Audacity Forum

I think what most people here on this forum can't seem to comprehend is my initial expectations. I'm being told they are too high for my price range but they are not. I basically told you in my first post that I'm willing to live with what most professionals would consider "crap" because I don't need anything fancy. A decent usb microphone would be fine.... I don't care if there is a tiny bit of hiss.... I just need something to go on Skype with, record a few tunes and share it with my friends. I was just hoping I could do slightly better then my original computer Mic since it is end of the line. Everyone here seems to have this idea that I am demanding a 500 dollar recording studio.

-Chris

,,,I think what most people here on this forum can't seem to comprehend is my initial expectations. >>>

We're perfectly clear what your initial expectations were. Get a program that does a better job at noise removal than Audacity. I personally would be using Audacity 1.3.12 for noise removal. Those tools are much better, more comprehensive and accurate than the ones in 1.2. There is even a new software patch that promises to work even better.

http://audacityteam.org/download/

You can safely install both Audacity versions on your machine, but only use one at a time. Audacity 1.3 Projects will not open in 1.2.

Koz

cwaugh18 wrote:I'm willing to live with what most professionals would consider "crap" because I don't need anything fancy.

I'm with you - Your question could be written "how do I get a less crap recording than my current really crap recording for about 50 bucks?"
Have I got that right?

cwaugh18 wrote:So couldn't I just buy a microphone and cable and connect the mic to the amp?

You could, but it would a) require an amp with a microphone input, and b) unless you spend a lot of money on the amp, the vocals will sound crap - not the same crap as you get with your computer microphone, but crap in a different way. Guitar amps are designed to work with guitars, and even the "acoustic" amps for guitars with microphone inputs usually sound really bad on vocals - the problem is that the type of speakers they use are designed for guitar, and the amplifier is designed for the speakers.

An example of the type of guitar amp that you can put vocals through and it doesn't sound crap is the "A.E.R. Compact 60" http://reviews.harmony-central.com/revi ... ct+60/10/1

So after that little day-dream we're back to reality.

For the best recording quality results, I think your best bet (without stretching the budget much) is to go for a USB microphone and record the guitar and the vocals separately. A "large diaphragm USB condenser microphone" could be used for recording vocals, acoustic guitar, or amplified guitar. (It's not going to sound like a professional studio recording, but you should be able to get recordings to sound pretty good.

If you specifically want to sing and play at the same time, then the question is how to get both sounds into the computer at the same time.
One of the considerations is the type of sound that you are after. If you want a clean, acoustic sound for both the guitar and the vocal, then using one or more microphones is the way to go. But if you want a "plugged in" sound, then you probably want to go through an amp of some sort.

If we start talking about amps, then that opens up a whole new subject (and a new budget) so we would probably be best to leave that for another discussion.

The easiest way to record both the guitar and vocals at the same time would be to record "ambiently" - that is, place the microphone so that it picks up both the sound of the guitar and the sound of your voice at the same time. This will be much easier to do if your guitar is going through an amp, because then you can have the microphone fairly close for singing and adjust the position and volume of the amp so that the guitar is also picked up. Because the guitar and vocals are recorded on the same track, you are quite limited in the amount of "production" you can do - essentially the sound all comes down to setting things up carefully.

The "task" is crying out for a mixing desk so that you can either plug in two microphones or a vocal mic and plug in your guitar (D.I.), but even the cheapest of mixing desks bumps up against the budget limit, and then you still need a microphone and a USB sound card to connect the mixing desk to your laptop.

cwaugh18 wrote:I think what most people here on this forum can't seem to comprehend is my initial expectations. I'm being told they are too high for my price range but they are not.

apparently they are
but you dont believe us
so why not ask at another forum
as this has nothing to do with audacity

I basically told you in my first post that I'm willing to live with what most professionals would consider "crap" because I don't need anything fancy.

so live with what you have.
what is the real problem you want our advice on?

A decent usb microphone would be fine.... I don't care if there is a tiny bit of hiss....

but that was your original complaint.
besides, a decent usb mike costs a LOT more than your budget.
besides you said you could get a good one cheap so why didnt you do that to start with ?

I just need something to go on Skype with, record a few tunes and share it with my friends.

am i mixing up threads. thought you wanted to record a guitar.

I was just hoping I could do slightly better then my original computer Mic since it is end of the line. Everyone here seems to have this idea that I am demanding a 500 dollar recording studio.

no we are saying you have to spend more than you are willing to admit to get the quality improvement you said you needed

you get what you buy
we cant know how bad you are willing to tolerate
nor how good you demand

your only criteria seems to be cheap
so buy cheap and live with whatever results that gets you

want better
then you need to buy better at higher cost

its your call

all we have done is respond to what you asked for

Let's try and keep it friendly everyone.
Thanks

I just wanted to take a moment to thank stevethefiddle for being realistic and actually understanding my initial expectations and respecting my price range. Stevethefiddle, You are correct when you say "I want less crappy set up then my original really crappy set up." That was the entire reason I have been throwing out numerous ideas onto this forum. It's like when I go into a store... I tell the sales guy what I am looking for and he helps me get set up for the best option that suits my price range and expectations. I may buy the product knowing its going to still be crappy but also knowing it will be at least 2 % better than what I have. Once again I don't need anything professional. I don't need my room changed to suit my recording. I don't need a 500 dollar studio. I need an answer that suits my expectations... not rude people saying there too high. Once again... thanks stevethefiddle.

maybe fiddle is the good cop
and someone else is not

we answered what you asked
dont blame us if you make us guess at what you really want

i note you switched from removing hiss to recording skype
as one example of your shape shifting question

It's all the same thing. Skype, recording etc..... its the quality of sound being imputed into the computer.

actually it does make a difference
acoustic guitar
electric guitar pickup
amped guitar
skype

they really get best results with different solutions
and some will require different hardware

and since you want cheap
matching the right solution to your problem is critical

Perhaps you bought the wrong $20 microphone.

http://www.logitech.com/en-us/webcam-co ... evices/221

I have one of these, too. Small diaphragm condenser microphone with simple USB interface and acoustic noise canceling. Perfect for Skype and communications and a minor on performance capture.

$30 is list. I paid $19 for mine.

Koz