Zoom Podtrak P4 Review Summary and Rating

Zoom Podtrak P4

Andrew McGivern

Portability

Features

Price

Durability

Easy of Use

Summary

This is very close to a perfect podcast recorder.
It loses a few points for durability but gets top marks in almost every other category. The price is great for the features included. The only thing that I would like to see is the ability to record to a DAW in multitrack but at this price point, I won’t be complaining about that.

4.8

BUY on Amazon

Zoom Podtrak P4 Review

I’ve been thinking about upgrading my podcast studio as I start podcasting again. I wanted to get an all-in-one podcast recording device like the Rodecaster Pro or the Zoom Podtrak P4 or P8. I decided to go with the Zoom P4 because of the portability and the price point. I’m excited to start using this device to record my new show.

It wasn’t long ago that you needed multiple pieces of gear to produce a good quality podcast.

In order to produce a podcast with in-person co-hosts and remote guests and with audio cart buttons that you and your guests can hear during the recording, you would need to buy a mixer with aux sends, a digital recorder or USB adapter for a computer and all sorts of cables to set up a mixer mix-minus to bring in remote guests.

Sounds complicated, doesn’t it. It was!

Well, it isn’t anymore thanks to new audio equipment designed just for podcasters!

Podcasters don’t need to use gear designed for musicians anymore.

Podcasters have different needs than musicians and finally, there is a category of recording equipment designed with podcasting in mind.

The Rodecaster Pro, Tascam Mixcast 4, and the Maonocaster are examples of these cool podcast-centric production devices.

Today I want to review the Zoom Podrak P4 which is the most portable of the all-in-one podcast production gadgets.

Traditional Podcast Equipment Setup:

• Mixer
• Laptop adapter
• Digital recorder
• Cables for mix-minus
• Tablet for sound pad
• Headphone amp

* complicated and confusing setup.

All of this can be replaced with the Podtrak P4.

The P4 is about the size of a digital recorder like the Zoom H6 or the Tascam DR40X. But despite its size, it packs a lot of podcasting features into its compact form factor.

What makes it different from your typical digital recorder is that it does not have a built-in microphone. You will need to plug in your favorite podcast microphone(s).

You can plug in up to four XLR microphones if you have multiple in-person co-hosts or guests.

Each microphone input has a built-in phantom power switch (for condenser mics or dynamic mics with a signal booster) and volume level control.

If you are using a mixture of dynamic, condenser, ribbon microphones, or a Cloudlifter you can individually control each microphone’s access to phantom power. Some audio interfaces do not have the ability to choose which tracks have phantom power. For example, the UMC 404HD audio interface has a toggle switch for phantom power but if turned on all four inputs have phantom power.

You don’t have to record into a computer as the Podtrak P4 has an SD Card slot, allowing you to record without anything else. But if you want to record into a computer or stream your show online you can do so with the Podtrak P4.

What about remote guests or co-hosts?

Two of the Podtrak P4’s inputs can be used to connect to remote guests.

Input 3 can be used to connect to a mobile phone call and input 4 can connect to a computer via USB for Skype or Zoom calls. You can connect a phone to the Podtrak P4 by using a TRRS cable or by attaching the Podtrak P4 Bluetooth Adapter (not included). A computer can be connected using USB which will allow you to bring in Skype or Zoom calls.

But this is where it gets really cool!

The mix-minus is taken care of automatically.

If you have used a mixer for podcasting then you know that you have to set up what is called a mixer mix-minus in order to prevent a delayed echo from interfering with your recording.

A mix-minus sends all the audio (the mix) to the remote guest minus their own voice. Without a mix-minus, the guests will hear everybody including themselves which makes it almost impossible to have a conversation as their own voice echos back at them.

If you want to see how to set up a mix-minus on a mixer then watch this great video from Michael O’Neal. But if you are going to buy Podtrak P4 or another all-in-one podcast recorder then you won’t need it.

On the Podtrak P4, both input 3 and input 4 have built-in mix-minus functionality which is great because you don’t have to set it up yourself each time.

IMPORTANT – If you use inputs 3 and 4 for remote guests then that leaves you only two XLR inputs for ‘in studio’ guests.

You can have 4 in-person mics, 3 in-person mics, and one remote guest, or 2 in-person mics and 2 remote guests.

4 Headphone outputs with individual volume control are built in to the Podtrak P4.

The Podtrak P4 has four headphone jacks with individual volume control so each in-person podcast guest/co-host can monitor the recording at a volume they prefer.

