[[email protected]]

Hello Pros......I am a TOTAL novice when it comes to recording, but I
am looking to start recording public domain books for sale as audio
recordings. Could some kind person tell me what I would need (in
layman's terms) in order to produce a saleable recording from home.
It would not necessarily be from my home - I realise I would need to
find somewhere very quiet to record. I would need advice on all the
basics such as basic soundproofing, and minimum equipment
requirements. I have a reasonable computer (Pentium D) - could I use
this as an editing suite? What recording/other equipment would I need
to use to transfer over to PC & burn onto CD? As you can see, I am
totally green, and just need to know roughly what I would need so I
can get on the move. I appreciate anyone's help. No laughing,
please. Thanks.

[harrogate3]

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello Pros......I am a TOTAL novice when it comes to recording, but
I
am looking to start recording public domain books for sale as audio
recordings. Could some kind person tell me what I would need (in
layman's terms) in order to produce a saleable recording from home.
It would not necessarily be from my home - I realise I would need to
find somewhere very quiet to record. I would need advice on all the
basics such as basic soundproofing, and minimum equipment
requirements. I have a reasonable computer (Pentium D) - could I
use
this as an editing suite? What recording/other equipment would I
need
to use to transfer over to PC & burn onto CD? As you can see, I am
totally green, and just need to know roughly what I would need so I
can get on the move. I appreciate anyone's help. No laughing,
please. Thanks.



Making a home studio is not too difficult - all it needs is a means to
stop echo and reverberation.

If you have a suitable room that you could use put a table near a
corner such that you can sit with a wall to either side i.e. with your
back to the corner with the table in front of you facing into the
room. On the table construct a largish box, perhaps 12-18" cube open
on only one side. Line the box with something that will absorb sound -
woollen blanket, old bed quilt, fibreglass loft insulation (take
care,) or if you can still get them cardboard egg trays are the best.
Buy a half decent microphone - an electret condenser type with stand
shoudn't cost more than about £20 - and stand it inside the box facing
the opening. You need to stand it on something that will absorb
vibrations, such as a bean bag; above all it must be stable. [A moving
coil microphone such as those made by Shure will give better sound
quality but the output is very low and may need external
amplification - suitable devices are available from the likes of Mapli
ns.]

Place a chair to sit on in front of the microphone, and drape the
walls behind f you with something that will absorb sound - an old
quilt, a blanket, a rug, or something like. It does not have to follow
the line of the walls, just something to stop sound reflections.

You will need to try it out to get the best effect. If you have
something on which you can record - an old cassette or MD recorder -
try it out and listen to the playback on headphones listening
particularly to make sure that the overall sound quality is 'dead.'

If the mic input on your sound card is sensitive enough to work with
the mic that you have you can use your PC as a recorder. There are
plenty of packages that you can use for recording and editing and
selection is rather personal. I like Cool Edit but there are plenty of
others - Google is your friend. Remember to record in mono - there is
no need for stereo in an audio book and it will take much less disc
space. Talking of which you will need plenty of hard disc space - most
recording software will save it as a .wav file which takes around 12Mb
per minute in stereo, less in mono.

When you record, do it in reasonable chunks, such as chapters. When
you are happy with the result, convert it to mp3 format which only
takes about 1.1Mb per minute (stereo) and delete the wav file. When
you have finished and are happy with the book overall, use something
like Nero to write it to disc - Nero can expand it into CD audio
(,cda) format on the fly. Remember that a 700Mb CD should give you
around 80 minutes of sound but for practical purposes it may be a
little less than that.. If you need much over that you can get 800Mb
CDs which theoretically can save 90 minutes.

You will probably find more info if you Google on something like 'home
recording.'


--
Woody

harrogate3 at ntlworld dot com

[Laurence Payne]

On Sun, 28 Jan 2007 11:33:35 GMT, "harrogate3"
wrote:

Making a home studio is not too difficult - all it needs is a means to
stop echo and reverberation.

If you have a suitable room that you could use put a table near a
corner such that you can sit with a wall to either side i.e. with your
back to the corner with the table in front of you facing into the
room. On the table construct a largish box, perhaps 12-18" cube open
on only one side. Line the box with something that will absorb sound -
woollen blanket, old bed quilt, fibreglass loft insulation (take
care,) or if you can still get them cardboard egg trays are the best.
Buy a half decent microphone - an electret condenser type with stand
shoudn't cost more than about £20 - and stand it inside the box facing
the opening. You need to stand it on something that will absorb
vibrations, such as a bean bag; above all it must be stable. [A moving
coil microphone such as those made by Shure will give better sound
quality but the output is very low and may need external
amplification - suitable devices are available from the likes of Mapli
ns.]

