Recording Monologue + Volca Beats + Monotron to Zoom H4n

[JonneyBuck]

Hi all,

Looking for some help. I've borrowed a Zoom H4n and I am trying to make a start recording some music to my PC. I've ordered a male-to-female XLR and a jack adapter so I should be able to get a clean recording of the monologue itself and not expecting any issues there.

However, the way I am playing lately I have a Monotron Delay coming out of the Monologue's output. I'm using it as an effects unit to get delay out of the Monotron. I then put a headphone splitter into the Monotron and hook my Volca Beats and my headphones into that. This way I get a clean feed of the Volca beats and the Monologue being 'dirtied up' by the Monotron.

Short of having to buy some kind of mixer what cables would I need to be able to record this set-up to the Zoom?

Please be gentle, I am new to this!

[voip]

The simplest way might be to unplug the headphones and connect a 1 to 2 splitter in their place, reconnect the headphones into one arm of that splitter, then into the other arm, connect a stereo plug to two mono 1/4" jack cables that then connect to the H4n's inputs. The H4n inputs will probably need to be set to Line level.

It is worth keeping in mind that headphones and ear buds are microphonic, and the signals generated by, say, dropping an ear bud onto a table, or high ambient noise levels, will find their way into the recording, via the splitter.

It would be more elegant to use a mixer, which would provide isolation between headphones and recording, but the simple method, detailed above, will allow basic recordings to be made and, quite likely, they will be of decent quality.
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[JonneyBuck]

Great, so I put a spliter into the spliter I already have connected to the monotron, is that correct?

Then in one arm I connect one of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/kenable-Stereo ... 6766&psc=1

Into two of these? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neutrik-Mini-J ... B071V65NQJ

Sorry for all the questions, really appreciate the help voip!

[JonneyBuck]

Also, don't really understand how the latter is gonna fit into the Zoom inputs?

[voip]

The combo inputs at the bottom of the recorder will take either XLR, or 1/4" jack plugs as inputs. They're quite common in recording gear.

Not sure your setup is entirely clear to me at the moment. My idea of the existing splitter connections may be different to what is actually in place.

Is the sound you're presently hearing in stereo through the headphones?

.

[voip]

For the headphone splitter, I was thinking of something like:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Headphone-Spli ... B000Q8HAVS

That is assuming the headphones have an 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo jack. If they use a 1/4" stereo jack, then get the correct splitter for that size of jack.

Then something like this, to go between the above splitter and the 1/4" jack inputs on the base of the H4n:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/POSUGEAR-Gold- ... B079CFMD5J

The stereo plug goes into the above splitter, and the two mono plugs connect to the H4n. Again, if the splitter female connector is 1/4", then order the appropriate alternative.

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[JonneyBuck]

So the end point is the 3.5 jack into the base input, the bit in the middle between where you would put an XLR into the zoom?

[voip]

The largish hole in the middle of the XLR socket, in the base of the H4n, will accept a 1/4" jack plug (not 3.5mm nor the equivalent 1/8" plugs, which are half the size of a 1/4" jack).

Hope that makes sense.

.

[JonneyBuck]

OK think I've got it, I will get this stuff and let you know how to get on. Thanks again for all your comments!

Starting to think it might just be easier to get a cheap mixer get started