A couple of recording- and Midi related questions.

[MagicSailor]

Hi

So far I've recorded a few whistle clips using my computer headset microphone connected to my laptop, usually wearing the headset to keep the mike relatively close to the whistle.

I am, however picking up some noise on the recordings (possibly from the 12V to 18V switchmode power supply), and the audio quality is not great.

What would be a good low cost way of making better recordings?

A better mike? Which one?
Some extra gear between the mike and computer?

The next question is how do I record myself on the computer when I am playing with a Midi backing track being played on the computer? Play the Midi audio through the speakers and let the mike pick up everything, or is there a better way?

Finally, is there a low cost way to make improve the quality of Midi playback from the laptop? I already have a good speaker system. I believe I need some sort of synth or an extermal (USB?) sound card with a synth?

Regards,

Owen Morgan

Yacht Magic
Anchored in the lagoon, St Maarten

My new blog.
Click here for my latest reported position. (Use the satellite view.)

[MJ1619]

MagicSailor,

I do not know if you would want to consider a portable recorder, but there are several advantages to such a solution. Most have high-quality microphones built-in or can accept an external microphone. Several (including the one I use, the Marantz PMD620, record direct to SD memory cards, which are easily available at camera and electronics stores). Finally, they are portable so they can easily be used at home or at a session.

As I said, I personally use the Marantz PMD620, but other good (though not exactly inexpensive) options include

Sony PCM D-50
Edirol R-09

If you wanted just a microphone that can be directly connected to your computer, you might consider the

Sony ECM-MS907

With regards to a computer interface, for my permanent home setup, I have a FireWire 410 by M-Audio (a few years old, but still great). M-Audio makes great products that are generally competitively priced. If you really want editing capability, depending on your computer, you might consider one of Cakewalk's editing products (I use SONAR 7 Producer, which is probably overkill but is extremely powerful and flexible). I also have a stereo-matched pair of SHURE KSM-137 microphones (highly-recommended for home-studio use) with Monster cables connected to the 410 and use either Sennheiser HD650 or Beyerdynamic DT880 headphones for editing/mixing purposes (I know most people don't like mixing on headphones, but I think it is a viable option).

Hope this information helps. For the money, unless you are really serious about recording in a home-studio setup, the best options-for-price-point are the portable recorders.

Note: I have no affiliation with any of the companies mentioned above. I just am a recording junkie (started with recording piano and then translated into other instruments and just started with whistles/flutes).

Michael

[plunk111]

Owen:

It's been said before, but check out the Zoom H4 (just google it). You can use it as a stand-alone recorder or as a microphone that connects to your PC with a USB cable. I use mine almost every time I practice - great learning aid!

Pat

[Mick Down Under]

You also might find that wearing the headset is bringing the mike TOO close to the whistle which makes for some horrible background sounding noise. I found when I recorded myself via a a cheap external mic on my computer, that sound quality improved out of sight when I was back about one foot/30 cms/12inches away from the mic.
Yeah I know it's not a techno geek way of improving the sound quality, but at least it is free.


Mick

[O’Sluagahadain]

FWIW - while you are checking out the other options, I have found that if I simply hang my headset on my laptop screen (with the mic on the screen side) I get a reasonably good recording. I simply sit back at normal typing distance and play away.

This link is to a file I made that way using Audacity software (free). I'm sorry for all the reverb. I was experimenting with the delay settings.

http://www.4shared.com/file/62479428/6f ... eerHD.html

BTW - 4shared.com has 5 gig of file sharing available free! I found a link to it while I was checking the prices on box.net.

Play on!

[Ballyshannon]

I use an inexpensive Labtec C-316 headset mic with Audacity software and get some pretty good results. Here's a clip I recently placed on Whistle This:

http://www.whistlethis.com/index.php?co ... d01nPT0%3D

[West]

The next question is how do I record myself on the computer when I am playing with a Midi backing track being played on the computer? Play the Midi audio through the speakers and let the mike pick up everything, or is there a better way?

I would suggest some multi-track recording software that can handle both midi and audio. A DAW, in other words. REAPER is very inexpensive and has tons of features.

Finally, is there a low cost way to make improve the quality of Midi playback from the laptop? I already have a good speaker system. I believe I need some sort of synth or an extermal (USB?) sound card with a synth?

A hardware synth is an option, but I would really recommend using software synths/samplers if your laptop can handle it. A soundfont player (like SFZ) and some good General MIDI soundfonts will increase your sound quality by leaps and bounds -- and it won't cost you a dime. SFZ is free and free soundfonts exist in abundance.

Of course, all this assumes that you are interested in getting into the world of DAWs, which can be quite daunting if you have no prior experience.

What OS are you on? OS X? Windows? Some flavor of Linux?

[synergy]

The next question is how do I record myself on the computer when I am playing with a Midi backing track being played on the computer? Play the Midi audio through the speakers and let the mike pick up everything, or is there a better way?

I would suggest some multi-track recording software that can handle both midi and audio. A DAW, in other words. REAPER is very inexpensive and has tons of features.

Finally, is there a low cost way to make improve the quality of Midi playback from the laptop? I already have a good speaker system. I believe I need some sort of synth or an extermal (USB?) sound card with a synth?

A hardware synth is an option, but I would really recommend using software synths/samplers if your laptop can handle it. A soundfont player (like SFZ) and some good General MIDI soundfonts will increase your sound quality by leaps and bounds -- and it won't cost you a dime. SFZ is free and free soundfonts exist in abundance.

Of course, all this assumes that you are interested in getting into the world of DAWs, which can be quite daunting if you have no prior experience.

What OS are you on? OS X? Windows? Some flavor of Linux?

+1. I use Reaper and love it. I do alot more multi track recording though which sounds like you don't need, but it is very straight forward and simple to use. It handles midi like a champ and comes with a ton of included effects.