How to use one microphone with the Zoom H4n Pro and Tascam DR-40X

The Zoom H4n Pro and Tascam DR-40X have great sounding built-in stereo microphones and multiple inputs, but there are often occasions when you only need to use a single external microphone. Both of these recorders have settings you can adjust that make using a single microphone sound even better. I explain how to do this in this post, and provide sound samples so you can hear the difference.

When is this needed? Here are common scenarios:

• A single shotgun microphone is often used in video production
• It’s common to use a single mic when recording voice-overs
• When overdubbing vocals in music production, a single large-diaphragm condenser microphone is often used
• Solo podcasters only use one mic

These recorders ship with default settings for recording stereo sources, not mono sources. In other words, they are set to record two channels (stereo), not a single channel from a single microphone (mono).

⚡️ Quick note: People who aren’t audio nerds think the word “stereo” means good, and “mono” means bad. This is not the case. Stereo simply means two audio channels, mono means one audio channel.

The best settings for the Zoom H4n Pro

The factory settings for the Zoom H4n Pro have its 1/2 Link setting turned On. If you’re only recording with a single microphone, this is not what you want.

Here’s how to set optimal settings for a single mic:

1) After turning on the H4n Pro, press the 1 button on the front panel to tell the recorder you want to use the inputs, not the built-in mics:

2) Next, press the Menu button on the side of the H4n Pro, and use the dial on the side to scroll down to INPUT, then press the dial to select it.

3) On the next screen, use the dial to scroll down to 1/2 Link, press the dial to select it, then scroll to OFF and press the dial to select it. If you have the Mono Mix setting turned on, you will need to turn it off first. That setting is 2 options below 1/2 Link, turn off Mono Mix, then turn off 1/2 Link.

4) Press the Menu button twice to go back to the main screen. Plug your microphone into XLR input 1. If your microphone needs phantom power, make sure to turn it on.

5) Press the 1 button on the front panel, the same way we did in step 1. When you do this, the screen of the H4n Pro will shortly display INPUT 1 LEVEL: 80 (the number 80 may be different depending on what your REC LEVEL is set to).

6) Set a proper level for your microphone, using the REC LEVEL buttons on the right side of the H4n Pro. If you’re not 100% confident how to set microphone levels, read my How to Set Audio Levels post.

7) Press the 2 button on the front panel, similar to what you did in step 5. This time use the REC LEVEL buttons to turn input 2 down to its lowest possible setting, which is 0.1. Doing this turns the preamp for input 2 all the way down, which reduces the noise floor and makes for a cleaner sounding recording.

You’re done! But, there’s one big problem: you will only hear sound in the left side of your headphones. This is annoying, distracting, and a poor way to monitor audio as you work. This highlights a great feature on the Tascam DR-40X; that recorder has a setting that splits a mono signal to both sides of your headphones so you can monitor confidently.

There are adapters you can buy to help with this shortcoming on the H4n Pro. Monoprice makes a 3.5mm male to female 3.5mm mono adapter that corrects this problem. Monoprice is finally living up to its name — selling you a mono product. 😉

If you use this adapter, make sure you plug your mic into Input 1 on the H4n Pro. That’s the Left side, and this adapter only takes sound from the Left and sums it to both earpieces on your headphones.

When an adapter like the Monoprice is plugged in, it makes the headphone jack stick out a bit, which isn’t ideal, but being able to hear in both sides of your headphones makes this compromise worth it. If the Monoprice adapter isn’t available, there’s another one called the C2G 03174 3.5mm Stereo Female to Mono Male Adapter.

So, what difference do these settings make in sound quality? It will make your recordings subtly less noisy. The difference isn’t huge. Getting the best possible sound quality is all about marginal gains.

I used a Rode NTG-2 shotgun microphone for the sound test below. I chose this mic because it’s a popular and affordable shotgun mic for video production, but also because it requires lots of gain to get a good level.

First you’ll hear the Zoom set with 1/2 Link on, Mono Mix on, and the REC LEVEL set to 100. The audio levels for all of the tests were peaking around -12dB, and my mouth was 12 inches (30.5 cm) away from the mic capsule. Next you’ll hear how it sounds with 1/2 Link off, Mono Mix off, channel 1 REC LEVEL at 100 and channel 2 REC LEVEL at 0.1.

I recommend using the best quality headphones or studio monitor speakers for listening, because the difference is subtle, but you can hear it with good equipment. I also recommend using a decent audio interface instead of the built-in headphone jack on your computer or mobile device, if possible.

