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Recordings from Zoom H-series recorder sound wrong

← Audio
Have you ever experienced this problem?:

"When I record from my Zoom recorder directly into Hindenburg, my voice sounds either too high-pitched or too low-pitched - what's going wrong?"

The problem is that the system thinks that the Zoom recorder is running at a different sample rate than it actually is.  

How to solve the problem for macOS: (for Windows see bottom of article):

1) Decide on what sample rate you wish to use, 44.1 or 48 Hz.

Now, make sure that everything actually run at this rate:

2) Set your Zoom recorder to run at this sample rate. Refer to section 6-5, page 031 of the manual, see image (this example is for H4n, more manuals on Zoom's website).



3) For macOS: Set sampling rate of the audio device in system settings. Go to Audio MIDI Setup. Select the Zoom device. Set sampling rate to the desired value. (See screenshot.) 

Step-by-step:
  • Press Command + Space. This brings up Spotlight search.
  • Then type "Audio MIDI". Spotlight will autofill the rest.  
  • Press enter. This opens Audio MIDI Setup.
  • Select the "Audio Devices" tab.
  • Select your Zoom device under "Input" (note that in the example screenshot it says "Steinberg" instead of Zoom - this is just an example).
  • Make the necessary adjustment of the sampling rate.


4) In Hindenburg, make sure that your "Default sample rate" is as desired. "Tools" -> "Options" -> tab "Audio" -> "Default sample rate". Change if needed. (See screenshot.)

5) Make sure also that "Current sample rate" is as desired. If it is not, create a new session. The new session will then inherit the value from "Default sample rate".  




Now everything should be in sync and your recordings should sound normal. Problem solved. :) 


For Windows, instead of 3) above:

3) For Windows: Set sampling rate of the audio device in "Sound" settings. Step-bystep:
  • Press Windows-key. This brings up search.
  • Type Sound .  This should make Windows propose the "Sound" settings dialog. Select or press enter in order to open the "Sound" settings dialog. Alternatively, the Sound settings dialog can be opened from the Control Panel.
  • Select the "Recording" tab.
  • Select the Zoom device (note that in the screenshot it says "Microphone 2-USB Audio CODEC" instead of Zoom - this is just an example).
  • Click "Properties"
  • Select the "Advanced" tab.
  • Adjust sample rate by selecting the desired setting from the drop-down menu.
  • Click "Apply"


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