[Brian Reynolds]

Is the sound level ‘low’ compared to other recordings?
It may not be as the auto gain has raised the level so high that even the slightest handling noise will 50 times (or more) louder than it should be.

[Brian Reynolds]

Yep you are now into a very grey area… lets assume the xlr connector is wired correctly… the first point of doubt is the 1/4″ mono connector, the next point of doubt is the converter to mini jack, then the next point of doubt is the connection into the camcorder.

So realisticly there might be 6-8 possible connection variations in the set up you have….. Yes they may all physicaly fit together but I very much doubt if you have the correct connections.

I have NEVER found a correctly wired ‘off the shelf’ adaptor to suit stereo camcorder mic inputs.

[Brian Reynolds]

I think I might have the reason… you have a balanced mic going into an unbalanced stereo input. You need to get a correctly made cord that will send the mic signal to BOTH left and right of the cam corder. At the moment tou have the positive of the mic signal going to Left and the negative of the signal going to Right.

Pin 1 of the mic needs to end up on the ‘sleave’ of the camcorder input connector.
Pin 2 of the mic needs to end up on BOTH the ‘tip’ and ‘ring’ of the camcorder input connector.
Pin 3 of the mic needs to be joined up with ‘sleave’ at the camcroder input connector.

ANY OTHER combination WILL give you trouble.

[Brian Reynolds]

In the original posting of this thread you mentioned the mic was a ‘clone of an SM58’… you mean by shape or by construction or by electrically similar.
Any chance of a make and model number?

[Brian Reynolds]

Wrong mic for the job…. Shure SM58 (and clones) are vocal mics designed for singers to SCREAM into, which means any handling noise will be way down in level compared to the audio signal.
SM 58’s can be used as an interview style mic BUT it needs to be VERY close to the mouth and talking at a loud level.

Typical interview mics used for news type jobs, the mics often used Electro voice RE50, Shure SM63, Shure VP64, Sennheiser MD42,+ others are most times are ‘omni directional’ rather than cardioid pattern mics.

[Brian Reynolds]

I would personally NEVER run a mic directly into the H4n or H6 without going through a mixer.
When you go straight in how do you ride levels? Which is a basic of location recording…. It’s NOT set and forget.
I use 416’s, Mkh 60’s, Mkh 8060, and Hyper Cardioid mics, G2/3 and Sony Radio mics….So different mics for different situations I have not yet found just one mic to do it all.
A lot of people I know love the Rode NTG 3 as a shotgun mic but have never had the need to buy/use one.

There maybe others on the forum that have tried different mics direct to the H4n that may give better advice than myself.

[Brian Reynolds]

The H4n and Rode NTG2 are not a good combination…. there are MANY postings on forums about exactly the problem you are experiencing.
How to get around it?
Get a higher output mic…. Or get a different recorder with better gain and lower noise floor levels… Or use a mixer to get the level up between the mic and the recorder.

[Brian Reynolds]

Were you running compressors or limiters on the Zoom?
I’ve had similar looking waveforms on some recordings done both the H4n and the H6 when the compressor / limiter was ‘on’

[Brian Reynolds]

So let me try and understand your situation, ONE person will use 2 (maybe 3) cameras to record an event where each person will be have a radio Lav mic that will need to be mounted on them. Audio levels will need to be set, monitored and adjusted, battery levels on the cameras / radio mics etc will need to be monitored etc. And you will need to operate the camera/s as well.
Then post produced without the assistance of timecode.

I’m sorry but a situation like this a ‘Professional’ would / should walk away from as they can see a train wreck about to happen.

A product like this will disappoint the client and they will go away with a VERY negative view of video production people.

Audio professionals are often asked to solve problems like yours but by doing so dramatically lowers the standards of what we do for a living, the industry is already on a slide to poor audio standards and the loss of jobs by people doing VERY low budget productions with little or no experience.

[Brian Reynolds]

From the sounds of it you are out of your league to achieve a 100% guaranteed job…… Hire a sound person.