Zoom Gear & Home Recording Forum

Sorry for the dumb question BUT I have recorded my band with my H4n and saved them as wav files...Cubase Le4 successfully loaded on laptop...Can find no instructions on how to move the wav files to laptop. When I connect with USB and open Cubebass, it shows me options of file types but does not allow me to select wav only MIDI...what am I doing wrong? Or, better yet, how do I do this??!!

Tony

Getting a .wav file from your H4n into Cubase is a two-step process:

1. Transfer the .wav file from the H4n to your computer. This does not involve Cubase at all.

2. Open Cubase and set up a new project, then import your .wav file. This does not involve the H4n at all.

Here are some detailed steps:

With your computer on but the H4n off, connect a USB cable between the computer and the H4n. Also hook up the H4n AC adapter.

Turn the H4n on, note that nothing happens on the computer yet.

On the H4n, execute the following command to activate USB storage mode: Press Menu > USB > Storage

Now the H4n should be visible on your computer as a "disk drive". Using Windows Explorer (the program that manages folders and files), find the .wav file you want in the appropriate H4n folder. Then drag-and-drop the file to a folder on the computer. On the computer, double-click the file after it transfers to make sure it plays OK.

To disconnect the H4n from the computer, first click the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon on the computer to shut down the computer's half of the USB interface. Then press the Menu button on the H4n to get out of USB storage mode. Finally disconnect the USB cable and shut off the H4n.

Now run Cubase on your computer.

Create a new empty project (File > New Project), configure the project as desired (Project > Project Setup), and create a new audio track in the project (Project > Add Track > Audio).

Import the .wav file that you copied from the H4n into the Cubase audio track (File > Import > Audio File). Click the Play icon to hear it play.

Cubase comes with a complete set of .pdf manuals which I think are well written and thorough. There's one called "Getting Started" which is a good one to look at for the basics of setting up and using Cubase. You can skip over sections that you don't need (like midi, for example) but you should try to get to the point where you understand the basic operating concepts before you try recording/editing a real project.

Also, there is a completely different forum just for Cubase, here: http://forum.cubase.net/phpbb2/index.php. This is run by Steinberg, the company that makes Cubase, and it's not associated with Zoom or this forum. They have a forum section for "Cubase LE" which is the version that ships with the H4n (and other products).

The above information about H4n USB storage mode is in the H4n manual on page 35. You can read an improved H4n manual online here:
http://www.zoom.co.jp/archive/English_Manual/E_H4n.pdf

- John Santic

Thank you, very much, for the detailed explanation John!

Tony