To hear how the Zoom H4n Pro sounded compared to the Tascam DR-40X with a single microphone, go to the end of this blog post. It’s worth a 👂.

The best settings for the Tascam DR-40X

As I mentioned earlier in this post, the DR-40X is better equipped to handle a single microphone than the H4n Pro, because when it’s put into one of its mono modes, it sends that single mono audio signal to both sides of the headphones you plug into it.

Here’s how to set optimal settings for a single mic:

1) Press the REC MODE button on the front panel of the DR-40X.

2) In the REC MODE screen, press the Right direction button and press the + or – buttons to scroll the options. There are two options you can use: MONO or DUAL. I recommend using Dual, as it will record a second copy of your audio at a lower level, in the event the main copy gets too loud and distorts.

3) Whether you decided to use MONO or DUAL, you need to change the SOURCE. Press the Left direction button then the – button to scroll down to SOURCE, then press the Right direction button, then press the + button until you get to EXT IN L.

4) Press the Stop button to go back to the home screen. Plug your microphone into the Left XLR input, remember to turn on phantom power with the EXT IN switch on the left side of the unit if your microphone needs it.

5) Press the Record button once to put the DR-40X into record/pause mode. Speak into the mic and set a proper level using the INPUT LEVEL buttons on the left side. If you’re not 100% confident how to set microphone levels, read my How to Set Audio Levels post.

You’re done!

I ended up doing 3 separate audio tests with the DR-40X because I wasn’t hearing a noticeable difference in sound quality. The main reason to use these settings is so you can hear sound in both sides of your headphones as you record.

There is a SOURCE option on the DR-40X called EXT INDEP which lets you set the external inputs at different levels. This is required when you’re setting the mic levels of people or other sounds that have different volumes. For example, if you’re recording two people who are speaking, it’s likely that their voices will have different loudnesses, and require different level settings.

In my testing, I found there was a slightly noticeable difference in sound quality when the REC MODE was set to STEREO and SOURCE was set to EXT INDEP, and the channel the mic was plugged into was set to 72 (where it needed to be to record my voice at -12 dB on the meter) and the other channel was set to 90, which was the highest setting.

The test below was recorded with the same Rode NTG-2 mic in the same room as the Zoom H4n Pro test. Again, my mouth was 12 inches (30.5 cm) away from the mic capsule. I used MONO REC MODE on the DR-40X, but again, I recommend using DUAL with EXT IN L set as the SOURCE.

One of my takeaways from these tests is that if you don’t bother to do any of this stuff, your recordings won’t sound that different. The improvements in sound quality were only slight with both recorders. Again, the main reason to follow the tips in this post are to be able to monitor your sound in both sides of your headphones as you record.

But… Making small improvements in sound quality are worth the effort. Why? Because they add up. When you stack several sound-quality adjustments, the overall recording will improve dramatically. Where you place and position the mic is important, properly setting the gain level is important, reducing environmental noise is important (wind noise, air conditioner noise, vehicle noise, room echo noise, clothing noise, etc.). When you take care of all of those things and add this improvement on top of them, you get better audio.

Which audio recorder sounded better?

Since I was testing both audio recorders back-to-back with a single microphone, I got to hear their sound quality performance over and over. The Zoom H4n Pro always seemed to sound cleaner than the DR-40X. You can hear it for yourself in the test below. I took the best sounding recordings from both units and put them together:

To my ears, the Zoom H4n Pro is the winner, without a doubt. If you don’t mind dealing with that pesky 3.5mm mono adapter, it does a good job with a single microphone. I used the Rode NTG-2 in the tests I shared with you, but I also did these tests with an Audio-Technica 4053B hypercardiod condenser mic (a great mic for recording people speaking indoors, you can see it in the featured image at the top of this post) and an Audix OM-2 dynamic microphone. The Zoom H4n Pro sounded better than the DR-40X with all of the different mics.

Thanks for checking this out! If it was helpful, you can easily help me at no cost to you. Just click on these links before you buy something at Amazon, eBay, or B&H Photo. I get a tiny commission when you do, even if you’re just buying a pair of bunny rabbit headphones. 🐰

Credits: I’d like to thank Marcin Krzanicki for bringing this topic to my attention with his comment on my Zoom H4n vs. DR-40X post. See how great comments can be? If you have something to say, I always want to hear it. 🙂 Also, thanks to a YouTuber named Laclan, who wasn’t directly involved, but I happened to stumble upon his H4n Pro noise issue video a couple days later and it made me think, hey, that’s the thing Marcin commented about! Small 🌏, eh?