ZOOM M4 MICTRAK

DYNAMIC MUSIC | RRP $799.00

Remote recording hasn’t always been the easiest prospectespecially for foley, outside ambience or creating unique samples. These applications have been accompanied by their own set of technical and logistical considerations, the likes of which have traditionally required some bulky equipment to get around, in turn sacrificing any semblance of ‘mobility’ as we know it. This can interrupt whatever serene location you’re trying to capture in its purist essence, thus a more streamlined, handheld solution is required.

Enter the Zoom M4 MicTrak, a 32bit float recorder that can easily be thrown into a small bag. It’s stereo, records pristine audio quality and has all the onboard controls you might need to capture quality audio that won’t need much work in post production. It’s low noise, with all the features you’d need to capture a great recording like headphones, X/Y configuration and 18 hours of battery life. Capturing sounds for film can be risky, with multiple bits of equipment failing to communicate, slowly chewing through batteries and requiring additional work even for a well recorded bit of audio.

If nothing else, the Zoom M4 MicTrak takes the guesswork out of professional audio and visual work. Most audio recorders are generally aimed at the film and foley market, and for good reason.

They’re designed to be more transparent and less colourful than microphones intended for studio and live use, filmmakers wanting to capture scenes as accurately as they can rather than pushing and attenuating tubes and transistors like us musicians do. What makes the M4 unique is how well it captures music, the ebbs and flows of a performance, while still being a transparent enough option for film and other content creation. An X/Y configuration is a great option for stereo recordings, the M4 containing two microphone capsules faced away from each other to capture the left and right side of the source you’re recording. The battery life leaves you confident you can record all day, and if 18 hours of battery life isn’t enough to get you through the session, there might be a whole other conversation that needs to be had. The M4 has Zoom’s PRERECORD function, meaning that the Zoom M4 is constantly monitoring and will provide six seconds of audio from before you hit Record, so you’re safe even if caught unawares. While we’re on the topic of saving yourself from mistakes, the Zoom M4 captures audio at 32-bit float, meaning that you’ve got a massive dynamic range to work with. The noise floor is lower, and there’s more headroom so you can capture everything from whisper quiet footsteps to bombastic drums without any risk of bringing up noise at one end of the spectrum, or clipping into distortion at the other. The M4’s colour LCD screen shows you everything you need to see, from audio recording status and waveforms to gain, battery life and audio settings. All the controls you might need are located on the unit itself, with input controls, zoom options for the LCD screen, play, pause, stop, rewind, fast forward and record buttons all within finger’s reach of each other. The sides of the unit features ins, outs, headphone controls as well as other functions to ensure you’re capturing consistent sound.

The Zoom M4 MicTrak is a four channel audio recorder with a Timecode Generator for film and 32-Bit float for pristine audio. It can serve as a 4-in, 2-out audio interface, but also works as a standalone recorder for you to capture sound on the go to an SD Card and export later. The body of the mic is specially designed to reduce handling noise, ensuring the in-built mics don’t capture anything except your sound source. The two mic inputs are combo XLR/1/4” jacks, and there’s a 3.5mm headphone output as well as a 3.5mm stereo line output for camera connection. There’s no input gain adjustment required as the F-series preamps are clean, coupled with the 32-bit float being crystal clear and easily adjusted in post-production. If the inbuilt mics aren’t enough, 48V phantom power is available on the extra mic ins so you can use any type of mic you wish. For remote working, the

M4 integrates seamlessly with the RC4 remote, though this is sold separately.

Capturing pristine audio for film or music usually required a handful, or in some cases-a carload, of different equipment. Now, thanks to Zoom, we’re at the point where products like the Zoom M4 MicTrak exist, that can not only handle both jobs, but have safeguards in place to ensure that whatever we capture is ready to be used at a professional level for either film, content or music. Even with no other piece of equipment, the M4 functions exactly as you need it to, allowing you to build up a list of equipment at your own pace–never having to buy one thing to allow another piece to work. The M4 is clean, easily transportable and robust, a handy tool to have at every session just in case. Even in an unideal situation, the M4 can capture as cleanly as you need it to, and offers a true-to-source version of whatever it’s pointed at. The sound is clear, balanced and offers depth and clarity, a blank canvas for post-effects or further mixing if required. A handful of accessories from Zoom and you’d be off to races, like a remote, tripod or additional windscreen. That’s not to say that you need anything extra for the M4 to be your new saving grace, as its design makes it a tool that functions exceptionally well as either your only bit of kit or as part of a larger recording chain. Exceptional in its versatility, the Zoom M4 is undoubtedly a sound investment. Pun absolutely intended.

BY LEWIS NOKE EDWARDS