I hope I’m not wasting everyone’s time here but I cannot find an answer to my question anywhere.
Our church recently put a new sound system in and we were told we could record from the back of the amp. I’m wanting to know what cable I need to connect my laptop to this so I can record using Audacity?
I have searched some and cant work out if its RCA to 3.5mm jack, or if I should go with RCA to USB? Someone said RCA to USB may not work as there is current running both ways?? Also is it possible to then record to an android smartphone?(Nexus 4)
I am so confused and would greatly appreciate any help to point me in the right direction.
To record both sides of a cellphone, I use an Olympus TP-7 or TP-8. It’s a live microphone that you put in your ear and then make the call on top of it. It will record both sides of the call, unlike SmartPhone Personal Recorders which only record one side.
I expect that to plug right into your Windows laptop. the TP-8 does not need the extra little sound adapter.
That white thing in the second picture is a microphone USB adapter. I expect you may not need that. that’s mostly for my Mac which has no good microphone connection.
…or if I should go with RCA to USB? Someone said RCA to USB may not work as there is current running both ways??
The Behringer device that Koz suggested can go both ways (play and record). USB goes both ways, but there is no simple cable-adapter, since the signal from the mixer is analog, and USB is digital.
Beware of “USB soundcards”. Most are exactly like laptops with only a low-quality microphone-input and headphone-output.
Also is it possible to then record to an android smartphone?(Nexus 4)
To record from the church’s sound system? I don’t know… I can’t help you with that. I’ve seen all kinds of high-quality audio gizmos that plug-into the digital connector of an iPhone, but I don’t know what’s available for Android phones.
You can also get little digital recorders with line-level inputs (for connection to the sound system). One advantage of something like that is you don’t have to worry about the unreliability you get with computers (and software, and computer users ). You would still generally connect the recorder to a computer for editing and copying, but if you have a “computer problem” you have more time to fix it.
The cheapest portable digital recorders (~$100 USD) usually only have built-in microphones, so you’d probably have to spend more to get line-inputs.
to connect my laptop…
The blue connection on a soundcard in a desktop computer is line-in. With the proper adapter cable, you can connect to the RCA outputs on your mixer.
There actually is no mixer involved its just of the amp that is running the sound system. It is a very compact system.
I think I am going with the idea from Koz. The USB adapter. I have seen online it can also be plugged to a smartphone with a OTG USB adapter as well as going to the laptop with the USB connection so hopefully one solution will work.
What type of amp is it? Is it just a head type (such as a powered mixer head)? similar to
If so, there may be a 1/4" line-out jack that you could connect a typical guitar cord or 1/4" PA speaker cord to then get a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter for the other end that will then plug in to your laptops mic plug. You might also be able to utilize the monitor out jack in the same way.
Another option would be to run a cord out of the monitor jack to a dedicated monitor or speaker. Then mic that speaker. The mic can be either a simple little computer mic plugged into your laptop or you could use something like a Shure SM58 or SM57. But, if you use something like an SM57 or 58, the cable that pro mics use is a low-Z XLR. But you can get adapters like an XLR-to-1/4" plug adapter like this one
.
But, you can also get XLR-to-USB adapters as well like this
.
Yet another option is to replace the PA head you have now with a new and improved version. Peavey now makes these type powered PA heads that will connect to anything and even have BlueTooth sreaming audio capability, SD card, and USB MP3 player. See http://www.peavey.com/products/index.cfm/series/700/PVi®%20Series.
there may be a 1/4" line-out jack that you could connect a typical guitar cord or 1/4" PA speaker cord to then get a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter for the other end that will then plug in to your laptops mic plug.
But I wouldn’t cozy up to that idea. The Mic-In of a Windows laptop is intended to be used with an actual microphone.
It’s not a general purpose audio input, it’s mono, not stereo, and it overloads and clips the sound very easily and you can’t stop it. One of the USB solutions is the way to go.
True. That’s the way to get the cabinet sound in addition to the actual notes. Most people like that a lot, however, if you do that, you’re also miking the room so you’ll also get echoes, wall slap and the dog next door. Tread carefully. Miking a loud cabinet can also give you overload and clipping problems, so pay attention to the sound meters and check your work with tests before you record a whole album.
Koz, you’re absolutely correct. Using a pro mic into a computer can cause severe clipping issues. And very true about ambient room noise. But, if he uses an actual computer mic, puts it directly against the output speaker, adjusts the volume correctly for that speaker so it doesn’t clip in Audacity, then the room noise should be minimized. Plus, the output speaker could also be isolated from the room…in another room or something. Another thing to consider is that when computer recording from a speaker (PA or guitar amp or whatever) there will always be an inherent hiss from the speaker heard in the recording. But this is easily fixed in Audacity using the noise removal.
Do you have a Shure X2U? What kind of levels do you get if you plug a SM58 into it, turn the Mic Level all the way up and speak in a normal tone of voice? I’ve never been happy with mine. This is the level I get with a Beyer M58 N(C) speaking very forcefully. It does this with other microphones, too. Koz