You're aiming pretty low here :-) A £20 mic into a computer's Mic
input can be reasonably described as "crap" on both counts.

Not quite sure what your 18" box is meant to do? It sounds a bit like
a bass trap, but that would go in the corner of the room. Egg boxes
look pretty, and might break up a bit of hf reflection. Otherwise
they don't do much.

What you really need is a room that sounds good. A small room won't.
Your living room, if it's a fair size and has carpets, soft
furnishings etc., might. A sort of tent constructed from duvets on a
clothes horse is worth trying.

Most of all, you need a voice and presentation that is attractive. If
you're doing this for charity, one set of standards apply. But you're
talking about selling the product. Different standards completely.
Don't worry about the technical aspect for now. Make some recordings
any old way you can. Get honest opinions - would you get hired as a
voice artiste? If not, hire an actor to do the reading, you
concentrate on the selling.

[Dirk Bruere at NeoPax]

harrogate3 wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello Pros......I am a TOTAL novice when it comes to recording, but
I
am looking to start recording public domain books for sale as audio
recordings. Could some kind person tell me what I would need (in
layman's terms) in order to produce a saleable recording from home.
It would not necessarily be from my home - I realise I would need to
find somewhere very quiet to record. I would need advice on all the
basics such as basic soundproofing, and minimum equipment
requirements. I have a reasonable computer (Pentium D) - could I
use
this as an editing suite? What recording/other equipment would I
need
to use to transfer over to PC & burn onto CD? As you can see, I am
totally green, and just need to know roughly what I would need so I
can get on the move. I appreciate anyone's help. No laughing,
please. Thanks.



Making a home studio is not too difficult - all it needs is a means to
stop echo and reverberation.

If you have a suitable room that you could use put a table near a
corner such that you can sit with a wall to either side i.e. with your
back to the corner with the table in front of you facing into the
room. On the table construct a largish box, perhaps 12-18" cube open
on only one side. Line the box with something that will absorb sound -
woollen blanket, old bed quilt, fibreglass loft insulation (take
care,) or if you can still get them cardboard egg trays are the best.
Buy a half decent microphone - an electret condenser type with stand
shoudn't cost more than about £20 - and stand it inside the box facing
the opening. You need to stand it on something that will absorb
vibrations, such as a bean bag; above all it must be stable. [A moving
coil microphone such as those made by Shure will give better sound
quality but the output is very low and may need external
amplification - suitable devices are available from the likes of Mapli
ns.]

Place a chair to sit on in front of the microphone, and drape the
walls behind f you with something that will absorb sound - an old
quilt, a blanket, a rug, or something like. It does not have to follow
the line of the walls, just something to stop sound reflections.

You will need to try it out to get the best effect. If you have
something on which you can record - an old cassette or MD recorder -
try it out and listen to the playback on headphones listening
particularly to make sure that the overall sound quality is 'dead.'

If the mic input on your sound card is sensitive enough to work with
the mic that you have you can use your PC as a recorder. There are
plenty of packages that you can use for recording and editing and
selection is rather personal. I like Cool Edit but there are plenty of
others - Google is your friend. Remember to record in mono - there is
no need for stereo in an audio book and it will take much less disc
space. Talking of which you will need plenty of hard disc space - most
recording software will save it as a .wav file which takes around 12Mb
per minute in stereo, less in mono.

When you record, do it in reasonable chunks, such as chapters. When
you are happy with the result, convert it to mp3 format which only
takes about 1.1Mb per minute (stereo) and delete the wav file. When
you have finished and are happy with the book overall, use something
like Nero to write it to disc - Nero can expand it into CD audio
(,cda) format on the fly. Remember that a 700Mb CD should give you
around 80 minutes of sound but for practical purposes it may be a
little less than that.. If you need much over that you can get 800Mb
CDs which theoretically can save 90 minutes.

You will probably find more info if you Google on something like 'home
recording.'

What is the obsession with mp3 files when a cheap HHD will store
hundreds of CDs in full quality?


--
Dirk

http://www.onetribe.me.uk - The UK's only occult talk show
Presented by Dirk Bruere and Marc Power on ResonanceFM 104.4
http://www.resonancefm.com

[Michael Black]

Dirk Bruere at NeoPax ) writes:

What is the obsession with mp3 files when a cheap HHD will store
hundreds of CDs in full quality?

