I have an iMac G5 with Garage Band (OSX 10.3.9 & 1.8ghz proc).

I need to record an Audio Book, and I am wondering if anyone has any
advise on the following:

High Quality hands-free, earpiece-type mic

Recording Method using Garage Band or other software (I have never done
any recording before, and presume that recording speach might be
different than recording singing in some respects?)

Other hardware/software that might make the process more natural.

--gabe

pond wrote:
I have an iMac G5 with Garage Band (OSX 10.3.9 & 1.8ghz proc).

I need to record an Audio Book, and I am wondering if anyone has any
advise on the following:

High Quality hands-free, earpiece-type mic

Doesn't really exist. I mean, you can get a high end headset like the
Countryman, but it won't sound all that good for the application because
it's not the right tool for the job.

Recording Method using Garage Band or other software (I have never done
any recording before, and presume that recording speach might be
different than recording singing in some respects?)

Other hardware/software that might make the process more natural.

Find a voiceover studio in your area. Honestly.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Hmmm, I guess there are some great posts on this already...

"how to get a really clean vocal recording?"
"Question To Anyone With Audio/Book Recording Experinece"

....not that I am not interested in other input.

--gabe

Find a voiceover studio in your area. Honestly.

Yeah... read your earlier posts... In our case we are looking for a
very specific "soul" if that makes sense. I mean, that we need the
reader to be "in tune" personally and morally with the text... Like
reading a religious text, I suppose.

I think that the reader (my wife actually) is the one for the job, and
she is a natural public speaker, and a writer herself. After reading
some of the other posts, I think that she will start training for the
project more than she had planned to, but she is looking forward to it
even more now.

So... on a technical note... it looks like she should use something
like an Electro-Voice or a Sennheiser...

Has anoyone set up anything like this on an iMac... are there other
things we should be looking for?

--gabe

In article .com,
pond wrote:
Find a voiceover studio in your area. Honestly.

Yeah... read your earlier posts... In our case we are looking for a
very specific "soul" if that makes sense. I mean, that we need the
reader to be "in tune" personally and morally with the text... Like
reading a religious text, I suppose.

I think that the reader (my wife actually) is the one for the job, and
she is a natural public speaker, and a writer herself. After reading
some of the other posts, I think that she will start training for the
project more than she had planned to, but she is looking forward to it
even more now.

Right. But that's no reason NOT to take her into a good VO studio.

So... on a technical note... it looks like she should use something
like an Electro-Voice or a Sennheiser...

Has anoyone set up anything like this on an iMac... are there other
things we should be looking for?

Well, you can get the Lavry box for around $200 and then add an RE-20
to it... but you'll still be limited by whatever quality room you are
working in. The room acoustics are the real hard point.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Right. But that's no reason NOT to take her into a good VO studio.

Ah, I see. The studio, the studio... room acoustics.

OK, that is interesting.

I am not sure that we have anything like that in our area outside of
the local radio stations. I presume that they would have the correct
studio specs if they would let us rent a studio... (?)

By the way, this is exactly the info I am looking for... thanks a
million.

--gabe

"pond" wrote:
...not that I am not interested in other input.

Well if you insist on recording your wife yourself, I suggest you use an
Electro-Voice RE-16. It is very consistent from take-to-take, and very
forgiving of plosives, sibilance, and variations in distance. So, if you
have a bad room, you can close-mic her and it will still sound pretty good,
without muddy bass. Natural.

If you're willing to spend more, the RE-20 or the RE-27N/D in "flat" filter
mode sound a bit better, but are more prone to p-pops and sibilance. I like
the 27, as it is somewhat brighter and more open than the RE-20, but
everyone has their favorite of those two. An RE-27 with a hoop or foam pop
filter MIGHT be the very best solution for your situation, but the RE-16
will be hard to beat overall. I would *not* suggest an RE-20 with a foam
pop filter.

Jeff Jasper
http://www.jeffjasper.com

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On 2005-05-13 (ScottDorsey) said:
Find a voiceover studio in your area. Honestly.
COuldn't agree more. Garage band is for bedroom wanna bes to create
their "music" and not something that might be suitable for this
project.
IF you're not anymore aware of what you've got you should honestly
hire professionals who record voice-over work to do this.

