How To Use Your Zoom F3 as an Audio Interface | Curtis Judd

[@sobadaham]

Bought ZOOM F3 few weeks ago. I totally love it. A clear upgrade of quality in my recordings with AT4053b mic. Came from a Tascam DR60D MK2

[@curtisjudd]

Glad it's working well for you! Happy recording!

[@roadrunna.]

Hi Curtis, Thanks for this, now I can sound like Al Pacino on an interview calls :) love the upgrade from Tascam DR-60d mkii, still figuring out the loudness levels but what an amazing form factor and it's pretty sturdy too. Sorry but I need to bombard you with a few questions whenever you can get to them. And forgive my ignorance I know the answers are already there in other Curtis videos somewhere and I will get to them :) I'm working on pre-production for a short doc film and leveling up the sound this time. Very often when I record something I have questions and I think 'Professor Curtis' haha From a narrative perspective. If I ADR for a sequence, or even dry take it on location, I know the the best sound can be had by moving the boom really close to the talent, and I do get clean levels that way but how do you work in the boom perspective? Is it better to record it like that, with shotgun mic a bit farther away from the talent for a wide shot or when he or she's moving into or away from the frame, or you work in the boom perspective in the post or does it not matter that much? I ask the last question because in watching movies these days I can't always tell there's much boom perspective in some of them and it still doesn't jump out. When I look at BTS I see mics so far away from talents, I think that must be for reference audio only. What is the truth of this? Sometime I get very natural sounding dialogues on set but the ambiance is kind of baked in, is that acceptable? If someone wants to re-master it later, wouldn't they ask for clean separate tracks. Also, I want to record my own Foley and sound effects. Earlier, I would simply use my Zoon H1-n to record stuff but now that I have more mics (NTG5 and NT5) which I use for the dialogues, I am wondering if using NT5 with the Omni capsule plugged into Zoom F3 would give me better results. I live in Montreal, spring is here and birds are coming back, I was out this morning with Zoom H1-n and a bird was making really pretty sounds on a tall tree, I realize I should be taking shotgun mic out as well to capture something like that, somehow these things come very slowly to me, I am a slow learner. I saw your master on that short film, you had lavs on both the friend, you must have recorded ambiance and Foley separately, do you use a short condenser or shotgun for Foley, ambiance and sfx? Thank you very very much!!

[@curtisjudd]

Often the post team will cut to lavs in wide shots if they want the close perspective. This is where you get to make artistic decisions. 👍 Baked in room tone is reality. Embrace it. Also capture clean room tone so post can cover any cuts. I recorded the foley with the same shotgun mic I used to capture the dialogue.

[@roadrunna.]

@@curtisjudd Thank you very much Curtis! This is very helpful!! Regards

[@PathLessPedaledTV]

Can it record audio while acting as an audio interface simultaneously?

[@MRprod.]

I just tested it and you can't record internally in the F3 while using as audio interface.

[@curtisjudd]

Confirmed here, too.

[@TomAntos]

Hi Curtis. Hope all is good with you buddy! Question: which recorder would recommend for small portable way to record XLR shotgun mics in 32bit float mode?

[@sobadaham]

👁️👁️

[@curtisjudd]

Hi Tom, good to hear from you! I'd say the F3 is probably my top choice. I prefer it over the ZOOM H series and the Tascam Portacapture series in terms of audio quality, build quality, and form factor.

[@unowcres]

Thank you for all the F3 content, Curtis! I appreciate your work!

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@ali_alkhatib]

This might be a bit in the weeds, but from trial and error I've found that if you use the F3 as an audio interface (at least with a computer), the LINE OUT port doesn't appear to work *unless you also turn on Direct Monitoring*, which activates the output for both the LINE OUT port and the HEADPHONE port. I've been loving my F3 as an audio interface, but I wanted a durable way to keep the audio synchronized with my camera when I take video calls or give presentations. I figured using LINE OUT from the F3 to my camera would do the trick, but I was finding that the F3 wouldn't send anything to the camera when it was set as an audio interface... unless I turned on Direct Monitoring, which made it frustrating to also use the HEADPHONE port simultaneously. I was able to confirm that when the F3 operates on its own, the LINE OUT port sends a signal out correctly regardless of the Direct Monitoring setting. When it's in that "standalone" mode, the Direct Monitoring setting only affects the HEADPHONE port. I considered leaving it like that, but I sometimes want to record 32-bit float audio on my computer when I'm just recording audio, so that wasn't really a good solution for me. I'm really sorry if this was terribly confusing - if I can clarify or experiment with different configurations, please feel free to let me know and I can follow up. I really appreciate your tutorial videos (even if they don't perform as well as the gear reviews).

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks for the detailed notes. I honestly don’t know of a solution but I would encourage you to bring this up with ZOOM support. Best wishes!

[@BrianTheCameraGuy]

I love my Zoom f3. It is amazing and never thought to use it in this way. Thank you Curtis!

