In this video, we'll show you how to make your first recording with the Behringer Flow 4V field recorder. This is a deep product with a ton of features, so we'll just cover getting started with your first recording.

First, plug in your microphone — we're using a dynamic Shure SM58. There's no power button; the Flow 4V is powered via USB-C, either the included AC adapter or a USB battery bank. Once power is plugged into the power-specific USB slot, it powers up.

Next, arm the channel you want to record using the rec-enable interface — you tell the recorder which inputs to record, and whether to also record a mix of all inputs. Since this is a 32-bit float recorder, you think of it like a mixer. If you record just input one, the levels will look extraordinarily low on your computer afterward — don't panic, the audio is there, you just need to boost it up in post. Alternatively you can record the mix, which applies your fader levels and includes all plugged-in microphones — useful if you just want a simple stereo mix.

Next, set your resolution: 24-bit fixed or 32-bit float. Most people buy this recorder for 32-bit float, which is what we'll use, though 24-bit fixed is available if a client needs that format. Plug in headphones and set your headphone volume using the control knob, starting low.

Back at the channel menu, talk into the microphone and increase the fader to get healthy levels — with a dynamic mic you need a lot of gain, and there's no harm going close to max since you're recording 32-bit float, which gives you plenty of headroom to fix things in post if someone suddenly gets loud. If you're using a condenser microphone instead, you'll need to turn on 48V phantom power via its dedicated button.

There's a lot of onboard processing we'll cover in another video, but as a start we'll apply a high-pass filter at 75 Hz, since most voices don't go that low — this filters out room noise below that frequency. To record, press the record button; you'll see the flashing timecode confirming it's recording, and press stop when you're done.

To get your recording onto your computer, pop the SD card out from the back. One note on 32-bit float files: the file will have multiple channels — the first two are your stereo mix, and if you also enabled the isolated input track, that third channel will look very quiet and need to be boosted up in your DAW or editor, with no added noise floor cost since the Flow 4V has very clean preamplifiers and converters designed for exactly this. Check back soon for more tutorials on the Flow 4V. Get out there and make some great sound.