Recording an acoustic band

[steve V. johnson]

Hey Tony,

I'm glad that some of that stuff was useful!

"...does anyone know a link or site for Audacity practical "hints"?"

I thought that when I downloaded Audacity that I saw some reference to a users' forum or some such thing...
But I'm not entirely clear on that, but I'd look for some links there first, then try a search engine.

I don't know Audacity itself -terribly- well, but I can translate some of their particular terms to standard audio
engineer language. If you have specific questions, feel free to write me offline, PM or email.

stv

[MWM]

There's an Audacity wiki you can access through their home page www.audacity.sourceforge.net. You can find some good tips there. Also a users forum at www.audacityteam.org/forum/
What I've learned after a couple years: Record your levels a little lower than you think necessary. Spend most of your money on the best mics you can afford. Don't obsess over sound subtleties when you're going to mix down to 16-bit CD or MP3 quality in the end.

To answer Steve's Q: You can lower your normalization levels in Audacity.

[steve V. johnson]

Thanks MWM, good points, all!

(However, I confess that I do obsess over 16-bit results. It's just my way, I'm old and spoilt. And, hey, everybody's CDs are 16b/44.1k, even the rich rock stars'. But not so much over mp3s.)

Thanks for the Auda' normalization info!

stv

[tnpathfinder]

MWM...how are you getting the signal into your mac? I have a USB device called iMic but I can't seem to get the signal high enough.(Recording with Quicktime) Also...we have a powered mixer would it damage it to run a LDC through it, hook the outputs to the mac with out having speakers hooked up?

[MWM]

DON'T use a powered mixer with any computer! Use an inexpensive passive mixer like a Behringer UB802 (under $50). Use standard condenser mics (not USB). Run the XLR lines into your mixer for phantom power and mic preamp. Run your LINE levels out from the mixer through a Y-Cord that has 1/4" plugs on the mixer end (L&R) and a single 1/8" stereo plug on the other end for your Mac's sound input jack. In your Mac's sound control panel, designate the audio-in port for sound input. Adjust the input levels to the middle for starters - think of it as a coarse adjustment. Launch your recording software and use your mixers master control to fine tune the input signal level. Common mistake is recording too hot and clipping. Even at 16-bit, recording at a lower db and normalizing in software will give you great results. You may need to duplicate input settings in your software control panels as well. Visit www.tweakheadz.com for a great website to get you started.