Recording yourself

[Greg_R]

I practice in a 30x20x14 foot room and have been trying to record myself with my cell phone. The audio quality is horrible, especially if the bell is facing towards the microphone (~6 feet away). Specifically, the sound is mostly a "buzz" sound rather than a tone.

What tips and suggestions does everyone have for recording their practice sessions? Will I need to get a better microphone? Thanks!

[TD517]

If you're trying to use the build-in mic on your phone, you will need an external mic. Phones aren't designed to handle the amount of sound and frequencies produced by brass instruments and distort quickly, clipping the audio signal and creating the nasty buzz you hear.

[davewerden]

You would benefit from a better microphone, but you also need to control the recording level. See this blog post for a detailed description:

http://www.dwerden.com/forum/entry.p...ur-Own-Playing

[Greg_R]

Thanks David, that article had a lot of good information. Do you find that a setup in the $100-$200 range is necessary to make a recording suitable for self-analysis / practice review?

[davewerden]

Thanks David, that article had a lot of good information. Do you find that a setup in the $100-$200 range is necessary to make a recording suitable for self-analysis / practice review?

Yes, for a decent all-around representation. I would suggest this as entry-level for good quality:

https://www.amazon.com/Tascam-Stereo...dp/B004OU2IQG/

I have one like it that I use at times and it does a very good job. Just make sure to set the record level manually, with about 10db to spare below zero.



It's small and very portable. Great battery life. It lets you record as WAV files, which I would suggest for a little better clarity of sound compared to MP3.