Below is our latest pick from Yahoo Answers on home recording. I have to say that I agree with the answer. I’m a fan of Samson mics and this one is a fantastic value. Here is the Q&A:
Q: I’m saving up for the SONAR 8 recording software for audio recording, but I need to know what microphone would be the best for a home recording studio. Thanks.
A: I suggest Samson C03 Multi-Pattern Studio Condenser Microphone, which is a good affordable USB large diaphragm condenser microphone. Also, this mic has universal switchable polar patters for different miking techniques.
Great advice! This mic is $99 and will cost much less than the software the question-asker is saving up for. As a large diaphragm condenser mic, you can use this microphone not only for vocals, but also for a wide range of music recording, especially acoustic instruments (guitar, piano, violin, rums, etc.).
So not only are you all set for voice-over, but also music recording. Large diaphragm condenser mics are really versatile. If you only have enough money for one type of microphone, you should make it a large diaphragm condenser mic.
As for the choice of recording software – Sonar – I think it might be a bit more “car” than needed, as they say.
Plus it is more expensive than my recommendation, which is an extremely powerful and capable program comparable to Sonar, which is called Reaper.
It can do just about everything that Sonar can, but for a fraction of the price. Reaper is also a much more streamlined program, less bloated with code than something like Sonar.
Cheers,
Ken
microphones
If I Want To Begin A Home Recording Studio For Audio Books?
Below is the latest in Home Recording Yahoo Answers Q&As. There is a bit of a departure in this question, as it relates primarily to starting an audio business. Also, the answer that was posted is pretty much in line with our advice! That, also, is a departure from the norm;). See the Home Brew Audio reply to this question at the end of the post.
Q: I am thinking about putting together a home audio studio to record audio books. Any ideas what equipment I might need? I already have a microphone with a usb hook-up. Will I also need an interface of some kind? And what about a sound room? Can you make much money recording audio books? Thanks.
A: With a USB mic you can download audacity and start recording right away. Record in a small room or build your own isolation booth to reduce room noise in the recording.
There might be some legal issues to worry about regarding rights to the work. I have no idea who to contact about that . Maybe the publisher, if you can find out who that is.
On the budget question, I can see going either way. You’ll probably wont make much unless you land a deal to do a lot of books or something like that, which is actually pretty unlikely and rare.
Here is the Home Brew Audio answer.
We agree with starting out using the USB mic. If the mic is close enough to your mouth, and you don’t have a lot of noise in the room, you don’t really need a sound room. However, anything you can do to reduce room noise (the reverb and echo that comes off the walls in the room) and other noise (babies crying, dogs, lawn mowers, etc.) would be helpful. We disagree with the “small room” aspect of the published answer. A bedroom would probably suffice, but the bigger the room, the longer it takes sound waves to travel to walls and ceilings and back again, so close-mic-ing will work better (less echo and reverb).
There are two excellent articles on this site that will help you. First is about voice-over recording and how to get started – Voice Over Jobs: Useful Tips For Landing Them and the 5-part series How to Build a Home Recording Studio.
As far as the money to be made — voice over work is extremely competitive. there is money to be made, but you have to be VERY persistent about auditioning for work. BTW, do NOT just read a copyrighted book and try to sell it. That is extremely illegal. If you want to sell your own book projects, go to Librivox.org for a catalogue of books in the public domain.
Cheers!
Ken
How Do I Decide What Microphone I Need For My Home Recording Studio?
Below is the latest Q&A entry on Home Recording from Yahoo Answers. I honestly don’t see the need for this person to move from his/her Samson G-Track to an Audio Technica 4050. though the latter is undoubtedly a good mic, will it be better for the question-asker? I honestly don’t think so. If he has the money, great. But if not, what exactly is wrong with the G-Track? Samson USB mics are awesome! In fact you can get the G-Track (normally about $130) used for $50 right now at Guitar Center. Click Here. Anyway, here’s the Q&A. As usual, I think the advice given calls for too much money to be spent.
Q: I have a home recording studio already, but looking to improve it. I currently use a samson G-track. Do i need something better?
A: I’m going to do a bad thing and assume that you are recording mostly vocals. If this is the case, the Audio Technica 4050 is a really good vocal mic but it can be used for just about anything. I’ve seen them for $300 used. Good luck!
The Home Brew Audio Answer:
Unless you’re certain the Audio Technica will work better for you, don’t waste your $300. In fact, the best thing to do is borrow or rent (some music stores will rent mics!) an AT- 4050. Then have a friend record you talking into both mics. Have the friend ask you to listen to them back in random order without telling you which is which (a blind study). If you can’t tell the difference…or if you PREFER the Samson, you’ve got your answer.
Cheers,
Ken
Sample of Music From Our Christmas CD Recorded In a Bedroom
We have been recording our Christmas CD for Raven Boy Music (should be out by next week!), and I thought I’d put up a quick sample of what some of the music sounds like. I’m hoping to give you an example of what can be accomplished on a PC recording studio in a room of you house or apartment, which is where this was recorded.
Have a listen to these clips:
| Gaudete | [audio:https://www.homebrewaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Gaudete-Clip.mp3|titles=Gaudete Clip – Home Recording] |
| Cantique de Noel (Oh Holy Night) | [audio:https://www.homebrewaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Cantique-Clip.mp3|titles=Cantique Clip – Home Recording] |
These, along with 13 other Christmas songs, were recorded right here in my bedroom home recording studio, which consists of my computer, some software, 3 microphones, and a computer interface (external sound-card where you can plug mics in).
The CD, entitled Gifts of Midwinter by Ken and Lisa Theriot, should be out in the next week…if you’re interested;). but mainly I just wanted to show you that good quality audio can be created in your bedroom, on a normal computer. and you can start doing this yourself.
Got any Christmas stuff you need to record for a kid’s show at school? How about recording the kids singing (or just talking) for the grandparents this holiday? Home Brew Audio can show you how.
Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!
Ken
What Did We Use To Record Our Christmas CD?
Before I get back to recording on the Ken and Lisa Theriot Christmas Album project (I know! We need to hurry), I thought I’d send out a quick message telling what hardware and software I’m using.
Starting with the mics, I use a Shure SM-81 for acoustic guitar and either the Rode NT2-A or the Oktava MK319 for vocals. These all feed into the EMU 1820m Audio Dock, which is my computer interface and has the mic preamps and analog-to-digital converters. Then it’s all software. I record into Reaper and do all my mixing and arranging (as well as track effects such as compression, EQ, Auto-Tune, reverb, etc).
Once all tracks are recorded, treated and mixed, I render it all to a 2-track stereo file. I then open that file in Adobe Audition for final treatment, which includes stuff like trimming the front and back of the song to get rid of count-ins, and audible stuff at the end of the song. I like to use quick fade ins at the beginning and fade outs at the end so everything starts and ends at absolute zero.
I then apply light compression to the song and normalize the volume so that the loudest bit of audio in the song is JUST below 0DB (the loudest digital volume level before distorting).
I do that for all the songs, making sure the average loudness (measured in Audition) is about the same (usually about -14 dB). If a song is way below or above that, I’ll undo the compression-normalization steps and do each a little more or less until I get the average loudness to about -14DB.
Then I convert each song from 32 bits down to 16 bit audio, which is required for playing in a CD player. I’m then ready to create a CD, burning directly from Adobe Audition.
Wow, that was a bit more than I had planned to say, but I couldn’t stop myself;).
We’ll have this thing out soon. We promise!
Happy Holidays!
Ken