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@thomasjdurfee]

Two clarification questions about gain staging if anyone knows: (1) When using the F3 in interface mode, you only set levels digitally in your DAW or App, yes? (I am coming from an H1n which has both needs digital gain setting in interface mode but also has a gain knob). (2) I cannot both record and use interface at the same time, right? I would need to use record mode for post, and for live audio use the line out with the 3.5mm jack to my computer, and set the output gain mix for each channel separately before I begin, right?

[@ArgoFowl]

just ordered the f3, such a great little recorder

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@lichunnov]

thanks for this useful video. My mac is a bit older (macOS 10.13.6), it seems it won't work. so I wonder if there is other way I can still use F3 as my sound interface with this mac? thank you.

[@curtisjudd]

Not sure. Probably best to contact ZOOM support. Best wishes!

[@ErikESeierstad]

The F3 is not a great field recorder: - It is not reliably compatible with the SDcards specified in Zoom's compatibility list. - It fails silently, so you get no hints that all that will be left of your once-in-a-lifetime performance will be a zero byte file named after today's date and the error message: "Invalid file!" The F3 is a nice 32bit 192kHz stereo audio interface, but as a field recorder it is a disaster. I have contacted Zoom regarding my problems several times over the last year, but they have not replied.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks for sharing. I haven’t had this experience but sorry to hear you have.

[@bladerunner983]

I plan on using the Zoom F3 with Audacity, but I'm running Linux Mint. Has anyone ever tried this?

[@curtisjudd]

Not me, but I don’t foresee any issues.

[@imrin4059]

Possible 32 bit live? Like connect to gopro?

[@curtisjudd]

32-bit float for live is not generally useful. But I’m not sure what your question actually is.

[@kevinbillington9773]

Bought the F3 as I had been using a Zoom H6 before, great little machine, but setting the H6 up for a film we were recording, I was sole cameraman, using two cameras one for wide shot the other for shoulder mount. One of the actresses let out a huh/laugh this caused the audio to distort. So, as we have two camera guys, this is a no budget project, I devided to get the F3, so using this tomorrow for a short film. Fingers crossed.

[@curtisjudd]

🤞

[@curtisjudd]

Gain down so there’s more headroom for laughs.

[@wolfgangdevries127]

Pretty useless for recording (stereo) guitar in a portable way, though. No Hi Z inputs. I assume that's why people use a USB audio interface.. to record stuff, no? 😊

[@curtisjudd]

Yes, the ZOOM F series are made for field recording for video production. Not made for recording instruments.

[@wolfgangdevries127]

@@curtisjudd thanks for the info! Pretty weird, though. Teyun Q12 does have Hi-Z inputs and cost me €18,31

[@curtisjudd]

@@wolfgangdevries127 I understand. For recording instruments, overdubbing, and bouncing to new tracks, have a look at the ZOOM R4.

[@wolfgangdevries127]

@@curtisjudd thanks for the recommendation. The R4 looks great for recording ideas. Has somewhat lesser specs than the F3. Guess I have to live with that :)

[@jukarnarius]

Hello, First of all thank you very much for your content. I had a question: On my F6, I had some strange issues regarding the 3.5mm headphones plug. At first, while playing with channel mapping, I thought it was broken, some channels was clear some disappeared (in headphones, no issue with recording) in multi track mode... After a while, I figure out that it is not quite compatible with 3.5 trrs plugs. It works perfectly with 3.5mm TRS, but something strange is happened while using the same size TRRS jacks of headphones with combine mics... have you notice something similar with this recorder? Sincerely, Juansher

[@curtisjudd]

No, I haven’t.

[@SsaDeCeKaanN]

really appreciate your videos, thanks for your effort. pls keep going. i need your advice on my stereo hifi music system audio recording, i want to make music videos recording speakers from 6-9 feet away. İ can record audio and video separately. i wanna record audio as clean as possible, no touching and editing. i try boya mm1 and rode condenser mics directly connected to my iphone but can not get satisfying audio at all, lots of noise and not much difference built in iphone mic. Which gear should i use to get clean, wide stereo image for my hifi recording videos from 6-9 feet away? Would zoom h4n pro, h6 or roland r07, maybe tascam x6 be good choices or should i use f3 or tascam dr60 mk2 with two condenser mics such as rode nt5? my budget is around 500-600 dolars. thank you.

[@curtisjudd]

Hi! If you're playing back music, why not just use the original music recording instead of trying to re-record it?

[@ManuelParodiRamos]

Does the f3 overheat? I left it today with 2 BasicUchos on the balcony recording ambient sound. After an hour I came back and there was only a few minutes recorded. Now I´m running some tests inside, with a newly formated card with power bank and with alkaline batteries and it seems to go for longer. I really don´t understandwhat the difference is, except for maybe the sun and heat?

