Log in
Log in

or
Create an account

or

Mics for recording voices and music live

  • 6 replies
  • 4 participants
  • 5,034 views
  • 0 follower
Topic Mics for recording voices and music live
Hi

I don't know if this is the right place, but i could really need the help. I have tried a lot of places.
I would like to find some hardware for recording voices and music live. I have now tried two kinds of dictaphones, but it just don't work very good.
Can any body help in getting the right equipment. I have been thinking of a microphone and a MD, but it is not easy getting information on the quality.
If this is not the right place for this question i appologize.

Mikkel
2
Hello!

Ok, I think we can give you all the informations you need ;-)

First, you have to give us some details:

- what is the qulity you are looking for? It's just for you? For broadcasting? For proffesionnal use? etc...

- what is your price range? I think you can find something good for 200$, but if you really need a good quality, the price would be at least 500$.

To sum up: you need a mic and a recorder. For the mic, the best solution is to take a stereo mic with XLR connector. For the recorder, the proffesionnal solution is a DAT because it's digital recording without quality loss. The economic solution is MD but this is not proffesionnal quality.

If you give me more details, I can give you precise references ;-)
3
Hello,

thanks a lot for your response.

I am still considering the price range but am interested in knowing a good soloution for both a DAT recorder and an MD recorder. The recorders should be of good voice recording quality for interviews. The MD recorder should also be good for playing music. The recorders should not have many fancy functions and should not be more expensive than the quality requires. The digital voice files should be convertible to a format that I can work with on the PC, e.g. WAV.

I would appreciate any good suggestions on this.

Mikkel
4
Ok,

For the mic, it depends if you need a stereo or mono recording. For mono, I could propose you something like an ATM10A/Audiotechnica I use it for voices or ambiante music. The main advantages are the price and the possibility to put a battery (you do not need a phantom power)
For stereo mic, consider the excelent NT4/Rode (you also have the possibility to supply it by a battery)

For a DAT recorder, if you need a portable device, take a look at the Tascam DAP1. It's a proffessional solution, so it's a bit expensive, but you will find all you need: good battery, excelent sound quality, XLR conectors etc... Anyway, you will only find proffesionnal DAT, it's a proffesionnal format ;-)

For MD, I don't know the market. You have a lot of things, but you will mostly find cheap devices.

ps: I give you link to zzounds because you will find accurate descriptions, and they propose a really good servic in US.
5
Yes, these products seem to be excellent - I looked at the specifications on the web.

Unfortunately, the DAT recorder ist beyond the price level I can afford. I wonder whether there is a simpler DAT recorder at a more moderate price. The main requirement is a good quality voice recording that can be further edited on the PC. I appreciate the assistance that I already received, it has given me a better idea of what to look for. Thanks!
6
What about recording direct to da PC...
obviously easiest wiv laptop :-P
7
The mics are the most important part first. Ok....you will record crap otherwise even on a billion dollar recorder.
THe Nt4 is great or what I bought was the NT5 pair by Rode. It is cheaper for the pair, the same capsules, and you can use one or two and place them anywhere.
You can get DAT's cheap second hand these days, if you search the bargain papers. Laptop is a great solution, but you will also need the interface that wll accept a quality (at least 16bit 44K) signal for burning to CD. If you are just archiving stuff, even a cassete deck of good quality would work. You just need a little mixer to adapt the xlr and give you phantom power. Phantom power is neede somewhere to work the condenser mics, unless they do have an internal battery supply. Something like the Behringer preamps in line will give you the Pahntome and warm uup things with tubes. I am sure people will argue about the high end quality of these units, but for 30 or 40 bucks you can't beat it.