 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: mqaa
Date: 2023-06-08 19:52
Hi all.
I want to start recording myself while practicing. Tried to use my phone but the sound quality is really bad. Does anybody have any experience with recording yourself and what equipment are you using?
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2023-06-08 21:28
Hi,
I spent ages trying to work out the best way, and in my house the best mic we have is in a Canon SX210 IS point-and-shoot camera.
We have other small canon cameras, a DSLR, a camcorder and three phones, and for some reason that one Canon camera happens to be the good one.
I bought
Jen
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Author: jeig
Date: 2023-06-08 22:15
Convenience is really important to me for practice recording. Zoom makes an external mic for iPhone that is not close to pro quality sound, but really good for convenient practice recordings. There are other iPhone external mics available and I have no idea how they compare.
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2023-06-09 00:06
Hi,
I bought the Zoom H1n because it was the cheapest one, but it was rubbish and I ended up returning it. I think the one that everybody actually recommended was the Zoom H2 which was beyond my budget.
Jennifer
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2023-06-09 01:32
I record my concerts with a boom box (2000) and cassette tapes. Still works....
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2023-06-09 02:56
Unfortunately quality audio recording (or even Zoom lesson quality) is expensive. To get something into your computer you need a preamp/audio converter, a decent mic, mic stand and xlr cable. The preamp could be as low as $250; the mic (for starters) around $150; stands can be gotten for around $25 on Amazon and xlr for about that as well.
For just recording and playback I'd say you can't go wrong with the Zoom products. They are pretty much like iPhones are for cameras........point and shoot (no learning curve really).
But here is the problem. I went down this path many years ago and did NOT know what I was doing for mics. It's easy to get the wrong thing and not even know it. The other problem I had was that half of my practice session was then listening back to what I played......lost practice time as far as I am concerned. It is best to develop critical listening in the moment. That is your best learning tool. But there is room for SOME recording and listening if you don't get obsessed with it.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2023-06-09 06:07
If you have an Apple device check out an app called Modacity. It's optimized for quick spot check recording during practice sessions. It's actually designed to help you organize your practice sessions but I just use the recording part of it.You can easily speed up or slow down playback. It's single button operation and makes recording so easy that you'll actually do it. Yes, it's limited in quality by the device mic, but it's great for zeroing in on most fine points you might be interested in. The app was designed by a sound engineer who is also a professional horn player.
Nobody hears as much detail when they are playing as they do when they are just listening. And listening to yourself at half speed is often very humbling and extremely useful.
Anders
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2023-06-09 21:24
I also find my computer webcam really good for recording. It actually has pretty decent sound, and it means I can instantly play back to see what happened. It's easy to clip it in different places to get different views.
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Author: graham
Date: 2023-06-09 22:39
I have a Yeti mic which plugs into my tablet on which I use the Audacity application.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2023-06-10 16:05
Some phones have a pretty good sound, but they are far more expensive than a decent recorder.
You might be able to get a USB mic that can work with your phone that would be much better than your phone mic.
A Zoom recorder is great. I like the H4 and H2, but even the H1 is fine and much cheaper.
I'd say all of these options are very good (and I'm comparing it with a professional setup, that is it's not as good, but just to say I'm not comparing it with a phone).
>> For just recording and playback I'd say you can't go wrong with the Zoom products. They are pretty much like iPhones are for cameras........point and shoot (no learning curve really). <<
In that sense, yes. I'm also a photographer, and recently taught someone how to use a camera (a decent average DSLR). We then compared it with her new iPhone, and for regular photos the iPhone was better. Even in low light (up to a point). Only with much better lenses and in specific situations (e.g. someone running) the camera was better.
I imagine audio is not far behind and soon any decent phone would have about the same (or better) recording unless you jump to a much better setup.
Post Edited (2023-06-11 08:15)
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2023-06-10 16:25
Hi clarnibass,
I totally agree about DSLRs. My proper job is macrophotography, and I have good DSLR and know how to use it really well. But I almost always use a point-and-shoot Canon powershot when I just want a regular photo. The DSLR is essential for when I need a really specialist set up with total control. Bit it almost always takes longer and is less reliable when I just want a guaranteed good photo quickly.
I can imagine that sound would be really really similar in that regard. The trick, I suppose, is identifying a good point-and-shoot microphone. I had to try a lot of different ones before I realised that my powershot camera had a good mic.
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Author: kerryklari
Date: 2023-06-10 18:26
When I wanted to record myself I bought Blue Snowball USB mic and I think it's pretty good. Decent quality, plug and play on my linux laptop, and has a mini tripod to it's easy to position. I've had it for about 6 years now and it's still good. I'm in Europe but if you are in USA then I see that amazon.com sells them for about $45 recon.
