Rode SmartLav and Zoom H1: let's build an adapter cable
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- čas přidán 22. 08. 2024
- In this quick video I'm showing how to build an adapter cable to convert the SmartLav TRRS plug into a regular stero plug that will make this lapel mic work on any device (and no phantom power).
I decided to make this video because I noticed many people on the forums were convinced that this neat little microphone could not be used on regular recorders.
EDIT: Finally Rode Microphones made their adapter. Hurray! You may buy it from here: www.bhphotovide...
Thanks to Timothy Mathews for the heads up.
We will be releasing a number of adaptor cables very shortly including TRRS to TRS & TRS to TRRS
Great news, guys. Thumbs up!!!
When you release the adaptor cables?? Thank you.
***** They made it. You can buy it here: www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1048150-REG/rode_sc3_trrs_to_trs_adaptor.html
The Rode SC3 does not work with the Zoom H4N. What a shame.
+PHOTOTRISTAN could you expand? how is this possible?
I bought the adapter linked below by Bruce Avilla. It works between the rode smart lav and Zoom H4n. Well, it works as long as you use the adapter tail with the little microphone logo and not the headphone logo. I can get two channel recording using the smart lav thru the apapter and then thru another adapter into the XLR port on the Zoom. So, can use two lavalier mics, one into each XLR input. A bit awkward, but works. Thanks for this video, BTW, I was lost trying to figure out why the smart lav wasn't working.
Hi NorthWestAirgun. Please let me know if the adapter for the rode smartlav on Bruce Avila's link works as stereo (2 channel). Thank you very much!
Excellent work, RedAlert1957! Seems there is a MARKET for this adapter! I haven't been able to find a similarly priced, readily available lapel mic like the Rode SmartLav to use with the H1 Zoom and you've proved the solution. I bet you could sell these for $12-$15 a piece on eBay...
Thanks for making this video (and linking to the Rode product). I am in the same position and appreciate you making a video demonstrating your home made adapter.
Thank you for the video... finally someone with an answer :)
short and to the point. thanks
fast and cheap method to get my lav mic working with my Nikon DSLR. Thanks a ton!
trrs connections can be wired in 2 different configurations; CTIA standard (as used by apple/ android etc) and OMTP standard (not as common but still used on some devices) Because of this great care must be taken to ensure you purchase correct adapter cable for your device. I have cables equivalent to the Rode SC3 & SC4 & my SC6 should arrive today. I also have a headset buddy line in cable which I'd like to use with the SC6 to record from a line level audio source and a mic level audio source simultaneously.
Clever, Inteligent, Fast... this is how youtube videos have to by :) Good work, thanks for help
Thanks. I just needed to know if an adapter was required. Well done.
Thank you sir, i have build one for my rode smart lav+ and it works like a charm.
Thanks for sharing this importante information with everyone.
You're welcome!
Thank you so much for making this video. A great addition to the community! and very helpful. I had one question/suggestion could you (if and when you have time) make one recording raw from the smart phone, and then another one raw from the zoom h1 and leave a download link so we can listen to both raw files? At the outset would you say there is any extra noise introduced to the recording when using the adapter?
Hi Mark, well, I can't make any promises because I'm rather busy these days, but I''ll see what I can do. Right now I can tell you that the raw sound recorded straight from the Zoom H1 is more round, robust and in general more pleasing than the SmartLav's (thanks to the excellent stereo mic). I couldn't tell much of a difference, instead, between the SmartLav and the raw recording from the internal smartphone mic.
Thank you good sir, you have saved me alot of time and money.
Nice Video, RedAlert. I must say that I bought 2 Smartlavs a couple of months ago, one of them still works, the other one DIED suddenly during a very important interview abroad. I'm impressed about how good your SmartLav sounds plugged to your smartphone. I still get way too much noise even though I turned off the IOS and Gain. Any advices?
Quite frankly I don't have an answer to that. The noise may be originated by a number of things. I also heard of other reviews where they pointed out some hissing sound for instance. So I too was surprised to hear how good the sound was. (PS. Sorry for the late reply. CZcams is not alerting me of new replies .. wtf!)
