Hey guys, in this video we’ll be reviewing the Zoom SSH-6 stereo shotgun microphone capsule.
This is a microphone attachment that can be used to change the audio pickup pattern on
a Zoom H5, H6, and F1.
It replaces the microphone capsule on these recorders to make them more versatile in different
situations.
In this video, we’ll use the SSH-6 microphone capsule with a Zoom H5 and compare it to the
audio we get from the included Zoom XYH-5 capsule.
I’ll link to all of these in the video description for you to check them out.
Before we get started, I want to mention that the Zoom H5 with the included microphone capsule
is a fantastic recorder on its own.
This video is only meant to show one of the alternative capsules that’s good for some
different types of recording situations, and they all have their uses where they’ll be
better.
I typically use the included XY capsule for most recordings when I want general background
sound, or to record music.
The SSH-6 shotgun capsule is a more of a specialized microphone that I use for video production,
and it’s also great for outdoor use since there’s an included deadcat to block out
the wind noise.
There’s two things I really like about this microphone compared to the included capsule.
First, the SSH-6 is very directional, so you can focus in on an audio source like a person
talking and get a clearer signal than with an XY capsule.
This helps exclude a lot of the background noise as well.
With the XY capsule, you’re pretty much just picking up the source and everything
else around it, so it’s not directional.
It’s great if you want to get general background sound, or sound from a broad range of sources
too.
The second thing I like about the SSH-6 is it’s a mid-side microphone.
That basically means that it has a separate signal for the stereo and the center directional
microphone.
That allows us to adjust the amount of stereo in the signal and we can do some adjustments
afterwards as well.
On the Zoom H5, the midside level is adjusted with the scroll buttons on the right side
of the recorder, and this can be done whenever we’re not recording.
Now let’s cover some of the audio recordings we got from this recorder.
I made some acoustic guitar recordings to show how they each handle music, and talking
so we can see what they sound like for voice when using them for video production.
For each case, we recorded the audio from about 6 feet away.
We did each performance with the XY microphone, the SSH-6 with the mid side up and the SSH-6
with the mid side turned all the way down.
First is the acoustic guitar with the XYH-5 capsule.
Next we have the SSH-6 with the midside turned up.
Finally, there’s the SSH-6 without the midside turned off.
I found both the XY capsule and the SSH-6 to be great microphones, even at this distance
away.
The stereo spread between the two microphones is different, but they both sound good and
it depends on how you need to use it.
When we turn the midside off, we don’t get any stereo signal, and I don’t like using
this mode as much when recording music.
Next let’s do a voice recording.
Here’s the XYH-5 capsule.
Now we have the SSH-6 with the midside turned on.
Last we have the SSH-6 with just the shotgun.
As we can hear, the more directionality comes from the SSH-6 with the midside turned down,
and we can really start to focus in on a sound source from far away.
We can also start to blend in some of the background noise if we increase the midside
level.
Thanks for checking out this video on the SSH-6 microphone capsule.
If this video helped you out, don’t forget to give it a like, subscribe to the channel,
and press the bell icon to get notifications whenever a new video is released.
You can also check the video description for products featured in this video, and social
media links.