In previous podcast studio setups, you would need a separate headphone amp to do this. It is cool that the P4 has this feature built-in.

4 Programable Sound Cart Buttons

There are also four sound pad buttons for bringing in sounds during your podcast recording.

The Podtrak P4 comes with 11 sounds already built-in including canned laughter and applause. You aren’t limited to these preloaded sounds and can load any sounds you want. If you have intro and outro music you can add it to the sound pad and play it in the show at the touch of a button. And if you receive voicemail feedback you can set one of the sound pad buttons to play that too.

This is especially convenient if you are live-streaming your show.

As there are only four buttons you need to choose wisely because you can not change the sounds programmed into the sound pad in the middle of a recording.

If you need more, you can use software like Playit Cartwall and send the audio through input 4 via your computer connection.

Zoom Podtrak P4 Sound Pad Play Modes

The Podtrak P4 has four sound pad play modes.

Your sound pads can be set up to play with one-touch or by holding the button down. For example, a laughter or applause track may sound better if you can hold the button for as long as you need it but an intro music track can play through with one touch and fade out with the sound pad volume control. You can also configure the sound pad using pause mode or loop mode. Pause mode allows you to play audio that you can pause, make your comments, and then unpause. This is great for voicemail feedback when a caller has more than one question. Loop mode is perfect for a music bed that continuously plays in the show.

How to Power the Podtrak P4?

The P4 is powered by 2 AA batteries and will last for several hours before needing a battery change.

Your device can also be powered via a USB cable connected to your computer or a battery pack.

Built-in limiter and Low Cut Filter

In the menu under mic settings, you have the option for a low-cut filter or a limiter.

What is a low-cut filter?

A low-cut filter is used to reduce the lower frequencies from an audio signal so you don’t get a low rumble in your show caused by desk vibrations or background noise. It can make your voice less bassy and helps to reduce the proximity effect if that is what you want.

Should you turn on the low-cut filter?

It depends on your voice, recording environment, and personal preference.

Podcasting is mainly vocal recording and a low-cut filter can help as the frequencies filtered out are typically below the human voice range.

Note: A low-cut filter is the same thing as a high pass filter. So if you are told to use a high pass filter you have it built into the Podtrak P4.

What is a limiter?

A limiter will reduce the dynamic range of the audio that passes through it. But unlike a compressor that gradually reduces the signal above the target level, a limiter completely prevents a signal from passing through above the selected threshold.

A limiter helps to prevent peaking and clipping by preventing the volume from ever reaching the maximum threshold for peaking/clipping.

Should you turn on the limiter?

The best thing to do is to try it out and see how it sounds in your recording environment. It shouldn’t hurt your recording although it can introduce some noise in certain situations.

Both the low-cut filter and the limiter can be applied in post-production so if you don’t turn them on you can apply these effects after the fact. There are some advantages to hardware effects but if they are over-applied it can ruin your audio because the effects are baked in.

Experimenting with these effects will help you decide if you should use them.

NOTE: Once you start recording you can’t get back into the settings to adjust your per track effects.

Multi-track recording

The p4 supports multi-track recording direct to the SD Card. This is awesome as each input and sound pad has its own audio track which is great for multitrack editing.

The Zoom Podtrak P4 gives you 5 separate tracks when recording onto SD Card.

If you have four microphones connected to the Podtrak P4 you will get 4 individual microphone tracks and one sound pad track. To edit in multitrack just bring all these files into your DAW and start editing.

Each track is labeled so you know which track has microphones, phone, sound effects or USB connection Skype, Zoom call, or sound effects.

If you don’t need separate tracks then you can choose the stereo mix WAV file. But if you want a separate track for each person then you will find them in the P4_Multitrack folder.

Why is multi-track recording a big deal?

If you have a separate track for each person on your show as well as a different track for your sound pad, then you can edit each track individually. When someone is someone coughing, you can cut that out and leave the person who is speaking in the mix.

And when your sound pad audio doesn’t line up correctly you can move it or remove it from the mix without affecting the people speaking on the other tracks.

Remember – the Podtrak P4 records in multi-track to the SD Card but does NOT record multi-track to your DAW.

SD Card

I am glad that the Podtrak P4 has an SD Card slot instead of a MICRO-SD Card slot.

I get why we need MICRO-SD cards in smartphones and other small devices but I prefer standard SD Cards in devices like the P4. They are easier to put in and take out.

