Use a USB powered Interface like you the Focusrite Solo Generation IIII.
2) Shure Beta 58 Microphone. This is an economical professional quality microphone. Buy this from a good music supply company.
3) Audacity Audio Recording and Editing Software (Free on the Internet)
4. An XLR microphone cable. This is a standard three wire microphone cable. You may also want a microphone stand but a stand isn’t essential.
5. If you can’t get a audio interface box and a good microphone, it’s possible to improve your recordings quite a bit by using a laptop running on battery power. Unplugging your laptop will at least eliminate the main electrical power noise from your recording.
SETUP PROCEDURE:
1) Download and install Audacity. Also download and install the LAME mp3 encoder from the download area of the Audacity site.
2) Install any drivers necessary to use the the audio interface box you purchased.
3) Connect the USB Interface to the computer via the USB port
4) Connect the microphone tothe XLR microphone jack on the interface
5) Open Audacity
6) Go to Preferences
7) Under File Formats locate the MP3 Export Setup area near the bottom of the window.
8) Select Find Library and navigate to the location where the LAME Library is located and select it.
9. At the bottom left of the Audacity screen select a project rate of 96,000 Hz.
9) Go back to the MP3 Audio Export Setup area and next to Bit Rate select 96 from the drop down menu. On a Mac you will select a bit rate of 96 under preferences. File size and final audio quality is determined by the export bit rate. For use on this web site always select 96. Lower numbers produce somewhat small audio files.
You dont want any echo. in your recordings.That's impossible but try. Ideally you will have yur mouth pretty close to the mic, but have it to the side or above, to reduce plosives and essess. Working close you willnaturally keep your voice lower. Then you can lower the gain and youll be picking up less reflected sound and noise. It" all about the signal to noise ratio, which wasa big el in analog audio electronics.1) Open Audacity
2) On the upper right area of the window is a microphone icon. Next to it is a drop down menu. Select Monitor Input from the menu.
3) Speak into the microphone and adjust the level on the USB Interface so that the meter moves as far as possible, but doesnt over drive and clip. The
4) Hold the microphone (or put it on a stand) about 5 or 6 inches (14 cm) from your mouth. The sound becomes warmer if you move the microphone a bit closer to your mouth and less warm as you mover it farther away from your mouth. Try to maintain the 5.5 inches (14 cm). Speak over the mic slightly so that the explosive sounds like B and P do not cause a popping sound.
5) Press the record icon (the one with the red circle) and speak.
5a. Wait one full second after Audacity starts recording before you start talking. Note that it can take a second or so after you click on the record button before Audacity starts recording. It’s easy to trim off extra silence from the recording later.
6) When you are done, wait one full second in silence after you quit talking then press the stop icon (the one with the yellow square).
7) Play back by hitting the space bar or pressing the play icon (the green right pointing arrow).
8) If you like the result, name and save the file.
7) Play back by hitting the space bar or pressing the play icon (the green right pointing arrow).
8) If you like the result, name and save the file.
You will want to edit your recording before uploading it to the web. Here are the most important points.
1) Place the cursor to the left of the start of the waveform and select all but 1/2 second of silence that is closest to the audio in the blank area to the left of the audio. Hit the delete button.
2) Do the same on the right side of the waveform towards the end of recording. Leave 1/2 second of silence after the audio stops and trim off the rest.
3) Listen to the entire recording again to be certain you have all of it still. If you do not, you can open the saved original recorded file or use the Edit Menu/Undo function.
4) If it’s ok then save with a different name so you always have the original to return to if a problem
crops up. You may also use the Edit Menu/Undo function.
5) Click on the area to the left of the waveform that has words on it: Audio track, Mono, 44100Hz, etc. – anywhere in the gray area.
7) Go to the menu at the top of the program and open the Effect menu.
You can try these effects until you get a handle on all this
8) Select Compressor.
9) Move the slider next to Threshold to –10db.
9a) Make sure that the box is checked next to Normalize to 0 db after compressing. The ratio and attack should be set to: Ratio 2:1 Attack .2 Then press OK.
9a. Audacity ships with noise removal. It involves talking a sample of the track containing only background noise, then expanding te selected area and running the plugin. The settings are really impossible to understand, but the defaults dont dogoo much damage.
4) If it’s ok then save with a different name so you always have the original to return to if a problem
crops up. You may also use the Edit Menu/Undo function.
5) Click on the area to the left of the waveform that has words on it: Audio track, Mono, 44100Hz, etc. – anywhere in the gray area.
7) Go to the menu at the top of the program and open the Effect menu.
You can try these effects until you get a handle on all this
8) Select Compressor.
9) Move the slider next to Threshold to –10db.
9a) Make sure that the box is checked next to Normalize to 0 db after compressing. The ratio and attack should be set to: Ratio 2:1 Attack .2 Then press OK.
9a. Audacity ships with noise removal. It involves talking a sample of the track containing only background noise, then expanding te selected area and running the plugin. The settings are really impossible to understand, but the defaults dont dogoo much damage.
10) Save
EXPORT:
1) Go to the File Menu at the top of the screen and select Export as MP3. Follow the prompts and save.
2) You now have an MP3 file of the recording to use.
2) You now have an MP3 file of the recording to use.
Troubleshooting:
1. It’s easy for Audacity to select the wrong microphone or no microphone at all. If you aren’t getting any audio at all check the manual for your audio interface box and follow any suggestions it offers. It’s easy to select the wrong channel or to accidentally mute the audio.
