greetings,
I like field recording both in city and nature environment and have a question:
I've been using Zoom h4 with its internal mics and really like it. I tried three different types of external mic on Zoom H4 and I found the same problem: Too low volume.
First, I used rode NTG-2 through xrl on Zoom H4 and I found the volume is too low. I could hardly hear it, even though the phantom +48v was on and mic was powered. I googled on it and found that some people were mentioning about the same problem on this combination and necessity to have pre amp/mixer to Zoom h4 when using external mic. But I found most of the pre-amps/mixers are pretty expensive, a lot more than Zoom H4 itself. So I'm wondering what would be an alternative solution.
I also had same volume problems when using a piezo mic with the 1/4" jack on the Zoom H4. It sounds too weak whenever I am working with the piezo. Instead of the Zoom H4, I use my laptop with software, which is connected to m-audio recording interface. In this way, sounds are captured in better way.
Same problem when using hydrophone mic, which I bought quite recently. The volume is not that extremely low, but even though with phantom power on, I think sound is not loud enough to record, especially in a calm river.
Does the zoom h4n have this problem? Is it better in terms of using external mic?
Any advice or recommendations are appreciated.
best