Thank you so very much for this video, my friend. Best regards.
Thank you for this!! Works perfectly!
how can i connect a TS cable from a mic to my smartphone( android).
from my point of view it's better to have a converter cable in 90 degrees facing down when plugged in
Thanks! You save my life! It works!!!
why do the adaptors not work. I bought one and haven't used it yet. what do i need to do to make it work.
Going the other way (using a typical lav into an iPhone) are there any issues with just using a TRS to TRRS adaptor? Like impedence stuff, or is an adaptor all you need?
As far as I know the 2 mics are very similar, so, I assume an adaptor is all you need.
Thanks for posting this video as I recently purchased a RODE Smartlav only to find out that it wont work in my TASCAM DR-60D. So after looking online I found a ebay dealer that sells an "microphone" adapter for the SmartLav here As soon as I get the adapter I'll let you guys know if it works or not. www.ebay.com/itm/390766089008?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
Now RODE has but does not sells an adapter on its website (whats up with that) Like someone mentioned RODE should include this adapter whenever you buy a SMARTLav. Here is the link to the adapter on RODE's website here www.rodemic.com/accessories/sc3
If you watched my video I explain that TRRS to TRS adapters available on the market are MAINLY made for headphones NOT microphones. You need to build your own adapter cable as I describe in my video.
But you don't actually describe how to make the adapter it in your video? Ravah is asking for the pin-out or diagram.
Bonsoir je voudrais savoir j'ai acheté un rode wileress go il y a pas de prise casque, je voudrais surveiller le sons, peut ton prendre un adaptateur, pour entendre tous ce qui se passe.
No speak English
You traduire
I have attempted to do this to plug a smartlav into a Canon Vixia HF R100. I am not getting any audio into the camera regardless of gain. I have been careful to check that the TRRS female jack is wired correctly and have used different wire and TRS male connectors. I have also attempted to plug my test-wire harness into an iMac where I can "hear" in real-time any audio input. I have no difficulty with a video-rode gun mic, but when I play with the smartlav, I cannot seem to get anything other than buzzing sounds or silence. I started out experimenting with just the third and fourth pin on the smartlav TRRS male plug (and associated female TRRS jack) but have since attempted all 16 combinations of pin-outs but to no avail. Any ideas? I am stumped.
Nathan, the third and fourth pins starting from the top (on the smartlav male jack) are the right ones. Please take a look at this diagram: img824.imageshack.us/img824/427/zkr0.jpg. Also be aware that the female TRRS jack is kind of tricky when it comes to find the right connections (i.e. you easily get mixed up). If nothing works you may want to try and buy a splitter cable: www.ebay.com/itm/290781193173?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 although some of such splitters only output on the left channel of your stereo recorder. (Of course I'm taking from granted that you double checked if your smartlav is in perfect working order).
Great video! Thank you.
Bravo! Molto semplice. Grazie.
Here is a converter from rode. I agree, it should have been included.
www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1048150-REG/rode_sc3_trrs_to_trs_adaptor.html
Hi, good work :)
Is there any scheme where we can see the connections between the female TRRS and the male TRS.
Thanks a lot
Ravah, it's actually shown in my video, but here it is anyway: img34.imageshack.us/img34/4810/86h5.jpg
RedAlert1957 I think I may be being dim, but I still don't quite get it. What have you done to the adapter?
Hayden Cohen
Sorry, my bad. I should have shown the contacts that go from the female trrs plug to the male stereo jack. But showing the inside of a female TRRS plug is somewhat confusing. However ... I made yet another diagram that "should" explain how the connections should go. img824.imageshack.us/img824/427/zkr0.jpg Honestly I don't know how else I should explain it.
Could this be used, to have better sound quality on a cassette recorder?
+MetalPunk98 It is certainly a good quality microphone, so yes, the quality should improve even on an old cassette recorder. But also the rest of the hardware (i.e. the recorder quality) matters in this.
