Looking for advice on a setup for voice recording

Sky · Post by **Sky** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 6:14 pm

Hello all.

I am very new to voice recording (and any recording for that matter) and would appreciate some advice. I am working on a language project and it is important that I can record voices very clearly with as little background noise as possible. I've searched through the forums here and have found references to studio quality equipment, bilateral (I think that is what it said) microphones, etc.

Truth be told, I don't know what all of this means. I am your average everyday guy with a computer looking to make the best possible voice recordings short of spending megabucks on lots of equipment. Could someone recommend some cost-effective ways for me to do this? Also some advice on what kind of environment that I could reasonably create?

I am new to this so please explain in detail

. Thank you in advance!

donrandall · Post by **donrandall** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:56 pm

For your intended use, I would recommend going low budget. You can still get results that will be quite good and not spend a ton of money. I will assume that you have a reasonable quality soundcard with a "Line In" jack and a line level "Out" jack available.

Radio Shack sells some decent microphones. Somewhere around forty dollars will getcha a surprisingly good mic.

You can pick up a Behringer mixer from most any decent audio shop that sells to musicians or offers professional sound or public address equipment. You may also be able to find a decent mic at the same shop.

You will need the cables needed to connect these components. Your audio chain will be Mic > Mixer > Soundcard to record. Of course you will also have a monitor link set up as well: Soundcard > Mixer > Headphones (and/or into an amplifier which can then feed monitor speakers).

Sky · Post by **Sky** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 7:41 pm

That is good news that I can go low budget with this

.

So what would I use a mixer for? That may be a goofy question, but up to this point I figured I'd need to just plug in a microphone to my soundcard hehe.

What exactly is the "monitor link" you mentioned? What is it used for? I think I need a "from scratch" explanation of that since it has me totally confused

.

donrandall · Post by **donrandall** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 1:20 pm

So what would I use a mixer for? That may be a goofy question, but up to this point I figured I'd need to just plug in a microphone to my soundcard hehe.

It is unlikely that you will find a decent quality mic with a 1/8 in jack on it that will match the input to your soundcard. Perhaps you don't need or want that much mic and a cheaper mic would meet your needs. This may help you save a few bucks on the cost of a mic.

If you find a mic that is suitable, and assuming that your soundcard has a mic input, you can eliminate the mixer. You won't have any way of monitoring your input while recording, but if this is not important, you would be able to save the price of a mixer and you could save another few bucks.

What exactly is the "monitor link" you mentioned? What is it used for? I think I need a "from scratch" explanation of that since it has me totally confused

Sorry, my fault. Using the term "monitor link" probably made it sound as though you needed some bit of exotic hardware or something.

You will want to be able to hear whatever you record. You will need a way to do this. A mixer would allow you to monitor what you record as you record it and make it easy to hear the playback as well. The mixer would be the "link" between you and the soundcard. Since you may not care about monitoring while you record, you can simply hear the playback through whatever speakers you have and do just fine.

Sky · Post by **Sky** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 3:02 pm

Yea, I probably don't need to hear it as it's being done. 99% of the time we will be recording individual words and phrases. Nothing long-winded.

What would be the benefits of an expensive mic? I've read a little here on the boards and it seems to have something to do with the explosive sounds of some pronunciations (bilateral I think it was called).

Lopar-XL · Post by **Lopar-XL** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:16 pm

I can post more info about this subject later if you want.

EQUIPMENT
A unidirectional microphone listens to what is directly in front of the microphone's grill, and doesn't pick up much from the sides or behind. You'll probably want one of those. Omnidirectional mics, on the other hand, focus on sounds from all directions. If you are going to be plugging your microphone into your PC, then make sure your mic has a 1/8" (3.5mm) plug (in other words, a little skinny one like many headphones use). If it does not have a small jack but instead has a large, fat 1/4" (7mm) plug, you will need to get an adapter for it. These are inexpensive and are readibly available at electronics and office supply stores.

SET-UP
1. Turn off your computer.
2. Plug your mic into the microphone jack located on your sound card/breakout box/whatever. Read the instruction manual(s) to learn where this is located. Usually, there is a small image of a microphone etched into the metal next to the mic jack.
3. If the mic has an on/off switch, switch it on.
4. Move your computer back into its former place if needs be and turn it on.
5. After Windows has booted up and has settled down, load GoldWave.
6. Click Options-->Control Properties, or hit the <F11> key on your keyboard.
7. Click on the tab labeled "Volume".
8. Click the blank check box next to "Microphone" and move the slider box to the right, to the point where the value in the little text box next to it reads anywhere from 85-100. This will make your recording loud enough without making it so loud it gets distorted.
9. Click the tab labeled "Record"
10. Switch off "Ctrl key for safety" so you can just click the record button and start recording. I recommend leaving the check boxes blank for the Delayed Recording options to give you more direct control of your work here.
11. If you put a check in "Monitor input" you will hear what you are recording at the same time you are speaking it. Personally I find this troublesome for my concentration when I do voice recording, but do what works for you.
12. In the "Play" tab I suggest binding both the green play button and the yellow one to the current selection, but make the yellow one loop several times.
13. Click OK when you are done.

Sky · Post by **Sky** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 3:04 am

Thanks! I'll look into one of those mics and try your scenario out

.

Stertedder4 · Post by **Stertedder4** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 2:15 pm

[Spam deleted]

donrandall · Post by **donrandall** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 2:33 pm

It appears we have a spammer on board. I say let's make 'im walk the plank!

Post by **GoldWave Inc.** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 2:20 pm

I've had to delete dozens of spam messages and ban about a half a dozen bogus spammer accounts. It is starting to waste a lot of my time, but I'm determined to keep this forum clean.

Chris

donrandall · Post by **donrandall** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 1:01 am

I get thirty to fifty spam messages every day on my business website's webmail.

A voiceover forum I participate in is having a severe problem with the spammers.

It is a shame that unscrupulous jerks do these things - but if people would wise up and not actually believe they can buy a Rolex for $9.95 or cure cancer, baldness and prevent tooth decay by waving a $49 rattle around every night before they go to bed.......