In need of audio / mic recording advice

[tomsk]

Hi guys

Hoping to get some help. I have a friend who is a very talented voice artist. She has done some work and wants to start ramping things up at home. All of her previous recordings and voice over stuff has been in the studio.
She has a decent spec PC, alas only running linux. No specialist sound card, and is only using audacity for software.
She has a Shure SM58 mic, which is a good start, but she doesn't have a pre-amp.
What advice can you give to allow reasonably professional recordings to be done at home using her PC on a low budget. She is also pretty low tech....when I asked her if she was pre-amping the mic she wasn't sure what I meant
Some options would be nice on a costing scale. i.e.
A) Use existing mic, buy cheap pre-amp, adpater and record with onboard sound £40
B) ABove but with dedicated soundcard, better editing software £�0
etc

I'm no audio expert myself, so I thank you for any advice you can give

[Analog-X64]

I'm no expert, but I've read about people setting up mini vocal booth inside a closet, with a blanket hanging to dampen the sound etc.. thats pretty low tech. You can also get a Coat Hanger and create a POP Screen with pantyhose.

Having said that, I've also seen pro bands simply recording out in the open with all kinds of ambient noise around but if you want a clean recording and low tech, I'd setup something in a closet.

[LMan]

Check Mahoney's wonderful tutorial:
http://www.remix64.com/faq_tut_recordin ... g_fun.html

[tomsk]

Check Mahoney's wonderful tutorial:

Yes, always a great starting point, but this lady really needs to get the hardware basics right before moving on I feel. Hence the questions relating to pre-amp and soundcards.
Also, does her running linux cause a problem too? She has tried using an XLR to pc input jack adaptor and reports back that it doesn't work (although maybe she has not set up correctly I feel).
DOes she really need a soundcard, and does she really need to pre-amp her shure58 mic ? I guess I just want to get her recording stuff right away, and perhaps then she can work on improvements suggested by Mahoney.

Thanks chaps

[analoq]

You need a pre-amp. However you don't necessarily need a dedicated pre-amp. You can get a small form-factor mixer (e.g. Behringer Xenyx) which will have one or more pre-amps or you can get an audio interface with a built-in pre-amp.

Linux makes things tricky because there aren't many manufacturers that provide Linux drivers. However I found this site:

http://www.linuxstudiopro.com/

If you can find something there with a built-in pre-amp at your price range that would probably be the best solution. Buy from somewhere with a good return policy, though; pro audio interfaces on Linux are definitely a crapshoot.

cheers.

[Romeo Knight]

By all means forget the SM58 - it's a decent mic but definitely not for recording vocals in a studio, it's just plain wrong here. It's usually used for live purposes only or can also be used in studio sessions for quite loud stuff like snare or toms on a drumset. You need to go with a condenser mic, nowadays there are great sounding ones without the need to spend a grand.
I can highly recommend the Rode NT1:
http://www.thomann.de/de/rode_nt1_a_com ... ording.htm
If it needs to be even cheaper, take this one:
http://www.thomann.de/de/the_tbone_sc40 ... nmikro.htm
You won't get a more professional vocal sound for this rediculous price!
And no, I'm not working at Thomann.

[NecroPolo]

I must state that I've never used Linux extensively but as far as I can remember even my Linux user - WIN hater studio buddies use Windows XP or some older MAC system for recording.

Despite its obvious flaws, for a PC base, maybe Windows would be a better choice for an audio workstation. There are lot more powerful recording / sequencer programs than in Linux, not to mention a wider range of audio interfaces.

Considering preamp, yes she will need one. If she is not a tech-kind-of-girl (most probably that is the case), then something like that would be the best for her, for the price of a small mixer:

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FastTrack.html

With all respect for females and admitting that they are capable of much more things than me and no I'm not a male chauvinist, but behind-the-surface tech stuff might give most of gals a ten-tons headache. Gals just shine elsewhere than males and vice versa. Fact.

There is a little tutorial that I created for news reading / reporter female colleagues some time ago. Even those ones who were bitten by the anti-computer bug, worked pretty fine with this sequence:

- plug in mic cable to interface
- plug in interface to USB
- start program
- read text
- check volume
- adjust volume with big knob
- tiny signal is bad, fat signal is bad, middleways is good
- click record
- read text
- click stop
- save file

For travelling reporters I said to search for places that are not much bigger than their bedroom and there are soft things on the walls, then test with clapping: long sound=bad, short sound=good. Guess what, them gals did some surprisingly nice field voice recordings without having too much headache.

Tested, works

By all means forget the SM58 - it's a decent mic but definitely not for recording vocals in a studio, it's just plain wrong here.

Indeed, there are much better voice recording microphones out there, and the Rode NT1 is an immensely better choice for female vox than the SM58. Lots of good suggestions in the full comment.

Anyway, I would not categorically state that SM58 microphones are totally useless in vocal recording applications. Remove steel mesh grille, add external pop-filter: not the best, there are much better dynamic mics out there for vox but still, it works pretty decent for vocals. Okay, it is not the case here but sometimes using high-load dynamic mics is the only way to record certain X >= 110dB screamers and death metal singers. I could save the day with an SM57+pop filter more times than I'd like to admit

[jeroentel]

The problem with creating a setup for someone who isn't without your physical range AND who is low-tech (i.o.w. you can't go over there and creat the setup yourself), it's almost impossible to give instructions what to buy and how to set it all up. What she needs is a simple condensor microphone with a very small phantom powered mixer, all that can be setup with a budget of around € 160. The wiring should be inserted into the audio in of her setup and Bob's your uncle.

Good luck with this... how far does she live from your place?

Cheers

//Jeroen

[tomsk]

Thanks for all of the advice guys, it's a great response as always from the "team". Just for point of interest, she won't be singing or playing any instruments, just purely spoken word audio.
I think Jeroen has it spot on in terms of offering advice to a none techie, and plus....she lives about 800 miles away
The many comments regarding Linux should steer her towards making a commitment to a WIndows based system, and I feel installation and component add ins will be less of a heartache to install. Plus there's more support all round for windows based platforms.

Oh Romeo go on admit it...you're on commision

Cheers again chaps - Lots for her to think about.

[Romeo Knight]

Oh Romeo go on admit it...you're on commision

No, I'm not! <stomps his foot>
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