I want to record my voice.
January 23, 2012 8:03 AM Subscribe
I want to record myself singing. What hardware do I need?
After reading some of the posts on Ask MeFi, I think I don't even know enough to ask this question properly.
I thought it might be just a question of buying the right kind of microphone and plugging it into my laptop. But I'm beginning to have my doubts.
I'll describe what I want. I sing in a choir (no solo stuff). I want to improve my voice by listening to my recorded self -- solo or with piano accompaniment. No other audience except myself. This is not for posterity. So I think I want a faithful playback with no background noise.
I have used Audacity on pre-recorded music with sufficient success, so I think I'm OK on saving and editing, etc..
What do I need?
If just a microphone, there seem to be a bewildering variety of kinds, xml, amplifiers, etc. I have a 35 Watt (or Amp?) amplifier attached to my sound system. Could I use that somehow? The more specific the recommendation the better. I'm thinking of around $100?
Thanks.
After reading some of the posts on Ask MeFi, I think I don't even know enough to ask this question properly.
I thought it might be just a question of buying the right kind of microphone and plugging it into my laptop. But I'm beginning to have my doubts.
I'll describe what I want. I sing in a choir (no solo stuff). I want to improve my voice by listening to my recorded self -- solo or with piano accompaniment. No other audience except myself. This is not for posterity. So I think I want a faithful playback with no background noise.
I have used Audacity on pre-recorded music with sufficient success, so I think I'm OK on saving and editing, etc..
What do I need?
If just a microphone, there seem to be a bewildering variety of kinds, xml, amplifiers, etc. I have a 35 Watt (or Amp?) amplifier attached to my sound system. Could I use that somehow? The more specific the recommendation the better. I'm thinking of around $100?
Thanks.
I think the AT-2020 USB mic is incredible for the price. My lab has four of them for recording voice. Has a really decent A-D converter built in, so it just plugs straight into your laptop via USB. Much higher quality than using your laptop's sound card without the need for any sort of external amp or interface.
The Blue Yeti is also popular and is basically the same setup.
posted by supercres at 8:19 AM on January 23, 2012
The Blue Yeti is also popular and is basically the same setup.
posted by supercres at 8:19 AM on January 23, 2012
You can't directly hook a microphone up to your computer unless it's one of those really cheap ones for Skype or something.
I think for your purposes something like the Zoom recorder mentioned above would work great.
If you wanted to plug an actual microphone into a computer, what you would need is something like a Shure SM58 and an interface to plug it into the computer, like this Tascam one. Then you would use Audacity or another recording program to actually record your singing.
As you can see it's a lot more expensive to go the second route, the advantages to it are better sound quality and ability to expand later (i.e. if you ever wanted to get into more serious recording, a mic like the SM58 will always be valuable).
I'd really recommend the Zoom recorder, since you aren't planning on making recordings to hand out or keep for the memories.
posted by DMan at 8:19 AM on January 23, 2012
I think for your purposes something like the Zoom recorder mentioned above would work great.
If you wanted to plug an actual microphone into a computer, what you would need is something like a Shure SM58 and an interface to plug it into the computer, like this Tascam one. Then you would use Audacity or another recording program to actually record your singing.
As you can see it's a lot more expensive to go the second route, the advantages to it are better sound quality and ability to expand later (i.e. if you ever wanted to get into more serious recording, a mic like the SM58 will always be valuable).
I'd really recommend the Zoom recorder, since you aren't planning on making recordings to hand out or keep for the memories.
posted by DMan at 8:19 AM on January 23, 2012
Get a Roland Edirol. This is what I and most of my colleagues use to record everything from voice lessons to live performances in the theater. You can use the reasonably good built in microphone (which would probably be fine for your purposes) or any number of higher quality external microphones.
posted by slkinsey at 8:24 AM on January 23, 2012
posted by slkinsey at 8:24 AM on January 23, 2012
I haven't used the Zoom H1 directly, but I extensively used the Zoom H2 and liked it a lot. However, any decent microphone (let's say $40+) will probably work just fine if you plug it directly into your laptop.
The Edirol is a fine recorder, but its price is way over $100. My experience was that the Zoom H2 had just as good (if not better) audio quality than the Edirol for half the price. The Zoom H2's build quality is much worse, but it's better in almost every other way.
posted by Betelgeuse at 8:40 AM on January 23, 2012
The Edirol is a fine recorder, but its price is way over $100. My experience was that the Zoom H2 had just as good (if not better) audio quality than the Edirol for half the price. The Zoom H2's build quality is much worse, but it's better in almost every other way.
posted by Betelgeuse at 8:40 AM on January 23, 2012
I just purchased the AT-2020 for my cousin the other day. It ended up being the most economical choice. The other option I considered is the Blue Yeti but it's far too large.
