Description
Zoom PodTrak P4 Portable Podcast Recorder, Battery Powered, 4 Mic Inputs, Phone Input For Call-In Guests, Remote interviews, 4 Headphone Outputs, Sound Pads, Multi-Track Recording, Audio Interface for recording and streaming.
From the manufacturer
PodTrak P4
THE ULTIMATE RECORDER FOR PODCASTING
Compact, affordable, and loaded with features, the PodTrak P4 makes it easy to capture professional audio wherever you’re recording your podcasts.
Features
- Four mic inputs with XLR connectors
- Four headphone outputs with individual volume control
- Easily connect your phone using the TRRS connection
- Trigger sound effects using four assignable Sound Pads with 11preset sounds
- Automatically prevent feedback from call audio using the Mix-Minus function
- All input sources can be recorded on separate tracks
High Quality Mic Inputs
The P4’s mic inputs feature Zoom’s professional quality preamps. Providing up to 70dB of gain, the P4 can be used with the most demanding microphones.
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Call-In GuestsYou and your guests are not always together. That’s why the P4 makes it easy to incorporate remote interviews. Just connect your phone to the P4 with a TRRS cable. Or connect your computer via USB, using your favorite conferencing software. With the P4’s built-in mix-minus feature, distracting echo and feedback will automatically be eliminated. |
Wireless ConnectivityYou can also use the optional Zoom BTA-2* Bluetooth Receiver to wirelessly connect your phone to record remote guest |
Produce Like a ProThe P4’s customizable Sound Pads can instantly trigger music, ads, jingles, and even pre-recorded interviews. Easily load your own sounds or choose from 11 pre-recorded presets. |
Headphones for Everyone
With 4 independent headphone outputs, each with a dedicated volume control, everyone can hear it all.
AUDIO INTERFACE
The P4 can serve as a 2-input, 2-output audio interface, allowing you to record directly to your computer, Android or iOS* device. With the P4 you can also live-stream your podcast.
* Apple Lightning to USB camera adapter required.
CoolWing –
If Only Everything In Life Was This EZI’ve done some professional sound for movies and what not. When it comes to many things in life, I’m of the “simple/easy is usually better.” I’ve paid a premium for some professional location sound recorders based mainly on how intuitive and easy they’ve been to use. And this little recorder is just about as intuitive and easy to figure out and operate as anything I’ve ever used. In fact, I’ve had no need to even read a manual.I’ll not get into all the technical side of things. I feel enough reviewers have already done that. Plus, there’re YouTube videos and scores of reviews online concerning all the stats. Also, my feeling is many opinions in the AV field are just subjective thoughts based on the reviewers needs, prejudices and biases. What works for one person may not for another. Let’s not get tangled up in the weeds talking about dB, signal to noise, etc over a $200 piece of consumer gear (unless the recordings are totally unusable… which they are not). “I can’t believe this piece of trash isn’t on par with the latest $8k recorder from company X” said no one ever (or someone totally clueless). Enough rant.Right out of the box I figured this recorder out. Everything just seems so logical. Four XLR mic ins on the top and right below each is a corresponding Gain knob. The knobs are labeled 0-10 and are smooth turning (no click stops). If I had a subtle gripe, it may be that the Gain knobs had a little more tension or a raised piece of plastic next to them to prevent accidental adjustment. This actually happened once when a cord hit the dial.Below the Gain knobs are switches with icons. The first to inputs have two switchable positions. First is the icon of a mic and second is mic with a lighting bolt. If you don’t know, there are two basic types of mics… powered and unpowered. Guess which is which?? So easy. The next input has three selections. The first two are the same, however the third is an icon of a cell phone. This unit has something called a mix-minus built into it with the ability to interview people on a cell phone. No guess what the third selection is for. The fourth input has three selections as well. The first two are again the same as the other three inputs, while the third position has a USB icon above it. Wow… wonder what that could be for??Under the switches are four single buttons with icons featuring a speaker symbol with a slash over it representing… Mute. The buttons even light up red when activated. As I hope you’re seeing, this unit is so easy even a trained badger could use it.On the very bottom of the unit are four 1/4 inch jacks for headphones. Each are lined up with the four inputs and each has a dial labeled 0-10 for setting headphone volume.I’m the middle of the recorder is the “complicated” part. To the left are four light-able buttons labeled A-D. These are the four sound pad buttons. Each plays a pre-installed sound clip. The user also has the ability to install there own custom clips. Don’t quote me, however I feel Zoom has some free downloadable sounds. Below the pads is another 0-10 knob to control the Gain of the sound pads.To the right of the sound pads is the backlit, monochrome LCD screen. The most important info during recording is displayed here. Record Time, each channel level, master level, battery level and a black dot signifying Record. There’s also a nice “Goodbye” when powering the unit down lol. One thing I did notice with the screen was that when using AA batteries, the backlight turned off after a short period. When using an external USB power source, the backlight never turned off. This may be a power saving thing for AAs and maybe mine were running low. However I couldn’t find a setting to turn the backlight ON permanently. If the backlight only stays on with a power bank, I’d be wary of using AA batteries. This could be a deal breaker for people who were only looking to use this with AAs. I mean, the levels and time of recording are pretty important