What Would Be Considered A High Quality Recording?

[EHenshaw]

I am going to compete in a competition that calls for a "high quality audiotape or compact disc recording." However, I don't know what that exactly means. Could I use a camcorder and just record the audio or do I need to go to a recording studio? Is there something I could buy that would be a good enough quality?Thanks.

[davewerden]

What Would Be Considered A High Quality Recording?

Let's start by saying what is NOT a high-quality recording. That would certainly include a recording made with "Automatic Level Control" (which is sometimes named differently). That is a process where the recorder is continuously adjusting the recording level depending on the volume you are playing. A friend once asked me why, on a tape he make on one of these machines, he could not hear a crescendo that he was sure he had performed. Answer: the machine evened it out to "help" him. Boom boxes would probably have this type of control.

The second culprit would be a very cheap microphone, such as the ones built into a lot of boom boxes. Another problem with built-in microphones is that they might pick up a lot of noise from the mechanism built into the recorder (they pick it up both acoustically and mechanically).

A camcorder might work for you if it has either digital sound or hi-fi sound. I have a Sony camcorder with hi-fi sound and it does a very good job. It has automatic level control, but its volume tinkering is pretty gentle and is not usually a problem. You might get good results this way, especially if you use an external mic.

Sony makes a very nice stereo mic, where it has 2 microphone pickups built into one body. The one I am thinking of is about the size of a very small hand-held vocal mic and is about $70:
Sony Stereo Mic, small size

The best choice would be to get a recorder as well, but that might be overkill (budget-wise). Here is a more complete discussion...

[EHenshaw]

What Would Be Considered A High Quality Recording?

Thanks for the reply. I just have one question; how does that Sony mic connect to my computer? I just want to make sure it will work before I purchase it.Thanks

[davewerden]

What Would Be Considered A High Quality Recording?

It should work fine if your computer has a decent sound card, including a stereo microphone jack.

[EHenshaw]

What Would Be Considered A High Quality Recording?

Ok. I have a Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS. It's a pretty good sound card if I'm not mistaken. Do I need any special programs to record it?

[davewerden]

What Would Be Considered A High Quality Recording?

A program might have come with your PC. Otherwise, you can download one called Audacity, which is free and also includes some nice editing tools. It might be handy to add reverb, for example, if you record in a "dry" environment.

Audacity Download Site

[Browne123]

A decent sound card should be installed in your computer to get high-quality recordings results.

https://streamsmartpro.us/