recording?

[cellio]

Dear LazyWeb,

What is the conventional wisdom these days for casual, computer-assisted accoustic recording? If I want to record myself singing against some computer-generated (or at least -rendered) tracks (MIDI, maybe), and I'm looking for basic demo quality, not studio quality, what should I be using (software and hardware)? I have a PC (XP) and an iBook (X.4) available; both have unremarkable sound cards. I have no mic or headphones; I assume I need the latter to avoid feedback from speakers. I assume the headphones don't much matter if they get sound to my ears and the mic matters somewhat. What should I be buying (hardware) and. ideally, downloading (software)?

Comments

[giddysinger.livejournal.com]

The hardware is actually pretty easy: You just need a decent computer mic, and you can find quite a few in the $20-30 range.

As for software, the program of choice these days is Audacity. I haven't played with it yet myself, but it's on my list of Things To Do. It's free and apparently easy to use. Here's something that a friend of mine did with it:

http://zombie-dog.livejournal.com/463912.html

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

Depending on which generation iBook you have, GarageBand will do all this and more but might run like a dog. Audacity will do it for free, but the interface is somewhat clunkier.

Look into a USB computer microphone. Again I'm not sure what generation iBook you have, but many of them *do* have a built-in microphone -- it just is pretty miserable.

You'll want headphones if you want to record *only* you singing. You could also record you + the music you are singing along to, but it'll be lower quality and will end up all on one track (just the same as if you stuck a mic in front of you as normal). In general you won't get feedback, however, because you can turn off the "pass through" option and so the computer won't emit the sound of your singing -- so it's strictly for quality reasons.

I can try to be clearer about this tomorrow when I have more brain if you need a little more detail.

[ariannawyn.livejournal.com]

I've also used Audacity on PCs and it's really nice - intuitive, easy to "fix" glitches by deleting, duplicating or adding to portions of a track. Dunno whether there's a Mac version. But if so, get it - it's a free download from their website.

The quality of the mic matters a LOT. I bought a fairly cheap one for home (like $20) and it has a definite crackle of white noise to it. I did some semi-pro recording at work (voice-over narration, which meant speaking, not singing) with a better mic and the difference was marked. A room with decent acoustics, not too much echo and isolated from outside noise, is a must.

[geekosaur]

There's a Mac OS X .dmg of Audacity with a native OSX/Aqua user interface downloadable from the main Audacity site; it works quite well.

I picked up a cheap USB speaker/mic adapter (a little disk with a USB cable and jacks for speakers and microphone) which works fairly well; as mentioend by others, the quality of the mic you plug into it and the recording environment are what really matter.

Recording Software and Hardware

[rob-of-unspace.livejournal.com]

1. I prefer Sonar, but it's an expensive program and really requires a very good computer to run the current edition. Cakewalk has a simpler program with a similar interface that you can get at Best Buy for about $70. The different effects for guitar and other instruments are amazing. I've got a plug-in for Sonar that makes the MIDI flute sound human.

2. You're right, you need headphones. You can play a track, listening with the headphones, while you play or sing with it.

3. A small 2 to 3 octave keyboard is best for entering MIDI music. You'll still have to edit, but the options (like "make everything eighth notes") helps.

4. You probably don't want to use a computer mic. At the Guitar Center they will sell you something that connects to the computer by USB and takes either quarter inch or RCA plugs from a decent microphone. I could loan you one of my mics if you wanted.

5. Cathasaigh is a friend of mine who has made 2.5 albums using home recording technology. She is in the process of getting a baby bottle mic for recording. Her web site is www.cathasaigh.com . You might be able to ask her -- she knows far more than I do.
Rob

[hakamadare.livejournal.com]

she’s got an iBook G4 800; it’s got enough grunt to do audio recording. the Griffiin iMic (http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic/) is the typical cheap USB audio interface that people buy; despite the name, it does not include a microphone.

GarageBand seems a sensible choice for software; it’s quite likely already installed on the iBook.

-steve

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

Another satisfied Audacity (for PC) user.

A few thoughts on audio software

[brokengoose.livejournal.com]

-I'm no expert, but I like to play. Serious Audio People will scoff at everything that I have to say.

-Garage Band is really nice, but it's a CPU and memory pig. On your laptop (which is the same as my laptop, actually), you'll be able to do all of the work that you want to do IF you "downmix" the MIDI audio into one or two tracks of uncompressed "wave" audio before adding voice. I start to see some annoying latency with more than 3 tracks, especially if I'm playing with MIDI. If you have regular access to a higher-end mac, Garage Band is a great way to go. If you don't have iLife, it might not be worth spending $100 given the limitations of your hardware.

-Audacity feels like an Open Source program. It can do absolutely anything, but it's always just a little bit more complicated and obscure than necessary. There's a whole lot to be said for "free", though.

-I've never used any PC audio software other than Audacity, so I won't comment on them.

-If you end up using hardware that doesn't already have an analog line-in connector (like your laptop), I'd recommend not getting a USB mic. They tend to be targetted toward chat and gaming. Most just sound bad, and even the good ones tend to focus on noise and pop reduction at the expense of tone and range. Like somebody else said, get an adapter like the iMic and then get a decent microphone.