Great review! Thx!

[@SLASLOW]

But u only have one headphone in in h6 yes? How do i connect then mroe headphones hmm ans play music from all mics to all headphones

[@motadotfm]

Correct, only one headphone port. To add more ports, you would need to buy something like the Mackie HM-4 headphone amplifier. This adds individual volume control, but there will be no mix-minus capabilities. For this use case, I recommend the P4.

[@joshq-w2l]

So, H6 can not work as interface and record into sd card at same time?

[@motadotfm]

Correct, if you use the H6 as an audio interface, the audio cannot be recorded onto the SD card.

[@darealgreglopez]

Is there an EQ option for mics on P4?

[@motadotfm]

The only EQ setting I came across is a low-cut filter.

[@josuerivera7921]

Grow your nails and your tray opening issue will be solved haha

[@NoahStephens]

For god’s sake, change your fire alarm battery. 😅

[@zacaviad919]

Your DSing is bad bro... Great video otherwise

[@motadotfm]

I went a little to crazy on the highs in post, will keep in mind for the future 👍