AS a blind man I have done a lot of listening to books recorded on
tape over the years. sOme were textbooks to get me through high
school and college. sOme were done by professionals such as those
done through the Library of Congress talking book program and others
were done by volunteers recruited by regional libraries at home. A
few were done by reader I'd recruited and provided with a cheap tape
recorder and a copy of the text. IF you're wanting this to be
available to the public hire the pros. iF you're just wanting to get
it read for your own enjoyment have fun and take what you can get.

I had to convince one reader that her kitchen was not an appropriate
place to record with the refrigerator humming and her air conditioner
unit making all that racket. THis lady got good enough after a couple
of projects for me that she started doing volunteer work for the Iowa
Library. sHe'd learned what it took to get a good listenable
recording for students and was literate enough to record text books
for high school and college students.




Richard Webb,
Electric SPider Productions, New Orleans, La.
REplace anything before the @ symbol with elspider for real email

--



Great audio is never heard by the average person,
But bad audio is heard by everyone.

On Fri, 13 May 2005 18:22:39 -0400, Jeff Jasper wrote
(in article ):

"pond" wrote:
...not that I am not interested in other input.

Well if you insist on recording your wife yourself, I suggest you use an
Electro-Voice RE-16. It is very consistent from take-to-take, and very
forgiving of plosives, sibilance, and variations in distance. So, if you
have a bad room, you can close-mic her and it will still sound pretty good,
without muddy bass. Natural.

If you're willing to spend more, the RE-20 or the RE-27N/D in "flat" filter
mode sound a bit better, but are more prone to p-pops and sibilance. I like
the 27, as it is somewhat brighter and more open than the RE-20, but
everyone has their favorite of those two. An RE-27 with a hoop or foam pop
filter MIGHT be the very best solution for your situation, but the RE-16
will be hard to beat overall. I would *not* suggest an RE-20 with a foam
pop filter.

Jeff Jasper
http://www.jeffjasper.com



Everyone thinks recording voice for talking book is trivial. I would as soon
counsel you on how to how to make wine after having sent you some grape
seeds.

The anecdotal info you receive here is useful in parts but, like reading a
book on plumbing, will not result in you being able to do a well-crafted job.
Put simply; doing it yourself may put you in deep ****.

Regards,

Ty Ford



-- Ty Ford's equipment reviews, audio samples, rates and other audiocentric
stuff are at www.tyford.com

Ty Ford wrote:
Everyone thinks recording voice for talking book is trivial.

LOL! Yes they do, and that's one of many reasons I don't do it. But it
would be an educational experience for Pond, I'm sure.

I would as soon
counsel you on how to how to make wine after having sent you some grape
seeds.

From grape seeds do mighty oaks grow. Or something like that. Seriously,
tho, here's a guy who just wants to record his wife doing a book. Of course
he would get a better result in a good room with a good condensor mic, good
pre, good processing, good engineer -- and a good producer.

But less than all that may be acceptable, even pleasing, to Pond's ears, Ty.
And as a nationally known talent, engineer, and writer, you can't and
shouldn't be endorsing less than the best. So while I agree he *should* use
a pro studio and its amenities, I also realise he and his wife would just
like to have some fun, and probably don't have the budget for even a $25/hr
studio.

The anecdotal info you receive here is useful in parts but, like reading a
book on plumbing, will not result in you being able to do a well-crafted
job.
Put simply; doing it yourself may put you in deep ****.

Particularly on the homefront. Pond is about to find out *why* patience is
such a virtue. G In the end, this may require professional counseling
indeed.

Jeff Jasper
http://www.jeffjasper.com

On Sat, 14 May 2005 15:09:49 -0400, Jeff Jasper wrote
(in article ):


The anecdotal info you receive here is useful in parts but, like reading a
book on plumbing, will not result in you being able to do a well-crafted
job.
Put simply; doing it yourself may put you in deep ****.

Particularly on the homefront. Pond is about to find out *why* patience is
such a virtue. G In the end, this may require professional counseling
indeed.

Jeff Jasper
http://www.jeffjasper.com



I assume you're referring to marriage counseling. That's why I stopped giving
my wife guitar lessons and paid for her first three lessons with someone
else.

Regards,

Ty Ford


-- Ty Ford's equipment reviews, audio samples, rates and other audiocentric
stuff are at www.tyford.com