RedAlert, I ordered this one from eBay for $6.95 - same design, and a bit longer. Here's the link: www.ebay.com/itm/290781193173?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
Will be shortly ordering the Smartlav, too, and text like you have with my Zoom H1. Thanks again for sharing your video tip - this could be a SUPER setup to recommend!
Hi Bruce. Please let me know if the adapter for the rode smartlav on your link works as stereo (2 channel). Thank you very much!
jenn a - I held off spending the money on the Rode Smartlav because there are less expensive lapel mics that work great with the Zoom H1 recorder. Look at the Azden EX503 on Amazon for less than $20. Another affordable lav mic is the Giant Squid Audio lapel for $40. GiantSquidAudioLab.com
Bruce Avilla Hi Bruce. Thanks for the reply. I have the Rode Smartlav already and Im planning to use it with the Zoom H1 for recording interviews. I was thinking of getting the adapter from the link you posted but worries that it will not work as stereo. Thanks again
jenn a Hi Jenn, even if it will record on a single channel (and this can be annoying - agreed), this is not a big deal. It can usually be fixed in post. In your timeline you can always convert the stereo track to mono: problem solved :)
RedAlert1957 Thanks so much! now it makes me feel better :-)
Hi, I want to connect my Rode SmartLav+ with my laptop for lecture recording. Can you please suggest me which adapter I should buy? Thanks.
+datsme888 www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1048150-REG/rode_sc3_trrs_to_trs_adaptor.html
Thanks you RedAlert1957 !!
Thanks for this video. Rode now does offer TRRS to TRS adaptor. I tried it with Zoom H1 and it worked great. However I haven't been able to make it work with Zoom H6 with a 3.5 to 6.5 TRS adaptor.
Does anyone know if there's a trick to making SmartLav work with Zoom H6?
Hi,
Have you tried the mic with the adaptor connected to a PC or a camera? Does it work?
masterneme The mic DOES work when connected to a PC (with the adapter) but it does NOT work if connected to a camera because it needs phantom power to operate on such device.
Thanks for the warning. I am in the process of creating an adapter for my lav mic to my DSLR. I found that some DSLRs don't need a phantom power source. For example Nikon D3300 doesn't need a phantom source, and will work just fine with the setup mentioned by you!
You need plug-in power. The Zoom H1 (and SOME other devices) supplies that - it's about 2v, needed for the Lavalier to work. The Zoom H6 you need to switch on plug-in power and use the XY mic external socket.
Hi! Please, can you tell me how did you made the adaptor? I don't want to spend my money on a very expensive one. Thank you! :D
blackrain226 If you know how to use a soldering gun, please take a look at this picture img824.imageshack.us/img824/427/zkr0.jpg It may be confusing at first but - if you study it carefully - you'll know how the connections must be done. Sorry if I can't be of any more help.
Thanks anyways :D
For those of you wondering, this guy was born in Germany 🇩🇪 hence the German accent
Ciao RedAlert. Ottimo video intanto! Per noi italiani che non possiamo acquistare l'adattatore linkato da Bruce Avilla, sai a chi posso rivolgermi? Inoltre, mi confermi che avendo un Tascam DR-05 non cambia nulla? Grazie mille!
Ciao Andrea, se proprio hai bisogno di acquistarlo puoi prendere questo www.amazon.it/gp/product/B0058DOWH6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1638&creative=19454&creativeASIN=B0058DOWH6&linkCode=as2&tag=beustersede-21 in vendita da amazon.it. Ma ti avverto, registrerà solo sul canale sinistro. E' un po' una seccatura, ma, in fase di montaggio puoi sempre convertire la pista in stereo e il problema è risolto. Se il Tascam ha il normale ingresso stereo (come è ovvio) funzionerà anche su quello.
RedAlert1957 grazie mille, gentilissimo! Avevo già acquistato proprio quel modello ma continua a non funzionare. Fa niente, restituisco il tutto e mi butto sul Lavalier tradizionale di Rode. Grazie! :)
Andrea Cervone
Mi dispiace Andrea. Sinceramente non so cosa pensare. Quel modello che ti ho raccomandato l'ho testato personalmente e a me funziona. Però sullo Zoom non sul Tascam :( Ma perchè gli ingressi dovrebbero essere diversi? Mah ...