bits of info to be left in the dark on.Below the LCD screen are the four main buttons of business. Each is labeled with a icon on the button and (below) as each button serves dual purposes. The first button is the Menu button, followed by the Play/Pause button (Up Selector), then the Stop button (Down Selector) and finally Record button (ENTER Selector). I don’t have time get into the Menu of the unit, however there aren’t a ton of selections and I feel it’s as intuitive and easy to navigate and understand as the rest of the unit. It does have lo-cut and limiters for those who care. Above the Record button is Red LED that lights up while recording. It also lights up when the unit is powered ON.On the right side of the unit is the power button and two jacks. The power button needs to be held in for a second or two when powering the unit On or Off. The two jacks serve several purposes. The 1/4 jack has a cellphone icon next to it. This is where you plug in… your laptop. Work with me, your cellphone for your call-in interviews. The other jack combines with the 1/4 when using the optional Zoom BTA-2 Bluetooth adapter. The $50 adapter is kind of pricey, however if you need it, I guess you need it. I do not.On the left side is plastic door behind which the FULL SIZE SD card is hidden. Some units out there (that I also own) use a MicroSD, which I feel was a huge gaff. I also mentioned the door being plastic, as some SD slots are covered by rubber (not a fan). The door snaps firmly in place and even takes a little finagling to get open. I don’t see it opening by accident.Beside the SD slot are two USB-C ports. A little surprise was that the two ports are behind a metal plate. Just a nice touch to add some extra sturdiness. The two ports are for 5V DC power and a USB connection. Both are clearly labeled. However… here is one slight caveat of this unit, and it’s somewhat unavoidable. Since both the ports are USB-C, I feel someone somewhere has already plugged power into the USB connection. As someone who once did this on an expensive video field monitor, I can tell you the results were regrettable. Plugging a computer connection into the power will probably not do a thing other than probably confuse you as to why your computer isn’t identifying the unit. However, plugging power into the computer connection… let’s not find out. Only quip about that, but only other option was to have two different USB connections for each (which make little sense).Finally I’ll mention build quality. Turns out there are many levels of plastic quality. I don’t feel this constructed from the top tier plastic used on a space shuttle, whiner I also don’t think it’s total trash that will melt in the sun. The plastic feels sturdy enough to me. I saw a video that said it couldn’t survive a six foot drop. I can also say that I don’t go around dropping my gear to test it’s durability. I feel it’s durable enough for my needs, which include throwing it in a backpack.Well, the tour is over. I hope I’ve covered most of the features and have bedazzled you into how simple this recorder is to use. For all the complainers out there I say… it’s $200 !!! What do you want for $200 !!! It’s stupid ez to use and if you’re only looking to do podcasts and not a full studio mix of a seven instrument band… buy this recorder.Nuff said. Peace out.And don’t forget to spay and neuter your pets.
Justin –
Fantastic product for a podcaster.I co-host a podcast, and this was by far our best investment to date. It provides excellent sound and flexibility to have up to 4 in-person speakers or possibly a phone interview and 3 in-person speakers. We love the versatility and sound of our podcast. I would encourage you to use a power source when you can, that way, you never have to worry about battery life. We use an 8gb sim card which allows us to record 5-20 minute episodes without concern over sim card space. In fact, a 4gb would still be much more than we need. The ability to customize each individual mic input while providing a separate headphone for each person with adjustable volume is an incredibly nice feature. The fact that some videos compare this product to the Rodecaster pro, which costs 3 times the price, should tell you all you need to know about the quality and versatility of this product. I don’t see us moving off of this device anytime soon. I rate this a 5 out of 5 except for battery use, but we stopped using the battery once we realized how fast it ate the batteries.
Amazon Customer –
Easy to use. Good quality. Absolutely love it and it works consistentlyI am very happy with the value for the cost of this. The cell adapter Bluetooth application works well. Overall it is the best value for the money. User friendly as it gets.
Phantomdragon89 –
AMAZING Sound device!!I’ve been using this with some friends to record our podcast, and the sound is FANTASTIC! So good in fact that I bought ANOTHER to use personally lol.Absolutely love it!
R. D. Shaver –
Finally!I’ve been making videos for a couple of years now and every mic and interface always fell short for me. Probably user error but I always had some static noise that was too much to overcome in editing. When my wife and I started a new podcast (spark to flame) we needed something that would give us some clean audio. So far the zoom podtrak has been the solution. I love it.
Andrew Garrett –
You won’t find a better unit to start podcasting.I am doing remote podcasts out of a soundproof room that does not have electricity ran to it, and of course I’m starting out on a budget. This gave me an easy interface, with superb sound quality to get me going right away. I love the fact I can mix with it, as multiple channels have their own line levels, as well as monitor levels to adjust. Great to have everyone comfortable. It sounds great without editing and I can do it all off of 2 AA batteries, although the more channels you occupy, the quicker the batteries drain. I strongly recommend the zoom mic pack to compliment this, as well as the ac adapter and Bluetooth receiver so you can do phone interviews. Great product with professional results.