My take is that the kids have pushed the MP3 forward. They want
that portability, they want single songs, they want easy downloads,
because that's where they came in. They don't have the same history of
records (or even CDs) that older people have, and the younger they are
the more they've grown up with portable and lackluster sound. Witness
all the systems they now make to add speakers to MP3 players, when in
the old days, you'd simply plug it into your good stereo system (with
good speakers) via the external input jack. Now I'm seeing boomboxes
that are "MP3 player compatible" when in the past they'd simply be touted
as having an "auxiliary input jack".

Then, the older people come along, and while they have a longer history
with recorded music, they don't know that newfangled stuff. So all they
are hearing about is MP3s, and they assume that's the only way to go.
They don't know that they can save their records or store the contents
of their CDs to a hard drive without those files becoming MP3s.

Obviously, if you want to use a portable MP3 player, you want those
songs in MP3 format (well you want it so the available space is used
optimally).

But too many are not thinking of .wav's or whatever as the archive,
they want to go to MP3s and then they are stuck with that format forever.

Michael

[Richard Crowley]

wrote ...
Hello Pros......I am a TOTAL novice when it comes to recording, but I
am looking to start recording public domain books for sale as audio
recordings.

Have you done the market research? Have you identifed PD
works that are not already available (likely for free?)

Do you have a good enough voice, delivery, pronunciation,
vocabulary, etc. to do commercially viable reading?


Could some kind person tell me what I would need (in
layman's terms) in order to produce a saleable recording from home.

You need reasonably conducive acoustics, and a reasonably
good microphone/preamp system.


It would not necessarily be from my home - I realise I would need to
find somewhere very quiet to record. I would need advice on all the
basics such as basic soundproofing,

Acoustic environment has two major aspects...
1) Noise. It is difficult/expensive to block noise from
outside a room. Particularly rooms with exterior walls
and/or in noisy nieghborhoods. Finding a closet closest
to the center of the house with lots of clothes on hangers
has been known to be an acceptable "location".

2) Reflections. Sound bouncing off the walls, etc. can be
beneficial for music, but usually not for speech. Recording
in a tile-lined bathroom, for example, is a poor location
and most of us would NOT pay for a speech recording done
in such unsuitable acoustics.

A room that is naturally quiet (at least at the times that
you will be recording), and a room free of distracting
reflections is basically what you are looking for.

and minimum equipment requirements.

A decent microphone (at least $150-200) and a mic preamp
(similar budget) can be high enough quality for commercial
speech recording.

There are even "USB Microphones" that combine the mic
and preamp. Maybe suitable for volunteer work, etc., but
likely not for commercial production.

I have a reasonable computer (Pentium D) - could I use
this as an editing suite?

Quite likely.

What recording/other equipment would I need
to use to transfer over to PC & burn onto CD?

Lots of software applications available to burn to CD.
Many of them free or very low cost.

[harrogate3]

"Laurence Payne" lpayne1NOSPAM@dslDOTpipexDOTcom wrote in message ...
On Sun, 28 Jan 2007 11:33:35 GMT, "harrogate3"
wrote:

Making a home studio is not too difficult - all it needs is a means to
stop echo and reverberation.

If you have a suitable room that you could use put a table near a
corner such that you can sit with a wall to either side i.e. with your
back to the corner with the table in front of you facing into the
room. On the table construct a largish box, perhaps 12-18" cube open
on only one side. Line the box with something that will absorb sound -
woollen blanket, old bed quilt, fibreglass loft insulation (take
care,) or if you can still get them cardboard egg trays are the best.
Buy a half decent microphone - an electret condenser type with stand
shoudn't cost more than about £20 - and stand it inside the box facing
the opening. You need to stand it on something that will absorb
vibrations, such as a bean bag; above all it must be stable. [A moving
coil microphone such as those made by Shure will give better sound
quality but the output is very low and may need external
amplification - suitable devices are available from the likes of Mapli
ns.]

You're aiming pretty low here :-) A £20 mic into a computer's Mic
input can be reasonably described as "crap" on both counts.

It only needs to record voice - and that doesn't need hi-fi quality. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.


Not quite sure what your 18" box is meant to do? It sounds a bit like
a bass trap, but that would go in the corner of the room. Egg boxes
look pretty, and might break up a bit of hf reflection. Otherwise
they don't do much.

It is to make a sound cage around the mic to stop it picking up reflected sound from the room. Cardboard egg TRAYS are analogous to an Anecoic Chamber - they are both acoustically dead in themselves (they don't vibrate) and the limited sound that they do reflect is never towards a parallel face, so any reflections die extremely quickly. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt, again.