During pandemic lockdown my brother and I did a bit of duetting via exchanging recordings. He has much more expensive recording kit than me (much more expensive everything in fact!) but I decided I would upgrade. I bought a Behringer UMC22 Audio Interface which was absurdly cheap at the time (about €30). They're now about $70 on amazon. I bought an Audio Technica AT2035 Studio Condenser Mic via an amazon warehouse deal for about €115 and I see amazon.com has these for $115 recon. Finally, I bought a decent stand for about €50, again via amazon warehouse deal. All that is paired with a free software mixer, so about €200 got me what I consider to be a very good quality setup. My brother spent a good deal more than I did and personally I can't detect any difference at all in sound quality.
Like most things I suppose, price tends to increase exponentially while quality goes up in a more linear fashion.
BTW I have no big thing for amazon and would be equally happy to support a local shop, but I live in a very rural area and amazon delivered all the above for free which suited me.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2023-06-11 12:23
Partly off topic...
>> I totally agree about DSLRs. My proper job is macrophotography, and I have good DSLR and know how to use it really well. <<
I also do macro photography (about 50% of my photography). Changed to a mirrorless a couple of years ago, both to upgrade after a decade and for a lot of non-macro features (e.g. silent shutter).
Completely off topic, but curious what you use? I have a x2 magnification lens for up to x2, and microscope objective for higher than that.
>> But I almost always use a point-and-shoot Canon powershot when I just want a regular photo. The DSLR is essential for when I need a really specialist set up with total control. Bit it almost always takes longer and is less reliable when I just want a guaranteed good photo quickly. <<
P&S cameras and one of the fastest disappearing products in the world. Once phones became decent most stopped buying them. I don't really take many "regular" photos but if I do it's only with my phone.
My phone would be pretty terrible for any of the "real" photos, but so would a P&S camera (possibly worse).
To get back on topic...
>> I can imagine that sound would be really really similar in that regard. The trick, I suppose, is identifying a good point-and-shoot microphone. <<
A Zoom (or equivalent) recorder is more or less similar to a P&S camera. Audio is maybe a little behind photography in that sense and maybe eventually (or pretty soon even) a phone with a small mic would be as good as a Zoom (or better). I still mostly use a Zoom (H2, H4 and H5) when I want a decent recording of a concert or rehearsal. For quick stuff like recording a little in a rehearsal I still use the phone.
A phone or computer (with or without an extra microphone) has a big advantage of also having a much better interface for listening without having to copy it to the computer, etc. (I don't mind it much but for some people it can add a lot of hassle).
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2023-06-11 13:01
Hi Clarnibass,
Thanks so much for the question about macrophotography. I will send an answer by email to avoid derailing the discussion here. It's great to know that you do the same sort of thing.
Jennifer
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2023-06-12 01:40
clarnibass,
I'm admittedly a bit of a microphone snob, but I would say that there is still far too much specialized physical and electronic material involved in a transducer (either in taking a sound and transducing it to an electronic signal, a microphone; or to change an electronic signal and make it a sound wave, a speaker) for it to reproduce sound in high fidelity as one would hear on a streaming platform or movie theater. I would think that some future technology not yet in existence would be needed to create high fidelity microphones small enough and uncomplicated enough to fit in an iPhone like device. But then the iPhone would be that much more expensive (don't even ask how expensive microphones can be).
.............Paul Aviles
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2023-06-12 07:55
Paul, I'm not sure what you are replying to. I have a professional setup that I use occasionally, but only for "serious" recordings e.g. for sound tracks, parts for albums, etc. though this is not often and these things are usually still recorded is professional studios.
I also happen to have a friend who is a sound engineer with a microphone obsession...
My point was entirely different. I was specifically talking about mid-level portable recorders like the Zoom. It is sort of the "tweener" of the recording world. Still better than phones, but to get something significantly better you need a much more expensive and more cumbersome setup.
Even if you can't get a "good enough" mic in the phone maybe you could get a small mic accessory that would make a huge difference.
It's why I compared it with P&S cameras, which became the "tweener" of the camera world, and almost no one buys them anymore. Just randomly checking on Google, fifteen years ago the market was 110 million, a couple of years ago it was 3 million.
People still use much better cameras (me too), but a new iPhone was flat out better than a semi-professional and good camera with a basic lens. A lot of it is software, and that can make a lot of difference to audio too. The sensor itself (which is a bit like the microphone) is definitely not better on the phone, and it is smaller too (the larger sensor is part of what makes good cameras better). There is no way they can put a "full frame" (35mm film equivalent) sensor in a phone, it would drive the price way too high and the lens wouldn't cover it.
I'm only guessing that soon enough you would have no reason to use anything but a phone to record unless you jump to a pro setup (and the hassle that comes with it).
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