I want to record my playing using the "Audacity" ...then play back to improve my skills... ahhh, all I have is a small microphone that plugs into the computer.

So, the question is without spending a bundle of money, what type of microphone should I use with my computer to record?? Also, where could I buy it?

Looking forward to your response...thanks in advance!!

Keep on the "sunny side"!

Don

Posted - 11/13/2009 :  12:09:16      

Have you tried the microphone yet?
Give that a shot.

If you want the sound to be good, you need 1. a good mike 2. a good sound card in the computer AND 3. good speakers/earbuds.

Start recording and see what it sounds like first, then try your speakers/earbuds on something you know sounds good. If it sounds bad and you aren't willing to spend $40 on some earbuds, then don't go spending $80 on a microphone first.

Mike Moxcey
http://moxcey.net/mike/minstrel/index.html

Posted - 11/13/2009 :  12:11:24    

I have made excellent recordings using the free mike that came with the computer, as have many others. Take a look at your recording room. Make sure there are no echoes or resonances. Check the meters to look for ambient noise. Experiment with close and far miking.

Buying a different mike will not help you if these ambient conditions are not addressed.

.

I got some tunes up on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/flatfoot50

Posted - 11/13/2009 :  12:11:36  

Define "a bundle of money"... if we know your budget we can be more help.

You can pick up a Zoom H2 for about $140 - $150 and it will work through your comp. or on its own. I haven't seen anything better for what it does in that price range.

--------------------------------------------------------------

We thought about it for a long time, "Endeavor to persevere." And when we had thought about it long enough, we declared war on the Union. - Lone Watie

Posted - 11/13/2009 :  13:04:17            

I'm no sound equipment expert and I know nothing about microphones, but I second what Neil said about the Zoom H2. I tried recording with audacity and I could never work all of those details out. All of those little "waves" just confused me. The Zoom is great and it is so easy to use even I can operate it.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/p...77232?ref=ts

http://www.flatpickerhangout.com/my/revellfa

Posted - 11/13/2009 :  13:08:55    

My granddaughter taught me how to use Garageband on my iMac.
There is a built in mic on this computer but I bought a Gigaware mic at
Radio Shack for about $37.00 - it's has a better sound and is clearer than the louder
built in mic.
The Gigaware got some bad reviews because of low volume but I use mine
just to play back tunes that I'm practicing and it works just fine for that.

smd

Posted - 11/13/2009 :  13:16:42      

One advantage of the Zoom and the other portable recorders is their portability.

You aren't stuck recording in front of your PC or carrying a laptop around.

Mike Moxcey
http://moxcey.net/mike/minstrel/index.html

Posted - 11/14/2009 :  12:36:50      

I use an AT2020 Audiotechnica USB mic with good results. Check out the Sweet***er site.



Chuck Naill
http://chucksmusicpage.blogspot.com/

For Charles J. Horner Violin and Mandolin Inquiries,

http://charlesjhornerviolins.blogspot.com/

Posted - 11/14/2009 :  12:43:53    

Again, 'bundle of money' is a bit vague. I have a Boss MicroBR that I keep by my practice table and I record my playing on a regular basis. The nice thing about the Boss is that it is a small 4 track recording studio. You can multi-track with yourself - play backup on one track, and play the lead on another track.

It is worth looking into, depending on what a 'bundle' consists of.

Bill

email me at lakesidestudio@shaw.ca

Posted - 11/14/2009 :  12:55:25        

These are all good options, without spending a bundle of money. Time to record some music! It would be nice to hear more people over at Sound-off.

Paul

http://www.banjocrazy.com/ Gold Tone Banjos - Lowest Prices

http://www.youtube.com/user/strumstering Paul's YouTube Channel

Posted - 11/14/2009 :  13:43:39      

OK, I'll first use what I have now on the computer (Gateway... very good speakers). Maybe as suggested I need to see if I have some noise interference, etc. in the room. Maybe put the current microphone in a different spot too instead of jkust putting it next to the key board.

Soon as I figure out what sounds good...I may just post something..

Thanks for all the replies.


Keep on the "sunny side"!

Don

Posted - 11/14/2009 :  16:31:06      

If possible, avoid too hard of a room. Studio's have sound dampening materials on the walls to stop unwanted echoes. They usually don't have a lot of parallel walls for the same reason. The walls aren't completely square to each other. You won't find that in a normal home, but if you can hang a few blankets to stop the relecting sounds it should help. If you want a little echo, remove the blanket from one wall at a time and see how it affects the sound.
Go to web sites of companies like Shure, Audio-Tecnica, and other mic companies and look for tutorials. They love to teach you how to be happy with what they hope to sell you. You can buy mics at Elderly music, Guitar Center, Sam Ash Music and other on line stores. You might want to email some of the music stores owned by BHO members-they may have the best ideas about recording banjoes, and can probably sell you what you need.
Experiment with what you have. Try placing the mic at different distances from the banjo, and pointing in different angles. All of this has an effect on the sound that reaches the recorder. Eliminate as many variables as possible, only changing one thing at a time until you find the best sound your equipment is capable of. To this end, I would recommend using the same banjo and the same playing style for each test.
Keep records of which take had which placement, angle, mic distance, etc. If you have multiple banjoes, each may want a slighty different set of "specs" to sound it's best.
Paul

"A master banjo player isn't the one who can play the most notes. It's the one who can touch the most hearts." Patrick Costello
http://www.banjohangout.org/forum/t...IC_ID=128303 IBARD topic
http://ibard-rendesvous1840.blogspot.com/

Posted - 11/15/2009 :  06:02:48        

All my recordings are done with the Zoom H2. When I bought it, they were going for $200. Still a bargain. It came in great use last week when attending an old-time music party in Columbus, Ohio. It's great out in the field as exemplified in my recordings at the Indiana Fiddlers' Gathering and Clifftop.