Take a look at some Youtube video reviews to get a feel for the sound quality.
posted by just.good.enough at 8:43 AM on January 23, 2012
Take a look at some Youtube video reviews to get a feel for the sound quality.
posted by just.good.enough at 8:43 AM on January 23, 2012
Yeah. Portable digital audio recorders nowadays have gotten pretty good. I have not used any (yet) that are only about $100 (I've used some that were maybe $250 & up), but they were pretty darn good for what you are suggesting. Plus then (if you mind) you don't have to be near your computer to do it.
posted by bitterkitten at 8:45 AM on January 23, 2012
posted by bitterkitten at 8:45 AM on January 23, 2012
I just got a Blue Snowball and it is very nice. For some reason, the price on Amazon has waivered between $45 and $85 in the past couple of months. I've run into a latency problem that I haven't had the time to figure out (right now I'm using the Snowball for podcasting, but I would like to use it for music in the future) -- the Yeti apparently has a direct headphone jack on the unit that would probably solve this problem, so that one might be a better choice.
posted by puritycontrol at 9:13 AM on January 23, 2012
posted by puritycontrol at 9:13 AM on January 23, 2012
After futzing unsuccessfully with laptop stuff, I got a Zoom H2 (because that's what these folks say they use) and I'm very happy with it.
I made my first (and only, so far) recording for mefi music by going into my bedroom, pushing record on the Zoom and setting it on the dresser next to me, playing my tune a few times, and pressing stop. Then I copied the file over usb to my computer and used audacity to trim the fumbling from the beginning and end and save it as mp3.
If you just want to listen to yourself, it has a headphone jack on the side of it, and can play directly. I sometimes plug it into the AUX input on my stereo for reviewing stuff, and it sounds fine that way too.
On the other hand, how about a cassette deck from goodwill? For the use you're wanting, digital is no benefit and just adds expense.
posted by fritley at 9:25 AM on January 23, 2012
I made my first (and only, so far) recording for mefi music by going into my bedroom, pushing record on the Zoom and setting it on the dresser next to me, playing my tune a few times, and pressing stop. Then I copied the file over usb to my computer and used audacity to trim the fumbling from the beginning and end and save it as mp3.
If you just want to listen to yourself, it has a headphone jack on the side of it, and can play directly. I sometimes plug it into the AUX input on my stereo for reviewing stuff, and it sounds fine that way too.
On the other hand, how about a cassette deck from goodwill? For the use you're wanting, digital is no benefit and just adds expense.
posted by fritley at 9:25 AM on January 23, 2012
If you have an iPhone or other smartphone, the voice recording app (and the built-in mic) is actually quite good for reference recordings. Depending on what level of fidelity you need to review your technique, you may not need mics or software at all.
posted by Aquaman at 9:48 AM on January 23, 2012
posted by Aquaman at 9:48 AM on January 23, 2012
The Zoom is good long term. You can definitely go with a cheap mic, but if you want to be able to record practices or jams as well, (or even your own concerts) then the zoom is probably worth it. I don't have one, but my friend does. --also great to be able to share good quality files.
posted by OlivesAndTurkishCoffee at 11:03 AM on January 23, 2012
posted by OlivesAndTurkishCoffee at 11:03 AM on January 23, 2012
You might also want to ask this question next door in MeFi Music Talk to see what's recommended by the good folks over there (some of whom have already responded above).
posted by hangashore at 4:17 PM on January 23, 2012
posted by hangashore at 4:17 PM on January 23, 2012
I use the Tascam IM2 mics which plug into my iPhone's dock connector. Great solution if you have an iOS device.
posted by cbrody at 8:10 PM on January 23, 2012
posted by cbrody at 8:10 PM on January 23, 2012
I have a Zoom H2 and I'm going to go ahead & recommend it along with everyone above who recommended it. It has these awesome features a mic for your computer doesn't have.
- You cant take it with you & record your whole choir.
- You never have to worry about it being up to date or not - no worries about the drivers not being made for future versions of whatever computer you'll be using 10 years from now.
- It's fairly easy to use & will create MP3s if you prefer that format without all that nasty conversion nonsense.
- It sounds great (for the price, it's about as good as any mic you can get in that range).
- It's quiet & you don't have to worry about radio frequency interference and 60/50 cycle hum from your electric system.
And finally
- You can take it with you & record your whole choir. (I know I said that before but some of these you may want to save for posterity & having a pocket size recorder is a godsend in those cases.)
posted by MesoFilter at 8:15 PM on January 23, 2012
- You cant take it with you & record your whole choir.
- You never have to worry about it being up to date or not - no worries about the drivers not being made for future versions of whatever computer you'll be using 10 years from now.
- It's fairly easy to use & will create MP3s if you prefer that format without all that nasty conversion nonsense.
- It sounds great (for the price, it's about as good as any mic you can get in that range).
- It's quiet & you don't have to worry about radio frequency interference and 60/50 cycle hum from your electric system.
And finally
- You can take it with you & record your whole choir. (I know I said that before but some of these you may want to save for posterity & having a pocket size recorder is a godsend in those cases.)
posted by MesoFilter at 8:15 PM on January 23, 2012
I'm second the recommendations for a good portable digital recorder. I've been very happy with my Tascam DR-07, which is a little above your price range, but you could get a Tascam DR-05 for $99.
posted by tdismukes at 12:11 PM on January 24, 2012
posted by tdismukes at 12:11 PM on January 24, 2012
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posted by TrinsicWS at 8:09 AM on January 23, 2012