Zoom PodTrak P4 Podcast Recorder with 4 XLR Mic Inputs, 4 Headphone Outputs, Phone & USB Input for Remote Interviews, Sound Pads, 2-In/2-Out USB Audio Interface, Battery Powered

We have been Podcasting for a couple of years now. We started with some of the worst equipment and tried different setups over the years. Using a soundboard is the best way to record a Podcast. XLR microphones are almost a must for quality. I have been looking at the podtrak now for 6 months and I finally bit the bullet. I am pleased that I had. For one the ease of use as well as the portability leaves us with options. I use it strictly as a soundboard. The amazing quality of the sound stands out. The fact that you have 4 XLR inputs as well as 4 separate headphone outputs at this price range is truly earth-shattering. The ability to independently adjust the microphones as well as the headphone's volume is truly a godsend. Add in 4 programmable sound pads, I don't think you can do any better at this price. Now should we want to go on location or record outside our studio, this piece of equipment naturally is made for just that. It's portable and fits right in the palm of your hand comfortably. It's lightweight, this may or may not be an issue as far as durability but handle it with care. Provide an SD card and record away. The knobs are small however are still tactile and have a very precise feel to them so adjustments can be made on the fly with precision. Is this a top-tier device that costs a few grand and produces the greatest-sounding recordings? No, it's specific as to what it does, however, it does it perfectly and the features are truly worth a lot more. The only review I can not give is battery life. We have it connected to a computer at all times for power. If you are not getting long battery life, this is the 21st century. Get a power bank for like 15-20 dollars and I would guess depending on how big a power bank you have you can get over 8 hours or more. If you are using the batteries lower the contrast of the screen to absorb less power.

Been using this for a podcast and its awesome. Noticeably shorter setup time using this over my previous setup which was a combination of a 2 input mixer, and a usb mic. Now I plug all xlr into the PodTrak and everyone can have headphones to hear the sfx from the PodTrak and sounds from the computer as well. It's well worth the small cost and has probably everything you need to start your podcast and possibly you'd never need another mixer. There may be things a Rodecaster can do, but I can't think of anything I need more at the moment. I looked for a while for a 4 mic input mixer for a podcast and this is kind of the only thing I could find that was so cheap, simple, and full featured specifically for podcasts from a reputable brand. It has internal recording but I send the mix to OBS, but I believe I could internal record as a backup so that's awesome if I wanted that safety. It's very small too so takes up little space on the table. And it has a peaking prevention (whatever it's called) which is very useful since some of us on our podcast make lots of noise lol. I'm honestly not sure what they could do to improve it if they made a version 2... although I plan on having more people on my podcast so maybe 6 inputs? Usb C inputs for USB mics? Additional sfx buttons? That could be cool and maybe a larger screen so you could see what the buttons are programmed as easier. But really, the simplicity and basic functionality of it is great. Especially for the price.

I’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.

Una muy buena opción para transmitir en vivo, para grabar videovlog o podcast, precio muy razonable, pero su practicidad es lo mejor! Ideal si estas iniciando y tu presupuesto no es mucho! Ha sido una gran inversión!

Me surpreendi com a qualidade do produto, excelente, poderia ser de metal, traria mais durabilidade, mas creio que afetaria o preço, então está perfeito como está. Menu simples e direto, conexões seguras e um uso quase intuitivo, mas com pouca pesquisa vc tira todas as dúvidas.

There are quite a few recorders that can also work as a USB interface, but you are usually have to pay quite a bit to find a unit that will do both at once. Most will record OR work as a USB interface, but not both. The Zoom P4 is an exception. Not only can it simultaneously record and interface, but it will handle up to four microphones simultaneously, recording each source to a separate track on its SD card (not included). It can also handle inputs from an iPhone (useful for phone interviews) or iPad (useful for adding external sound effects). It is generous with its physical controls, too. There are dials to adjust input on each of the four channels, and also separate dials for the four headphone jacks. It will run for a few hours on batteries, meaning you can use this for street interviews or other location recordings. Of course, at this price, there are some limitations. The big one is that it only goes up to 16-bit recording. If you want 24-bit or 32-bit, you'll have to look elsewhere. However, that's still CD-quality, and the sound recorded is very clean, with no obvious hiss. The device also includes digital limiters, meaning you turn the gain up a bit without worrying that the audio will clip. The P4 has LEDs on its buttons. These are really bright and annoying. If a sound effect is added to one of the four programmable "pad" buttons, that light shines with a light bright enough to read by. I ended up covering all the buttons with black electrical tape, which brings the brightness into an acceptable range. But this is a minor quibble. At present, there is no other device in this price range that comes close to the features and quality the P4 offers.

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Good piece of gear. Best part is the mobility. Fairly easy to use and set up. Would recommend you research it as I did to ensure it suits. It may not be the right decision for everyone, but for me it works really well.