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Post by ukpacker on Jan 30, 2020 19:11:56 GMT
Hello all. Not sure if this is the right place to post about microphones but as they all seem to require plugging I shall start from here. I have a Tascam DR 40 digital recorder which I use to monitor my practice sessions in a small room. It is not very good at capturing a realistic tone from my guitar and the instrumental sound just seems muffled to me, so I am wondering if I would be able to record a more realistic tone as the listener would hear it if I used an external mic? The Rode NT1a seems to be recommended online and used versions at the price I can pay are available on eBay. I have no interest in messing with computer programmes and just want an instant result to help me evaluate the quality of tone that I am producing, or is this too much to expect from home recording in a v small room? Thanks for any advice from those experienced recording technology.
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Post by ocarolan on Jan 30, 2020 23:42:36 GMT
For instant gratification and a great quality/price ratio it's hard to better the small Zoom digital recorders. I'm sure that for your purposes the H1 or H2n would prove to be a simple, effective and economical solution. You can record onto the internal SD card and play back via PC or whatever with an SD slot. Ideal for recording practice, and should you wish to do more, the quality is there. Beyond that you'd be into the realms you said hold no interest for you!
Keith
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Post by andyhowell on Jan 31, 2020 9:37:32 GMT
The H2n is indeed a fine little machine and capable of very good results. You can even add a small condensor mic to it. I use mine with a min jack, battery powered Sony mic which is ridicliously good.
However, a bigger mic will get you good results. The Rode mics are very good but there is a lot of competition in that price range now. If you are searching online look also for the SE mics at comparative prices and the Aston mics (if anyone is daft enough to sell them). MXL produce some great mics at very reasonable prices, many people swear by the t.bone mics.
If you are searching eBay you will have options to chose from!
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Post by jackorion on Jan 31, 2020 10:54:39 GMT
I'm surprised you can't get a 'good enough for reference' sound from the Tascam - I used to have one for recording band practises and gigs etc and it was fine - I also used it for making some demos at home and, whilst it wasn't studio quality, it was good enough to hear what I as doing and to get an impression of the guitar at the very least...
have you got the gain settings right? Where are you placing the recorder?
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Post by ukpacker on Jan 31, 2020 20:08:04 GMT
I'm surprised you can't get a 'good enough for reference' sound from the Tascam - I used to have one for recording band practises and gigs etc and it was fine - I also used it for making some demos at home and, whilst it wasn't studio quality, it was good enough to hear what I as doing and to get an impression of the guitar at the very least... have you got the gain settings right? Where are you placing the recorder?
Thanks for the replies, I put the recorder on a book shelf about 18 inches in front of the guitar. The gain seems ok at 85, that triggers the peak light occasionaly if I thump a bass string but mostly it stays off. The recording of my guitar just does not sound much like a musical instrument . I would try and post a recording if I knew how but I have not much time at the momment to figure it out, maybe come back with that after next week. Cheers all.
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Post by robmc on Feb 2, 2020 10:03:41 GMT
Hi, I've recently been exploring just the issue you raised.
I have been using a Zoom H1 for a couple of years and I find it's brilliant for convenience and sound reproduction at the price point (I have not tried the Tascam myself it may be just as good).
I bought a couple of condenser mics prior to Christmas, a Lewitt 240 on ebay for £50 and an SE X1S vocal pack from PMT as it was a steal on black Friday... £99.00 for the mic, shock mount/pop filter and cable. I also bought an Audiobox USB 64 interface which you need when you record with the mics to a PC/laptop, think this was around £70.00, it comes with free DAW software, Studio One.
The SE mic is currently still unopened... but I will get round to trying it, but it does say something about the faff factor of setting everything up if you do not have a dedicated recording space which I do not. In comparison the Zoom is a doddle.
However, I have recorded with the Lewitt via the Audiobox and used the free software that comes with the interface, Studio One.
Studio One is a great software package IMHO, and once you get your head around it (took me a little while), it is very intuitive and user friendly and I actually enjoyed working with it... which was a surprise as like you I was quite unmoved by the thought of getting into anything remotely 'techy'.
If you do go for a mic I can recommend the Audiobox USB 64 as a low cost interface and in particular Studio One for working on the sound file. It is time consuming though which is the limiting factor if you're not able to leave it all set up in dedicated space.
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Post by andyhowell on Feb 3, 2020 9:12:54 GMT
robmc Lewitt mics are very good. You found a bargain there.
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Post by ukpacker on Feb 5, 2020 18:26:03 GMT
Hi, I've recently been exploring just the issue you raised. I have been using a Zoom H1 for a couple of years and I find it's brilliant for convenience and sound reproduction at the price point (I have not tried the Tascam myself it may be just as good). I bought a couple of condenser mics prior to Christmas, a Lewitt 240 on ebay for £50 and an SE X1S vocal pack from PMT as it was a steal on black Friday... £99.00 for the mic, shock mount/pop filter and cable. I also bought an Audiobox USB 64 interface which you need when you record with the mics to a PC/laptop, think this was around £70.00, it comes with free DAW software, Studio One. The SE mic is currently still unopened... but I will get round to trying it, but it does say something about the faff factor of setting everything up if you do not have a dedicated recording space which I do not. In comparison the Zoom is a doddle. However, I have recorded with the Lewitt via the Audiobox and used the free software that comes with the interface, Studio One. Studio One is a great software package IMHO, and once you get your head around it (took me a little while), it is very intuitive and user friendly and I actually enjoyed working with it... which was a surprise as like you I was quite unmoved by the thought of getting into anything remotely 'techy'. If you do go for a mic I can recommend the Audiobox USB 64 as a low cost interface and in particular Studio One for working on the sound file. It is time consuming though which is the limiting factor if you're not able to leave it all set up in dedicated space.
Thanks robmc, I'll refer back to your post if I choose to go down that road.
I have been experimenting with where I place the Tascam recorder and I have found that the recording quality is much improved when I mount the unit on a tripod and place it within inches of the fret board, this allows me to turn the gain down to 70 and produces much better results. An option that would not involve so much extra 'stuff' filling up my small practice space would be to get a quality USB mic, plug it into the laptop which lives in the same room anyway and record onto a micro usb card and playback through my little mp3 player. Some of the USB mics on youtube sound good enough for me and better than the Tascam.
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Jo whoever he is.
