Recording for the net...
 

Hi,

I was recently given the task to record audio for an online website, the audio is of people singing, i need to capture the best audio possible, to give the site a good image but i was wondering what sort of mic i would need. Would i be better of recording directly into my laptop (im using apple) or should i get a recorder? minidisc or mp3?

If i record directly into my laptop, which sound program will be good enough?

Regards
Ismail

How big a group, under what conditions?

For recording software for your laptop, a basic stereo program that's free(!) and a good way to experiment, try audacity. www.audacity.com Freeware for both Mac OS9 and X and Windows. Don't forget you need an interface as well.

Sony Vegas Movie Studio isn't free, but it's great, same with Mackie Tracktion.
Tracktion is a great app for the cost, easy as heck to use and has awesome built-in tutorials and hints as you work with it too.

From what i know, i will be recording indivduals, or maybe groups of two.

My only real concentration is getting excellent quality audio, any suggestions on a mic? and accessories i may also need?

Regards
Ismail

There are a number of excellent mics around for vocalists. Since it is a studio scenario, even if your "studio" is makeshift, you'll be looking at a studio type mic. For instance, I just purchased up a Rode NT1-A to use for voice-over etc which is an example of the sort of thing you're looking at.

You also need an audio interface to get the sound into the computer. You could use your existing soundcard but they usually don't work especially well with pro quality microphones without additional preamps, mixers, etc, and most are pretty marginal in terms of the quality of their A/D converters, frequency response, general sound quality and S/N ratio. Again, there are a lot of choices for interfaces - I just got an Audiofire8 by Echo Audio which has 8 channels in and out and uses a Firewire port to connect to the computer. I chose this one because, among other reasons, it has excellent specs and its inputs 1 & 2 feature good quality mic preamps with phantom power so I can plug a mic straight in without having to go through a mixer or preamp yet I can add a mixer when I need to. There are a number of others that are good as well and it often boils down to personal preference. But a pro-level interface specifically designed for recording and mixing is highly preferrable to making do with a conventional soundcard, even the more expensive types favored by gamer's. Echo, M-Audio, MOTU, Emu, Edirol are some brands that come immediately to mind.
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