I know this is last minute, but I’m looking at a few ways to do simple recording to our macs. My wife and I have mac G4’s, my wife a powerbook, and myself a desktop. Both are running OSX so we should be able to hook up to the 1/8" plug, bare minimum.
Our needs are: record my wife’s fiddle lessons for playback when she practices, and email sound files to her parents or friends. Me to record whistle to hear myself, and to share on board.
Here’s what I’m considering. Feel free to chime in if I am missing something.
Option #1:
FlexMic, by DVForge
USB device the plugs direct to mac
$49
Option #2:
Superlux ECO-H6a condensor mic
cable from mic to console
Behringer UB502 console/phantom amp
cable/adapter from UB502 into 1/8" plug in on mac
$60 (mic stand for about $16 more)
I like option #2 if it will work, since it sounds like it would offer higher quality and more flexibility. I assume that whether I use Audacity or Garageband for mac, that my software options are the same, regardless of the hardware/input device. Plus I can use the mic when playing at church, if I need it.
Am I missing something?
I hope to make a decision today or tomorrow, so hopefully someone with some experience in this matter can offer some advice, and maybe a different option.
One other thing to note. My wife was originally thinking of getting some kinds of digital voice recorder with capability to plug into the mac and download files. The options I have found cost more than the above, and it seems to me that as long as we are recording where we can take the laptop or desktop, that we’re okay.
Doesn’t your wife’s PowerBook G4 have a built-in microphone? That will work for her fiddle lessons. The sound quality is not great, but it definitely captures what you need from a lesson. If you want to hear what this can sound like, listen to this sound clip, which I recorded on my PowerBook using its built-in mic, recording directly to Amadeus II software:
I added a bit of reverb using one of the VST plugins that comes with Amadeus, but nothing more than that. I’ve also used GarageBand for this purpose and it works fine, although I find its interface confusing and not very intuitive.
For your PowerMac, take a look at this recent thread on MacIntouch, which provides a lot of good suggestions, a bit overwhelming to read through but you’ll find lots of advice here.
There is also this dongle thing called iMic, which plugs into a USB port and then has a Mic-in, rather than just a line-in (powerbook) or no-in (PowerMac). If you already have a microphone you’d like to use, this would be an option. In fact, if you want mine you can have it (for a nominal fee), since I recently bought the FlexMic and don’t forsee using the iMic any more.
The only mic’s I have are 20 year old dynamic mics from Sony. They have a cool retro look but you have to be right on it to get solid input. The Griffin iMic would work if I had a mic I could really use. After spotting the FlexMic, I realised that would accomplish what I need at the lowest cost. The site DVforge has soundclips that are as good as I need for now:
The reason I started looking at the other option of getting a higher quality condenser mic with phantom power box, etc, was that it wasn’t much more, and the flexibility for future growth would be better.
I did check on my wife’s built in mic on her Powerbook. It works okay, but two things . . . should would need a mic to make it reasonably convenient location-wise during her lesson, and secondly, it’s her computer, and she’s on it at times I would want to record, so I need a solution for my G4 which does NOT have a built-in mic.
I downloaded the trial version of Amadeus II (thanks Brad), and it looks like it’s probably all I will need for now. So it’s just making up my mind on the hardware.
Bloom, thanks for the offer. If I had a mic I’d take you up on it. If I find a mic that will work I’ll contact you. My understanding though is that you need phantom power to use a condenser mic, and I don’t know if the Griffin iMic provides that. Do you know?
I tried several options to record on a powerbook – the line-in needs a signal bigger than a mic will provide; the iMic doesn’t have a gain control and has a very small signal, too. I found that the best thing for lessons (till I got an iRiver) was the built-in mic with Audacity or similar program. An external mic will work fine on a tower, but it’s hard to lug around to lessons.
My wife can use her powerbook for lessons, I’ll be using my G4 tower for whistle (ie, I don’t get to use the powerbook). I usually play the whistle during the day while I am sitting at my computer. What is an iRiver? I guess I’ll find it online.
It has a battery in it. Good mic, but more than I usually need.
If you want to hear what the FlexMic sounds like “in the field,” I posted a clip on clips & snips recently that I recorded with it, just sitting at my desk and doing nothing to the sound file at all, except converting it to MP3. It’s called Johnny Copeand is listed under Hornpipes (fairly big file).