What you really need is a room that sounds good. A small room won't.
Your living room, if it's a fair size and has carpets, soft
furnishings etc., might. A sort of tent constructed from duvets on a
clothes horse is worth trying.

If the people to whom the OP is aiming have any hearing deficiency at all then any sound reflections/reverb as caused by a recording made in a normal 'live' room acoustic could make listening difficult and comprehension even worse. My wife has a condition which is gradually leading to hearing deficiency and eventual loss, and from what she tells me I know exactly what the problems are. A recording with 'life' will sound infinitely worse when listened to in a 'live' room. Make the original recording acoustically dead and listening becomes very much easier whatever the playback acoustic. Why do you think the BBC etc spend so much money on making radio studios acoustically dead?


Most of all, you need a voice and presentation that is attractive. If
you're doing this for charity, one set of standards apply. But you're
talking about selling the product. Different standards completely.
Don't worry about the technical aspect for now. Make some recordings
any old way you can. Get honest opinions - would you get hired as a
voice artiste? If not, hire an actor to do the reading, you
concentrate on the selling.


Surprisingly I would have to - in general - agree with that!


--
Woody

harrogate3 at ntlworld dot com

[Richard Crowley]

"harrogate3" wrote ...
"Laurence Payne" wrote ...
Not quite sure what your 18" box is meant to do? It sounds a bit
like
a bass trap, but that would go in the corner of the room. Egg boxes
look pretty, and might break up a bit of hf reflection. Otherwise
they don't do much.

It is to make a sound cage around the mic to stop it picking
up reflected sound from the room. Cardboard egg TRAYS are
analogous to an Anecoic Chamber - they are both acoustically
dead in themselves (they don't vibrate) and the limited sound
that they do reflect is never towards a parallel face, so any
reflections die extremely quickly. Been there, done that, got
the T-shirt, again.

Dunno where you have been, but apparently you have never
seen/heard a real anechoic chamber. Cardboard egg trays
are NOT "analogous" to anechoic chambers. Cardboard egg
trays are NOT "acoustically dead", nor do they have ANY
significant absorbtive factor.

Real anecoic chambers are made of pyramids of foam which
each absorb sound. Shaped foam products like Sonex, etc.
are a cheap imitation of what a real anechoic chamber does.

You can hear the blood coursing through the capilaries in your
ears inside a real anechoic chamber. At least that was my
experience in the large chamber at Electrovoice in Buchannan,
Michigan.

Make the original recording acoustically dead and listening
becomes very much easier whatever the playback acoustic.

Exactly so. But egg trays won't get you there.

[Laurence Payne]

On Thu, 01 Feb 2007 20:55:10 GMT, "harrogate3"
wrote:

You're aiming pretty low here :-) A £20 mic into a computer's Mic
input can be reasonably described as "crap" on both counts.

It only needs to record voice - and that doesn't need hi-fi quality. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.


It needs not to be noisy, and have enough quality to TELL what
acoustic it's in. You're aiming just a little too low.



Not quite sure what your 18" box is meant to do? It sounds a bit like
a bass trap, but that would go in the corner of the room. Egg boxes
look pretty, and might break up a bit of hf reflection. Otherwise
they don't do much.



It is to make a sound cage around the mic to stop it picking up reflected sound from the room. Cardboard egg TRAYS
are analogous to an Anecoic Chamber - they are both acoustically dead in themselves (they don't vibrate) and the
limited sound that they do reflect is never towards a parallel face, so any reflections die extremely quickly.
Been there, done that, got the T-shirt, again.

Really, egg trays don't do anything much. Your T-shirt would be a
little more use :-) They LOOK a bit like acoustic foam, but that's as
far as it goes. If you put a mic in a wooden box, it sounds like a
mic in a wooden box. Not terribly nice.

[jeffery]

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello Pros......I am a TOTAL novice when it comes to recording, but I
am looking to start recording public domain books for sale as audio
recordings. Could some kind person tell me what I would need (in
layman's terms) in order to produce a saleable recording from home.
It would not necessarily be from my home - I realise I would need to
find somewhere very quiet to record. I would need advice on all the
basics such as basic soundproofing, and minimum equipment
requirements. I have a reasonable computer (Pentium D) - could I use
this as an editing suite? What recording/other equipment would I need
to use to transfer over to PC & burn onto CD? As you can see, I am
totally green, and just need to know roughly what I would need so I
can get on the move. I appreciate anyone's help. No laughing,
please. Thanks.

Suggests to try FlexiMusic Wave Editor, an audio recording and converting
software for recording.
http://www.fleximusic.com/



--
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