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| Moderated by: Tony Provencher, Richard Hefner |
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| Simple way to record tunes | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Fri Feb 9th, 2007 08:11 pm |
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1st Post |
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Tim3finger Approved 
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Hey all I just read a replied to a post by Patrick Woolery about a violin thingy he made ( REBEC PROJECT ). It was really a very nice piece of work. I asked him " any chance of hearing it played". He replied he was somewhat computer challenged and it would have to be super simple for him to do. So, would anyone like to weigh in with opinions and suggestions on the easiest, most effective, (and certainly the cost is a factor) way to produce music for here on EZfolk. I am sure that many folks here on this forum would like this information, and maybe those of us who are already recording could learn something new. May be someone would take it upon themself to come up with a basic tutorial?? Tim  Last edited on Fri Feb 9th, 2007 08:13 pm by Tim3finger ____________________ Tim "Trying to give back a little of what I've been given" |
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| Posted: Sat Feb 10th, 2007 02:16 pm |
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2nd Post |
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madog99 Approved 
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I think it was Phil that is using an old casette deck with mic inputs on it to feed to the computer . Cheap if you have an old deck lying around and a mic and use a free recorder software. Or if no deck is available , cheap mixers can be had for $50 or even less. Also I have heard some decent sounds from an I-River Ipod thingy , it has voice recorder function and uses a built in condensor mic and is about the size of a key chain . These go for around $50 and record in mp3. then just import it onto the PC . Not the best in sonic quality but I was pretty impressed by it. That would be the easiest way but still would require importing to the PC to send it . John
____________________ http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/328/ |
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| Posted: Sat Feb 10th, 2007 05:42 pm |
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3rd Post |
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tindle Approved
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If you go to my page here and listen to a tune or two you can get an idea of what can be done using a very simple system: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/2045/ I input my Guitar into the 'line in' input of my sound card, (most PC's have a 'line in' whether they have a seperate sound card or 'on board' sound), and record using the 'record' function in a Wave editor. I usually use the 'Creative Wave Editor' which came 'bundled' with my sound card, but you can use any of a number of freebie programs available on line. 'Audigy' is a reasonable one, for example. It's quite intuitive to use and has a useful 'remove noise' function, (removes background noise) which improves the recording no end. Use the 'what you hear' facility that most PC sound systems allow, to allow simultaneous playback of your first track and recording of the new one. You end up with one track, (a third track, if you like), that way, with both tracks captured and encapsulated in it. I use the same basic approach for Vocals and Keyboard, though I use my soundcard's Midi input for that. Vocals, I generally use the 'Mic' input, but you can use 'line in' for microphone if you wish. Clearly, you will need to use a microphone to capture accoustic instruments, and a certain amount of discipline with mic and instrument positioning and background noise elimination is needed, but, that, and volume adjustment and balancing, EQ ing etc, general quality, comes with a little fiddling and practice, patience and experience. Best teacher is patient practice and experience. I rarely record individual tracks and mix down to a final mix from seperate tracks, I generally play a track and record the newly input sound over the one playing, and mix 'on the fly', as described above, carrying on until my final recording has everything I want in it, but if you want better recordings, record individual tracks and mix down using a midi sequencer (ie software type) or the same wave editor you used to record. Doing it my way, all of my recordings are really 'live' performances, in a sense. I find it easier to do that, and while it has limitations, it works for me. Now, you will read a lot of stuff about mastering and what not, compression and pre-mixers and vocal mics and intstrument mics, going on forever. The recording pursists bang on and on about it. Generally, I ignore all that stuff, because what I've found is that, with care, you can produce some reasonable results with simple techniques and patience and care and attention to detail. For the web, that is, because the listener has a different experience on the web and an MP3 player to what he/she would on a Hi-Fi or CD player at home. The difference is reflected in the audio quality, though I've found my recordings generally stand up well in both environments. A note on file types: The recordings on a purchased professional CD are CDa files, which are Wave files. A lot of people are happy with MP3 files, which, for ease of internet distribution are better, though of lower quality, but generally give reasonable results to the listener. So, to use on the web you need to compress Wave files to MP3. MP3 files are not 'lossless' compressed files, contrary to poular belief. MP3 is quite lossy, depending on the compression ratio used, lower bit rates have more quality loss than higher ones. Top end is generally 320 kbpm for MP3. I personally use MP3 Pro files, for the web, which at 96 kbpm are about equivelant to 320 kbpm as MP3, but 96 kbpm gives a smaller file which is transferred over the web more quickly and easilly. Mp3 players and computers treat both types, MP3 and MP3 Pro, as MP3 for all purposes, so you can use them interchangeably, but MP3 Pro is a better audio quality standard, and that's why I use them. Ok? Anything else I can help with, please just holler! Regards, George Bolam : InZaneCountry
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| Posted: Fri Mar 9th, 2007 03:11 am |
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4th Post |
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gerry mcgandy Approved 
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I downloaded Audacity from sourceforge.net and installed it. It's open software, free to use. If I'm sitting playing mandolin or guitar and singing I usually have a mic plugged in to the mic socket at the back of the computer. Open Audacity, make sure the dropdown menu on the top is set to mic, press record and away you go. You can do loads more with audacity, the only thing is mine is an old computer (700MHz) and if I do more than one track, they're out of synch, (can be fixed, but I find it tedious. On newer computers I've tried it on I've had no problems, except the usual computer/human interface crash. 