Ron Malinowski, Jr. –
Amazing at Price Point under $200Obtained to see how much this could improve a friends podcast who started out with just usb $30 microphones recording directly into Anchor.FM. Wow, I picked up three different microphones SM57, Q2U, and had a Sennheiser MD42. The pod track handles easily all 3 microphones gain requirements. And I was actually very impressed with the Q2U.We did our first Zoom remote podcast, and it was amazing sounding. Now using the USB Mix Minus doesn’t allow you to record directly into the computer, you will have to record to SD and bring that file in, cause your computer will not be passed the zoom audio. Not a big deal, just know this up front. Also note the files recorded are .wav and may need to be covered to fit size requirements before editing, again not a huge problem. I think the sound pads are easy to manage you can load what you need for that particular podcast before hitting record. 4 gives you into and outdo, and maybe advertisement and a sound effect.. Just enough, unless your wanting to utilize for pre-canned calls or questions, or audio clips.The limiters work well. audio feels balanced well. powered by USB from computers and blacklight stays on while recording so you can monitor your levels. Headphone amplifiers work great we paired them up with the AT-M20X and sound great and they have a plenty long cord, what’s nice with the Q2U microphones if you can to lend one to do a Skype or zoom for your show, they can just plug in the USB and you will improve there audio for your show as well. it nice to to have dual functionality just for the purposes. Colored corded XLR mic cords help know which mic levels may need adjustment on, if you plan to podcast at a large table or such, I think 3-5 ft XLR cables is plenty long.One tip on podcasting, keep all your people so they are looking at each other the best so there always talking into the mic, Samson desk mics work just good, always encourage the shock mount for the mic to avoid tables sounds, or use towels under the mic stand. Good thick foam on the Q2U for plosives.Lastly Have FUN, this unit will provide you A+ sounding podcasts.
GZ –
Amazing value!If you’re a podcaster who wants a recorder for location work, then this is your gadget. Just get it. The Zoom PodTrak P4 crams an incredible amount of functionality into a small, lightweight, and inexpensive device.I did some quick testing with several mics – an EV RE320, a Rode PodMic, and a Shure MVL lav mic. I tested the EV and Rode mics with (and without) a Cloudlifter to determine if there was a noticeable difference in noise. I’ve just given the files a quick listen, and my initial impression is that the files were just as noise-free without an activator. I’ll examine the files more closely using RX8 and update here if I discover something different.Some people have commented about the build quality, and I’d have to agree with their concerns. The device is light and feels a bit fragile, so it will need to be babied. My H6, on the other hand, feels like it can take a beating. The H6 is quite a bit heavier and much more expensive, though.Out of the box, my PodTrak had firmware version v1.1 installed. This firmware appears to have a bug where output files are timestamped incorrectly. This seems to have been corrected with version v1.2.The PodTrak ships with 2 AA alkaline batteries. I burned through those in less than an hour or testing. I would recommend that you use a powerbank or wall outlet when using this device for anything important.You’ll need to do some careful weighing of pros and cons if you’re trying to decide between a Zoom H5 or H6 and the PodTrak P4. You can get by with an H6 as a podcasting device, as it handles the most critical task well: simultaneous recording from multiple XLR mics. They both can function as computer audio interfaces. Some of the advantages of an “H” series device are:* Available interchangeable high-quality mic capsules designed specifically for field recording with the “H” series (e.g., SSH-6 shotgun mic)* Ships with an excellent X/Y mic* More file format choices – 44.1/48/96 kHz, 16 or 24-bit* Tripod mount* More robust build* Better display (larger, higher resolution, color)* Doesn’t create audio files for unused mic ports* 5 or 6 mic inputs available* Available remote controlSome advantages of the PodTrak are:* Lots of preamp gain (apr 70dB); no need for Coudlifter or Fethead* Smartphone input with mix-minus (for recording phone interviews)* Four separate headphone outputs, each with a volume control* Phantom power selection via physical switches* 4-button soundpad with pre-loaded effects; output to a separate track* USB-C ports for file charging and file transfers* Automatically generates a stereo mix file* Lightweight
Carlos P. –
Todo lo que necesita un podcasterSolo no me gustan dos cosas:1) Los materiales de construcción podrían ser mejores2) Me encantaría que diera la oportunidad de grabar a 24 bitsDe resto me parece un excelente equipo para comenzar, pues es muy fácil de usar. La versatilidad es lo mejor de este producto.
T. F. Mena –
Great for podcasters.I have a Zoom H6, but I bought this because it seems well suited for podcasting.I love the sound pads for the music and effects.It also produces a file that has all the inputs mixed. If you have the levels correct, it is a time saver.But, if one mic is too loud or low, it also produces individual files for each input.My suggestion is to get really long ear phone extensions. Otherwise a guest will walk away and pull the recorder, since it is so light.Also use a power bank. You will never run out of power then.And don’t forget Microphone cover foam, so you don’t pop your “P”s.