Andrea Cervone RedAlert1957 sono arrivato qua proprio per lo stesso motivo: SmartLav+ + adattatore SC03 che non mi funzionava su Tascam DR05, mentre il solo SmartLav+ funziona alla grande su iPhone.
Soluzione: lo SmartLav+ sembra necessitare di alimentazione phantom. Ho provato ad attivarla sul Tascam e TA-DAAA! ora funziona alla grande.
Briefly in english: if you need to use your smartlav+ on the Tascam DR05, with this adapter or the RODE one (SC-03) you'll need to activate the MIC POWER on the Tascam (Rec settings-> MIC POWER:ON)
add: set your Tascam to record in MONO. The mic is MONO anyway but setting the MONO REC mode on the recorder will result in a more noise free recordings.
Paniko Grazie Paniko per il tuo contributo. Non pensavo che il Tascam (che è simile allo Zoom h1) richiedesse il phantom power. Ma d'altro canto questa è una necessità anche per chi volesse collegare questo microfono a una telecamera.
I have an zoom H6 with the large mono or xlr inputs. I want to take my smart lav trrs and plug it in. What adapter wil work? I found a trrs to stereo adapter and it didn't work...
Robert, please check out the adapter bought by user Bruce Avilla. It's a splitter and it's meant to split the headphones' signal from the microphone's. So it exits with 2 jacks: one is the headphones (that you won't use) and the other is the microphone. But please be aware that some of such adapters only record on the left channel of your stereo recorder (not on both).
The H6 and many TRRS enabled (mic) smartphones and headset require 2.5v plugin power. Be cautious about adapting the TRRS > TRS > XLR. XLR with phantom power is to much power for the SmartLav.. I have 4 smartlavs and had the same thought. Why not just connect up to four SmartLav's. Turns out that the XLR adapters are not an option and the 1/4 > 1/8 TRS adapter support only balanaced and unbalanced lines. SOOOOOoooo the only option is getting the Rode SC3 TRRS to TRS adapter (or knockoff equivalent) and use the XY adapter's MIC Input. Only one SmartLav at a time :(
Hi Alex,
Thank you for the video. Looks like you prompted Rode to make the adapter available :)
I am wondering if you used a DSLR or other battery powered camera for this clip? (I use a DSLR for my clips)
I ask because I saw this item on ebay www.ebay.com.au/itm/RODE-SMARTLAV-LAVALIER-MICROPHONE-AND-RODE-SC3-ADAPTOR-BUNDLE-/121388701213?pt=AU_Pro_Audio&hash=item1c4354961d&_uhb=1
and it says the smart lav requires a camera to have "plug in power".
That doesn't seem right, so I would like to know did you use a regular battery powered camera?
Thank you Alex
Hi Rob, thanks for your comments (actually my name is Mike).
My DSLR is a hacked Panasonic GH2 on which the SmartLav does NOT work because this, and other cameras require some phantom power for the external microphone(s) to work. (In fact I never said I connected to it). The test was on the Zoom H1. On the other hand if you can use an external recorder you don't really want to connect the smartlav to the camera. The audio from the external recorder is way better.
RedAlert1957 Thanks so much for clearing that up - Mike!
I've been doing so much research and it's all new to me, so I'm grateful for the advice.
Hi, do you know if this device works at iMac?
Marcelo Dalbelles I can't say for sure 'cause I have a Windows machine but the pinouts "should" be the same.
Tanx .
Il tuo inglese non è male!
Grazie Gaetano! :)
sei italiano?
is not working for me
Abraham Rodriguez Sorry Abraham, I tried to make it as clear as possible. You may want to double check all contacts.
RedAlert1957 i did!!, do you have more fotos of the adapter
Abraham Rodriguez Try this: img824.imageshack.us/img824/427/zkr0.jpg
RedAlert1957 i did follow that, look goo.gl/photos/Dr2JJA6RVbmTyKxW6
goo.gl/photos/wG2tKkLzVG9rNpKh7
RedAlert1957 i got the female from an old cell phone.