The Podtrak P4 supports a wide range of SD Cards brands and capacities.

The P4 can be used as an audio interface to record to a DAW on your computer or tablet.

When using the p4 as an audio interface it will function as a 2 input / 2 output interface. The P4 does not support multitrack recording to a DAW. This is a bummer but given that you can record on the SD Card in multi-track and then transfer all the files to your DAW, I can live with that. It would be great if it did support multitrack as an audio interface but for the price, I won’t penalize Zoom for that.

Does the podtrak p4 need a cloudlifter or fethead?

The P4 has 70db of gain which is more than enough to power gain hungry microphones like the ElectroVoice RE320, Shure SM7b, or the Heil PR40. There is more than enough gain to use these microphones without an additional boost from a Cloudlifter, Fethead, or simply sound device.

The Podtrak P4 LCD Screen

The Zoom Podtrak P4 LCD Menu

The Podtrak P4 menu is simple and easy to navigate. There are only five top-level menu options:

• Files
• Sound Pad
• Mic Settings
• File Transfer
• Settings

Files Menu

Under the Files menu, you will see all the files that are on the SD Card.

Sound Pad Menu

In the Sound Pad menu, you have the option to change the audio on the sound pad buttons. New sounds can be added to the SD Card and they will show up in the sound pad menu.

Selecting the sound pad menu will bring you to the button select screen where you choose A, B, C, or D.

Once you select your sound pad you have a few options.

• Sound Assign
• Play Mode
  • One Shot
  • Pause
  • Loop
  • Hold
• Level
  • increase or decrease the level of the sound pad volume for the selected button

Note: If you are assigning intro or outro music that you will be fading out it is a good idea to lower the gain level in the sound pad setting so you have more room to fade out the music. Otherwise, it might cut out abruptly.

Mic Settings Menu

The Mic Settings:

• Lo Cut
• Limiter

The only option is to toggle on or off each Mic.

The File Transfer menu allows you to transfer your recordings to a computer when connected to a computer via USB.

The Settings Menu

The Settings menu has the most options…

• USB mix-minus
  • Off/On
• Date/time
• LCD contrast
• Battery (to select battery type)
  • Alkaline
  • Ni-MH
  • Lithium
• Auto power off
  • Off/On
• SD card
  • Format
  • Card Test
• Factory reset
  • Execute
  • Cancel

What I don’t like about the Podtrak P4

I really love the Podtrak P4. As you will soon read, I had to really look hard for things that I don’t like about this device. But here they are…

Noisy recording if limiter is on

I’ve read that Podtrak P4 recordings can be noisy if the limiter is turned on. I sort of duplicated that but it doesn’t seem too bad. I will update this post once I have more experience using the P4 as my main podcast recorder.

Small LCD is hard to read

The LCD is small and that makes it difficult to monitor levels and watch for peaking but given the size of the device that isn’t a real complaint because it can’t really be made any bigger. The LCD light goes off while recording to save battery usage and that can be annoying.

Only records in 44.1 khz and 16 bit resolution

The P4 can only record in 44.1khz and 16bit resolution. This is standard in podcasting but some people will not be satisfied with this. I don’t think the Pro Video Coalition will be happy about this.

Limited Sound Pad Buttons

Because there are only 4 sound pad buttons, I was hoping that when you pause one button it would remain paused even if you press another button. But unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. I would like to be able to stack my intro, segment transition effects, and outro on one button and play, pause, play, pause, etc.

No Multi-Track recording to a DAW

It would be awesome if you could use this device as a multi-track audio interface. But I’ll take the multi-track recording to the SD Card as a consolation prize!

Plastic Housing

The Podtrak P4 housing is made of plastic so it isn’t as durable as other digital recorders but having heard other podcasters complain about the cheap housing I was expecting it to feel more like a toy. Perhaps because I was expecting it to be worse I was pleasantly surprised that it feels durable despite being plastic.

Cables not included

All the cables required to connect to your pc, phone, and charger are not included.

Product info

Podtrak P4 FAQ

Final Thoughts on the Podtrak P4

After using this device I think it is one of the best pieces of gear that has ever come out for podcasting. Yes, the Rodecaster Pro has is more powerful and supports multi-track recording to a DAW. But it is also 3 times the price and is not as portable as the Podtrak P4.

If you are price conscious and/or looking for a portable podcasting setup this is the ultimate podcasting digital recorder for your podcast studio.

Buy the Podtrak P4 on Amazon