PC recording (Cheapest possible)

[bassman10096]

First let me apoligize for the dumb questions I'm about to ask. But if anyone can give me the lowdown, it would help me tons. Here's the problem:

I need to record my band's rehearsals. A single mic and one channel is sufficient. I was using my son's Mac laptop with GarageBand with plenty of good results, but he returned to college this week. I need to come up with a solution that costs the very least (son's tuition is sapping the life from me right now). CD quality is not important. What I need to be able to reproduce is simply what each member played and when they played it. Balance is not critical - we were producing good enough results with just one mic.

I downloaded Audacity to my PC. I assume it's the cheapest program of its kind ("free" is usually least expensive), but if there are any others for under $100 I might be able to scrape it together. I think I need an interface/preamp to get the mic'd signal powered up enough to record it. My son has an M-Audio box, but it, too, has returned to college. For those who have kids who are musicians, just wait till you realize their equipment is better than yours (ouch). I'm looking for the dirt-cheapest solution for now. Unless there is another software alternative that costs very little:
1. Is the USB interface what I should be looking for?
2. What's the least expensive interface that would work with Audacity?
3. Do I need anything else (other than the mic)?
4. Any other advice or suggestions?

I'll be able to invest a bit in a few months, but my bandmates and I have made really good use of rehearsal recordings, so I'd hate to lose that.

Thanks for any help you can provide.
Bill

[Danimal00]

Originally Posted by bassman10096

First let me apoligize for the dumb questions I'm about to ask. But if anyone can give me the lowdown, it would help me tons. Here's the problem:

I need to record my band's rehearsals. A single mic and one channel is sufficient. I was using my son's Mac laptop with GarageBand with plenty of good results, but he returned to college this week. I need to come up with a solution that costs the very least (son's tuition is sapping the life from me right now). CD quality is not important. What I need to be able to reproduce is simply what each member played and when they played it. Balance is not critical - we were producing good enough results with just one mic.

I downloaded Audacity to my PC. I assume it's the cheapest program of its kind ("free" is usually least expensive), but if there are any others for under $100 I might be able to scrape it together. I think I need an interface/preamp to get the mic'd signal powered up enough to record it. My son has an M-Audio box, but it, too, has returned to college. For those who have kids who are musicians, just wait till you realize their equipment is better than yours (ouch). I'm looking for the dirt-cheapest solution for now. Unless there is another software alternative that costs very little:
1. Is the USB interface what I should be looking for?
2. What's the least expensive interface that would work with Audacity?
3. Do I need anything else (other than the mic)?
4. Any other advice or suggestions?

I'll be able to invest a bit in a few months, but my bandmates and I have made really good use of rehearsal recordings, so I'd hate to lose that.

Thanks for any help you can provide.
Bill

Hi Bill,

You may want to look into getting a USB Mic such as the Samson C01USB or the BLUE Snowball. Both of these are mics that connect to the USB connection of the computer. This removes the need for getting a Mic Preamp and an interface for the computer. I think that the C01USB would give you enough quality for what you are wanting. It does not work on Windows Media Center, so if are running Windows Media Center, you would need to find another solution. Feel free to contact me directly with any questions.

Thanks,
Dan

[bassman10096]

Thanks Dan. That looks like it could be my solution. The only hesitation is that I will probably invest in software that would allow 2 simultaneous inputs. Wouldn't that require a separate box (forgive my ignorance)? Also, my laptop is operating Windows XP. Does that mean I'm running Windows Media Center? I have other media players loaded.

Thanks again
Bill

[Danimal00]

Originally Posted by bassman10096

Thanks Dan. That looks like it could be my solution. The only hesitation is that I will probably invest in software that would allow 2 simultaneous inputs. Wouldn't that require a separate box (forgive my ignorance)? Also, my laptop is operating Windows XP. Does that mean I'm running Windows Media Center? I have other media players loaded.

Thanks again
Bill

Hi Bill,

With a Mac, you can enable aggregate devices and use two of them, but I don't think that this is possible on the PC. So we would go back to a pair of mics (or one) and make sure that the audio interface that you get into would accommodate two inputs at a time. This raises the cost a bit, but ultimately, it will give you more future flexibility.

A good quality (not the cheapest) audio interface is the Presonus Inspire1394. It also comes with some recording software; CubaseLE. You could use any mic that you already have with this, or get a new one for recording. If you didn't purchase your PC with the Media Center Edition, you shouldn't have to worry about it.

Let me know if you want a recommendation on a lesser cost interface or some mics.

Thanks!
Dan

[Mottlefeeder]

Your starting point apears to be PC + software + mic, but you do not say whether you have tried and rejected the other options.

A second hand minidisk recorder plus microphone would do the job, and will play back into a PC to make CD copies if you need to. It will also fit in your pocket/gig bag, and play back through your amp/PA in the rehearsal room if needed. Mine will give me a 148 minute mono recording on one minidisk, and the microphone cost me 10 GB Pounds.

Likewise, a second hand 4 track + microphone will give you a cassette recording (but only 20 minutes per cassette) - they are becoming obsolete, so they are cheap, and some of them will take lo-z XLR connected microphones.

Food for thought if you have not already considered them.

[bassman10096]

Thanks guys. Dan: The Presonus might be feasible. I have mic's.
Mottlefeeder: I've considered minidisc and hard drive recorders. What kind are you using? Sounds like a freestanding recorder may be another straight forward approach to my problem.

Bill

[Mottlefeeder]

Originally Posted by bassman10096

...Mottlefeeder: I've considered minidisc and hard drive recorders. What kind are you using? ...

I have an elderly Sony MZ R37, which runs on 2 AA cells, and records in stereo, or mono for twice as long. The mic is an electret capsule built into the end of a 3.5 mm (1/8 inch) jack plug, - there are several vendors around, and it is a lot cheaper than buying a Sony one.

Later MD recorders allow you to dump to PC faster, but this one has to do everything in analogue, in real time. However, I can put track markers on the tracks I need to work on, so it does everything I need.

Incidentally, if you are new to the MD format, the site www.minidisc.org is quite comprehensive.

[hbarcat]

Back when I was recording our rehearsals on the cheap, I used one of those small condenser mics designed for the 1/8" mic (mono) input on the sound card and recorded using "Goldwave" shareware. It was about as simple and easy to do (as well as cheap) as possible and it gave results good enough for us to listen to ourselves for critique purposes and hear everybody equally, as long as the microphone was placed in a good spot and we didn't overpower it with too high a volume.

You said you already had microphones, and if you want to record in stereo, you can buy a cheap, 2 input mixer from one of the big music gear catalogs for about $40 and run a stereo RCA cable from the mixer to the 1/8" stereo line-in jack on your sound card. This cable is about $4 at Walmart and is the same cable that's included with many portable CD players Any and all software you use will allow you to easily select from different input sources from a menu. You can also select the recording quality and we always got the best results with CD quality 16 bit, 44.1 khz.