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Thread ID: 94414	2008-10-28 09:37:00	Musicians out there. Recording voice?	Thebananamonkey (7741)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
715417	2008-10-28 09:37:00	Hi All, I've got to the point in my singing where I can't avoid getting a setup to be able to record myself for playback. Some other singers I know have small portable arrangements that cost around $500 and basically consist of a small mic and HDD. I was wondering if it was at all easy to buy a mic, and then just record directly to a laptop or computer, or if you guys think it would be best to get one of the portable things others have. I'm an opera singer, so needs to be as close as possible to true with good frequency response, and minimal distortion (often operatic voices can play havoc with mics), but not looking to spend too much over $500. And far less would be fantastic. Do any of you other musicians have any good solutions?	Thebananamonkey (7741)
715418	2008-10-28 09:50:00	Join a symphonic metal band.get rich and famous, Bang heaps of skanks. Wait, I can't remember if you wanted stupid suggestions or not, My guess is yes, Yes you do.	Metla (12)
715419	2008-10-28 19:52:00	I'm certain that there will be a shop in downtown Wellington that will have the knowledge to advise you as to which microphone to purchase. Although I am not a musician, I have been recording sound for many years. The type of microphone that you buy depends very much on what you want to record and the type of response that you want. For example, a cardioid microphone, I think, is an excellent type, mainly because it is fairly directional and therefore has little chance of picking up background noise. The sounds arriving from 90 degrees to the side are about 60dB less than from the front and, theoretically, completely insensitive to sounds from the rear. The downside might be, that if you sing too close, you will increase the bass response. But with a powerful voice, I don't suppose that you would do that. The most important attribute of a cardioid is that it can discriminate between direct and reverberant sounds, which are reflected from the walls and ceiling, which makes for a much clearer sound. But if you think that the resultant recording does not have enough reverberation, you can introduce it when editing. In that way you only have the sounds that you want reverberating. The other type of microphone you might consider is a dynamic microphone. It is a very rugged microphone and is used on stage and outside. It's response is a figure eight. There is also the condenser microphone which is usually omni-directional, which is not so good at rejecting background noise. It has a high impedance which means that it must have a short cord so it must be close to the pre-amp to avoid loss of signal. If you buy a microphone with a 600 ohm impedance, or thereabouts, you will be able to connect it to most PCs. Look for the pink input on your soundcard. I have used Cool Edit for recording and editing for many years and I recommend that programme to everyone. Unfortunately, it is no longer available but you might be able to find someone who still has a copy. If you can't find it, ask me. Hope that is of help.	Roscoe (6288)
715420	2008-10-28 20:36:00	Cool Edit (Pro) is now called Adobe Audition So it is still around, its just got a different name	Speedy Gonzales (78)
715421	2008-10-28 21:19:00	Thanks Roscoe, the Cardioid/Dynamic thing was definitely a concern. The only reason I'd go for dynamic is so that I can get the pianist as well. I was wondering about software, and I'll look out for that, will also talk to someone at Music Works or similar. Metla, I have enough trouble coping with the one skank, let alone dozens of them. Keep the stupid suggestions coming, nobody ever said you weren't at least amusing. And money would be freaking awesome right about now.	Thebananamonkey (7741)
715422	2008-10-29 23:55:00	My pleasure. Concerning recording the piano as well: You would do better to have two microphones - one for you and one for the piano and balanced through a mixer. If that is too expensive or not possible, I would suggest recording the piano first. It is possible to listen on your PC (in headphones for timing and key) to the piano while recording your voice, also on your PC. You are then able to mix the two in Cool Edit. Cool Edit has an extra "paste," it is called "mix paste" where you are able to mix one sound over the other. Much more satisfactory than recording the piano and voice through one microphone. If you need more info on how to achieve that, please ask. For best results recording anything with a microphone, you require presence, that is, the microphone needs to be as close as possible to the source. Otherwise, with the resulting reverberation, it sounds pretty bloody awful. The voice, and the piano, needs to be louder than the reverberation (signal to noise ratio.) If you only use one microphone (for you) you will need to be almost in the piano, otherwise the piano will have too much echo and will sound amateurish. Obviously the pianist will have to keep the volume down. Trial and error may work. As far as software is concerned, I have been using Cool Edit for years and, although there are many other sound editing programmes available, I have found that Cool Edit to be one of the easiest to use. (Needs to be easy for simpletons such as myself.) As Speedy has said, it is now called Audition as Adobe bought the company, I think. I have not seen Audition so I can't comment on how good it is, but I have heard that Adobe may have played with it and it may not be as good. Copies of Cool Edit are still around and if you think you may want a copy, let me know. Happy to help as much as I can.	Roscoe (6288)
715423	2008-10-30 01:52:00	You would probably need a wind screen of some sort (it's like a oval shape with a stocking type of material in front of the mic) for opera to stop pops and wind noises, but we have been using things like this: line6.com which is about $200nz plus a mic which is anywhere from $170 - $300nz. If you go to nzguitars.com they have a special for a particular type of mic, I just purchased one and is great. For software for the actual recording, audacity does the job fine and its free.	rob_on_guitar (4196)
715424	2008-10-30 03:37:00	[edited quote] I love you. Can I have your babies?	Thebananamonkey (7741)
715425	2008-10-30 03:48:00	I'm not really looking for fantastic quality from the piano, just it's presence is enough. What I really want is something that will sound true. The main reason I want it isn't to make me sound good, but for me to be able to hear what I actually sound like, and be able to be a self critic. Opera singers usually can't hear a true representation of what they're singing, because the harmonics and vibrations do so much to your ears. That's why I'm looking at this. So with that in mind. What would come back as the most true sound, at hopefully an OK price?	Thebananamonkey (7741)
715426	2008-10-30 09:00:00	Oh *** what was wrong with that 2nd post?	roddy_boy (4115)
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