Whenever I try to record my voice, the quality is crappy and static can be heard constantly. Even if I don't say anything and let the recorder run, static is still recorded. My microphone is pretty crappy and I just use Windows Voice Recorder. Is there a program that records voices cleanly, or would I have to change my microphone?
Hopefully, that was understandable...
Voice recording...
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FATTY_VM
- Joined: Thu Dec 26, 2002 10:01 pm
- Location: The kingdom of the God Monkey
to an extent ive found that it deals with a cheap microphone .. one of the cleanest person 2 person voice programs ive heard is Ventrillo (i ladder in online games alot ....) if you and a friend try this program .. youll find out real fast if its your mic or not .. because of how great it works. lint to ventrilo
...the problem I see a lot is that many good amv makers think they suck, and many bad amv makers think they're good.
I've seen it happen, man! I've SEEN IT!..--Rob Kenchu
I've seen it happen, man! I've SEEN IT!..--Rob Kenchu
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Flint the Dwarf
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Kusoyaro: We don't need a leader. We need to SHUT UP. Make what you want to make, don't make you what you don't want to make. If neither of those applies to you, then you need to SHUT UP MORE.
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gadoo
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DreamsofaCobra
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Re: Voice recording...
Ack! I am reading my response, it is getting longer and I could go on all night! Cliffs notes version: it is your mic, for more info than you may ever need, read on.Lone Wolf wrote:Whenever I try to record my voice, the quality is crappy and static can be heard constantly. Even if I don't say anything and let the recorder run, static is still recorded. My microphone is pretty crappy and I just use Windows Voice Recorder. Is there a program that records voices cleanly, or would I have to change my microphone?
Hopefully, that was understandable...
Three most important things about recording anything, the mic, the pre-amp, and in this case, the AD converter.
The static you hear is what is known as the "noise-floor". All Audio circuits have noise, the best ones have so little that you cannot hear it unless you turn the volume way up. It is most likely comming from your microphone and soundcard, which in this case acts as the pre-amp. Don't worry about AD converters. The windows program isn't great, but probably not the source of the noise.
Microphones that come with computers are usually electret-condenser or dynamic mics. Very cheap and noisy. also, they are not very sensative, so unless you are very loud, to get any sound the signal must be amplified a lot, (by the pre-amp) which is noisy unto itself, and amplifies the noise of the microphone. To get a clean profesional sound you need clean profesional gear. A condenser mic (different from electret-condenser) will run anywhere from $150-$2000, and it needs a pre-amp with "phantom-power" to run it. In other words, a consumer sound card will not work. Pre-amps run from maybe $50 for a bargan basement one, to $useyourimagination.
So it really depends on how bad you want a clean recording of your voice, and how much you have to spend. (for reference, I got a combination Octava condenser mic and tube pre-amp for about $120, but it was an exceptional deal, and it is still a noisy mic!)
If you know exactly what you want to say, how you want to say it, and don't have any plans for recording beyond this, you might consider tracking down a local project studio and buying some time. Given the scenario, "I want one line for this AMV, it has to sound good, but that is all I will ever need", you could probably buy half an hour at a studio for $75, you go in, say the line a few times untill you are happy with it, and they can give you a CD-R. Possibly cheaper depending on the studio. Look in music stores for bulliten boards posting ads of studios for hire, and ask around. Don't bother with a professional level studio, it would be very expensive.
If you plan on doing a lot of voice work it may be worth your time and money to invest in a small recording setup. I can give you more details depending on your application if you want. (like I said, I can go on all night with this...)
Last thing, if you live in the SF bay area, I could record you myself.
Hope that helps..
Matt