____________________ Gerry McGandy http://mp3mart.net http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/556/ |
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| Posted: Tue Jul 10th, 2007 05:39 pm |
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5th Post |
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Will Approved 
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Because most of our songs and tunes are recorded "live" from concerts (none of us have time to record in a studio), it is not practical for us to llug around a notebook computer for recording. I formerly used a Sony minidisc recorder for 5 years (most of the Loose Change & Friends' and Earth Tones' recordings were made that way); for the past 2 months, I've switched to the Zoom H4 digital recorder, which records WAV files onto a 2 Gigabyte SD memory card. The Zoom H4 is compact, records excellent sound, comes with 2 built-in condensor microphones, and also has combination mike/line inputs for recording off of a mixer. After exporting the WAV files to my computer, I use Audio Cleaning Lab and Cakewalk Pyro for editing the recording into separate tracks and adding audio effects for burning onto CD's. The SD card inside the Zoom H4 can then be erased for the next recording session (no more expensive recording media to buy). I bought my Zoom H4 for $270 (they usually cost about $300). http://www.samash.com/catalog/showitem.asp?itemid=57952&sourcetype=singleitemsearch  Last edited on Tue Jul 10th, 2007 08:03 pm by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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| Posted: Tue Jul 10th, 2007 07:45 pm |
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6th Post |
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catsailr Approved 
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I use a cassette deck, transfer it to the computer, and use the Audacity program to create MP3 or wav files.
____________________ http://www.myspace.com/catsailr http://www.showcaseyourmusic.com/rlnichols |
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11th, 2007 01:30 am |
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7th Post |
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banjo brad Super Moderator 
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Cheapest way, and simple. Download and install Audacity. There is also another file that they say to download, I forget what it is, but you need it to make an MP3. Go to radio shack and buy a $12 33-3026 computer lapel mike (or the slightly more expensive desktop mic). Plug the mic into the "Mic In" jack on your computer's sound card. Start Audacity Click the "record" button Try not to panic while playing into the microphone (if you buy the lapel mic, be sure to push in the button on it or you don't record anything!). When you are finished recording, push the 'Stop' button Export the file as an MP3 to your desktop. Upload the result to your ezFolk music page. Post a link on the "Promote Your Music" forum. Sit back and revel in the notoriety you will receive!  Brad Tim - a basic tutorial might be difficult due to different OS's, Recording software, hardware, etc. Last edited on Wed Jul 11th, 2007 01:32 am by banjo brad ____________________ ezFolk Help Brad Prickly Pear Music Banjo Brad's ezFolk page TOTMC |
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| Posted: Fri Jul 13th, 2007 05:42 am |
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8th Post |
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neilg Approved
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Argh! So, I have this little Sony microphone from my old Walkman Pro. It is powered by a little battery, I don't know why. When I plug it into my sound card (yes, I turned the mike on) and try to record using Nero Wave Editor, I get no volume and have to shout into it to even get any response. Wrong type of microphone? User error? Please help! Neil
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| Posted: Fri Jul 13th, 2007 01:22 pm |
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9th Post |
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Will Approved
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neilg wrote: Argh! So, I have this little Sony microphone from my old Walkman Pro. It is powered by a little battery, I don't know why. When I plug it into my sound card (yes, I turned the mike on) and try to record using Nero Wave Editor, I get no volume and have to shout into it to even get any response. Wrong type of microphone? User error? Please help! What you have is a condensor microphone, a different design type than the traditional dynamic microphone. Condensor microphones require an electrical power source to boost the inherently very weak signal to audible levels (hence, the internal battery); more recently, most condensor mikes have been designed without an internal battery holder and therefore require "phantom power" which means electrical power provided by a mixer or some kind of pre-amp and sent through the same audio cable that connects the condensor mike. I suspect that the battery in your old Sony microphone is dead or near-dead and should be replaced with a fresh one; see if that improves the sound quality. On condensor mikes, the ON/OFF switch is primarily used to preserve battery life when not in use. Last edited on Fri Jul 13th, 2007 01:34 pm by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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| Posted: Sun Jul 15th, 2007 01:03 pm |
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10th Post |
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Tim3finger Approved
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True enough Brad Basic tutorial is probably not the correct request to make given all the variables that can be involved. But the Audacity download, cheap mic, etc, gets folks going in the right direction. I have been using Cakewalk, but I am thinking about trying the Audacity. I have a bunch of Dulcimer tunes I might try to upload. Been playing it about 5 months now and I think I am getting the hang of it.  Tim
____________________ Tim "Trying to give back a little of what I've been given" |
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