Dean

"Each one's got to have his own style. It's all creamed potatoes, just fixed a little different." -- Benton Flippen

Posted - 11/15/2009 :  12:42:09  

I'd look forward to hear your playing, Don. And I like your new avatar photo!

Posted - 11/16/2009 :  05:46:06    

quote:

---

Originally posted by fretlessinfortwayne

All my recordings are done with the Zoom H2. When I bought it, they were going for $200. Still a bargain. It came in great use last week when attending an old-time music party in Columbus, Ohio. It's great out in the field as exemplified in my recordings at the Indiana Fiddlers' Gathering and Clifftop.

Dean

---

Posted - 11/16/2009 :  06:55:48      

Morning...still trying to find a spot to put the mic...I do have a "practice piece..Cripple Creek" recorded on my home page. Nothing great but it is a start.

Paul, I'll try moving the mic a bit to see if that helps any. My computer is in a very small room with lots of things for the notes to bounce off. I know, to me, the banjo sounds best outdoors...just a bit difficult to move my desk and computer outside LOL...

thanks "harvey"... thought my banjos next to my grandfathers clock looked a lot better than my mug shot....

Keep on the "sunny side"!

Don

Posted - 11/17/2009 :  14:03:22          

I've recently spent a lot of time on this very issue. Here's what I've found:

It all depends on the mic and the room of course, but a mic pointed at the neck joint (where the pot meets the neck) about 2 feet away from the banjo sounds excellent unless your preamp is noisy or mic is not very sensitive.

I've heard people getting great results with the Zoom. I don't have one myself, so I haven't spent any time experimenting with one. If the preamps have enough gain, I'd try the position I mentioned above.

Some purists might frown on this, but I've found that a little kiss of eq and compression can go a long way toward livening up the recorded banjo sound. Banjo is real tricky to record well: you've got lots of transients and rapid decay of tone. In this way, it's similar to recording drums.

I haven't used Audacity for years, and can't remember if it is bundled with plugins. GarageBand is really great for this sort of thing and has some really great dynamics processors that you can use to get the best out of your recordings. It's Mac only though.



Tom Collins

---------------

www.newhottimes.com

Elements of Round Peak Banjo videos: http://youtube.com/profile?user=FretlessFury

Edited by - FretlessFury on 11/17/2009 14:18:29

Posted - 11/17/2009 :  14:34:36    

quote:

---

Originally posted by FretlessFury

Some purists might frown on this, but I've found that a little kiss of eq and compression can go a long way toward livening up the recorded banjo sound. Banjo is real tricky to record well: you've got lots of transients and rapid decay of tone. In this way, it's similar to recording drums.

Tom Collins

---

Posted - 11/17/2009 :  15:42:09          

quote:

---

Originally posted by deso

quote:

---

Originally posted by FretlessFury

Some purists might frown on this, but I've found that a little kiss of eq and compression can go a long way toward livening up the recorded banjo sound. Banjo is real tricky to record well: you've got lots of transients and rapid decay of tone. In this way, it's similar to recording drums.

Tom Collins

---

Tom, can you elaborate on the compression settings at all? Without any experience, it is hard to know, numerically, where to start with threshold, attack, etc. They just seem like a bunch of numbers! Also, would you record natural and then add compression. Or, use compression during the recording to cut the transients on the spot?

Deke

---

Posted - 11/17/2009 :  15:49:40          

Oh and another thing about compression:

It can be really really hard to hear the details as you twist knobs if you're working from crappy speakers, so don't think you're going deaf (or crazy) if you can't hear the changes. Release is particular hard for me to hear when the ratio is low unless I'm on my monitors.

If you're serious about this stuff, a good-quality pair of studio monitors can allow you to hear these details. Of course, the downside is that they can point out all the other flaws as well!! I use a pair of Focal CMS-50's and they're the best investment I've made for my studio.

Tom Collins

---------------

www.newhottimes.com

Elements of Round Peak Banjo videos: http://youtube.com/profile?user=FretlessFury

Edited by - FretlessFury on 11/17/2009 15:57:11

Posted - 11/17/2009 :  15:56:50          

Hi,
I think you can get some pretty good results for your purposes with a usb mic. I've used a Samson Condensor mic (C01U) with audacity on my dell and it worked ok. The sound quality was not too bad ( http://www.zzounds.com/item--SAMC01U which costs about $100). You can find a lot of variety in USB mics for $100 and less -- a lot more for $200 or less.

Rob

Posted - 11/17/2009 :  15:57:25    

Wow! Thanks, Tom. I think I caught you just at the right moment with these questions. I really do appreciate this clarifications. Good luck with your project and let us know when you've got something.

Edited by - deso on 11/17/2009 15:58:27

Posted - 11/17/2009 :  17:40:23          

quote:

---

Originally posted by deso

Wow! Thanks, Tom. I think I caught you just at the right moment with these questions. I really do appreciate this clarifications. Good luck with your project and let us know when you've got something.

---

Posted - 11/18/2009 :  08:29:46          

I have written a blog entry on the subject.
http://www.banjohangout.org/myhango...&blogid=4248


My banjo is pre-war. Pre the next war
Jan Erik from Norway