[@curtisjudd]

I’ve never left mine out in the sun so I’m not sure. Probably best to check in with ZOOM support.

[@carpetbomberz]

Hearing the Shure SM58 direct connected, it's as good as you could ever want on ANY recorder.

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@sumitino]

I’m really close to pulling the trigger on this product. Thanks for showing so much of this machines capabilities over the last couple of years since release. One thing holding me back is the lack of 3.5 input which is why I have also been looking at the Portacapture x6.

[@curtisjudd]

👍 you plan to use 3.5 mm input often? If not, you could use something like the RODE VXLR+

[@TheStorytellingDad]

I’m still using a H1n recorder and it still sounds great, and has a nice mic built in.

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@jannarkiewicz633]

How did I miss this video? Great as always.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks!

[@jwdegroot1177]

Thank you! Quite helpful.

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@StarWarsJay]

I’m working with a Focusrite 4i4 3rd gen. I overdone it as I’m only using one XLR mic. This device looks like it would free up space on my desk, plus it works as a field recorder. Would you say there’s any sound quality difference between this Zoom and the device I’m using? Thanks Curtis.

[@curtisjudd]

Probably not a big difference. Your microphone will make a bigger difference to the sound quality is my guess.

[@StarWarsJay]

@@curtisjudd then there’s the output options on the interface (line in and outs to amps, active speakers etc).

[@LearnLightAndSoundSessions]

@@StarWarsJay Exactly.

[@StarWarsJay]

@@LearnLightAndSoundSessions I’ve answered my own question haha. Still, good to go over the pros and cons.

[@sumitino]

@@StarWarsJaymaybe the focusrite also has a higher amount of clean gain it can provide for the XLR inputs…just a thought I don’t know that for sure but it would make sense considering the form factor and design.

[@officiallymrgk]

Hello Curtis, which DAW did you use to record the audio in this video? Thanks and keep up the good work.

[@curtisjudd]

DaVinci Resolve.

[@DigIntoGaming]

​@@curtisjuddso I'm assuming that means davinci resolve can record 32bit float? I know it can edit it haha

[@curtisjudd]

@@DigIntoGamingwait, to clarify, this episode was recorded on the F3 and edited in Resolve. I assume it can record 32-bit float as well.

[@DigIntoGaming]

@@curtisjudd to clarify I was speaking of davinci resolves built in recording mode. Which I would assume it could record 32bit float if it could edit it, however I do not like making assumptions. I also mostly posted that question for others in case they too were wondering. Because, for some people it is more convenient to see the answer in a KZbin comment than actually researching it on their web browser.

[@curtisjudd]

@@DigIntoGaming Understood. I just tested on macOS and confirmed that the F3 was connected to the Mac with 32-bit float enabled. Audio MIDI Setup app confirmed this. However, when I record with this setup in DaVinci Resolve, the audio clips and is NOT recoverable so, unless I'm doing something wrong, Resolve does not record 32-bit float.

[@noranoskyle4417]

I have three deity TC-1 and three cameras. would i need another deity tc-1 to synce all cameras and sound together from the zoomf3?

[@curtisjudd]

Need to know your full setup. Unless they added it recently, I don’t believe the F3 and TC-1 can sync wirelessly. So you’ll need one for the F3 and one for each camera.

[@noranoskyle4417]

@@curtisjudd Correct. The only way to sync wirelessly is to buy the ultrablue and then buy the atomos ultra sync. which comes out to around $400.... might as well just buy the f6 at that point or the mixpre3ii. I have the canon c70, r5c, and r6. I have 3 diety tc-1. my two mics are the sennheiser 8050 and 8060. I really want to put both mics to use and use 32bit in case of clipping or other errors. I want to work smarter and put all my equipment to use for podcasts, youtube, and interviews. Which 32 bit recorder would you suggest? I don't have one at this moment, but I want to be wise because somehow i am always spending $1000 every month on stuff lol. zoomf3 with another deity tc-1 (c70 would use the other mic at 24bit no 32bit), the f6, or the mixpre3ii?

[@noranoskyle4417]

***also the r5c and r6 do not have 48 phantom but im sure you already know that lol. I want a recorder for both field and youtube videos and interview work. I don't have other phantom power mics. SO i don't see the point of getting f6, but because the mixpre is expensive I might as well get the f6. Or can I just get by with the zoomf3 and keep my eye on the c70 for pitching while the r5c uses the 32bit zoomf3? What ya think. hope im not rambling

[@noranoskyle4417]

also Im not a sound engineer and I have had problems with sound especially when I am by myself stressing and running around.

[@curtisjudd]

@@noranoskyle4417 If you really intend to do a timecode workflow and you're planning to invest in a 32-bit float recorder, I'd opt for the MixPre. I know it isn't cheap. On the other hand, how much time will timecode ACTUALLY save you? If not that much, then you could just go with the F3 and sync in post and save a LOT of money.