Daddy Dee Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 O.K. Here's a project I'd like to do. I'd like to record myself reading and end up with the recording on CD's. (a modest project for elderly church members) Have access to some Shure SM58 mics, Mackie mixer, and cassette recorder. What I'm not sure how to do is to get the recording digitized on the pc in order to burn a CD. Any advice welcome. What I'm looking for is a user friendly solution, (friendly for idiots). I'm really a non tech type. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 The cassette recorder and the microphone is a good start. After you record the reading on tape you'll probably nead a preamp with outputs that would normally go to an amplifier (the Mackie might be able to be used for this). Instead of running a line from the preamp (mixer) to an amp it neads to be connected to a computer's audio line-input (not a microphone input), this would usually need a special cable such as one with a male 1/8" stereo at one end and stereo male RCA (phono) plugs at the other. Once all is connected, a computer with CD burning hardware and software should be all you need. The instructions with the CD-R burning software should have a section on recording from an analog source (tape, phono, live microphone etc.) The only thing you'll probably wind up doing is adjusting the input signal level (how strong the input signal is resulting in how loud it will be when you play it back). Once the recording is done be sure, when you go to eject the newly burned CD-R, be sure to tell the computer to "allow the disc to be able to be read by any (most) other CD players and/or computers". How to tell it this will vary per various software programs. BTW- Have plenty of CD-R's on hand just in case of mistakes, Lord knows I've made em'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipsch Employees Trey Cannon Posted July 30, 2004 Klipsch Employees Share Posted July 30, 2004 Dee, Send me your phone number again and I will be glad to help you set up and do this... trey.cannon@klipsch.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 Microphone goes to the Mackie mixer. Mackie mixer non-balanced outs (the ¼ phone-type jack outputs) go to the cassette deck inputs. Depending in the model Mackie, you may need RCA to phono plug adaptors or a cables with male RCA plugs on one end and male phono plugs on the other. When the tape is recorded, you take the outputs from the tape deck and connect them to the sound board input on your computer. You will probably need a stereo Y cord with 2 RCA male plugs on one end and a single stereo mini plug on the other end to go into the computer. You will need to record the tape to the computers hard drive to create a .WAV file. There are a number of software products out there that can do this. I use SoundForge. Its now only $69 at CompUSA (use to be $500, also Sony owns the company now). SoundForge will record the analog input from the tape deck and create a digital file which can be edited, normalized (brought up to the maximum level allowed), effects like reverb added, fades in and out, pretty much what ever you want. You may have to adjust the Windows input levels of your soundcard so it doesnt clip or record at too low of a level. CD Architect, which is now part of SoundForge is used to create tracks and titles for the tracks, etc. if you want to. You can simply burn the CD-R from there. Your Computer may already be equipped with something like CD Easy CD Creator from which you should also be able to burn the audio CD-R. Depending on what operating system, and soundcard your computer is equipped with you may be able to avoid the SoundForge thing for recording by using the Windows interface under Programs Accessories Entertainment Sound Recorder, but youre still going to need something like SoundForge/CD Architect to burn the file to CD-R. I might also add that IMHO, SoundForge and CD Architect are the easiest to use Windows based software I have ever seen or used, very intuitive. Youll be up & running no time unless youre a complete retard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 artto - mackie (and most other) mixers have RCA stereo "tape" outs for just this purpose. You're overcomplicating things here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 ---------------- On 7/30/2004 9:34:29 AM Griffinator wrote: artto - mackie (and most other) mixers have RCA stereo "tape" outs for just this purpose. You're overcomplicating things here. ---------------- Yes, most do, some do not. Even the smaller Mackie mixers can be bewildering for the novice. I just wanted to clairfy things because "there's more than one way to skin the cat" so to speak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 Dee- I've got a stand-alone CD burner and a decent sounding cassette deck. If you'd like, send me a cassette, and I can burn one and send it back & you can just make copies of the CD on the computer. Just email me. Best regards, Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 I realy think the simplest answer is to connect the mic to the mic input on your sound card, adjust your recording levels with the windows sound mixer, use software that allows you to edit your voice recording (I know that I can do it with Pinnacle Systems Studio 8 (a DVD movie authering program)) get everything like you want it and send it to a cd. Simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 ---------------- On 7/30/2004 1:59:19 PM cablacksmith wrote: I realy think the simplest answer is to connect the mic to the mic input on your sound card, adjust your recording levels with the windows sound mixer, use software that allows you to edit your voice recording (I know that I can do it with Pinnacle Systems Studio 8 (a DVD movie authering program)) get everything like you want it and send it to a cd. Simple. ---------------- Duh. You're right. Why didn't I think of that? On second thought, I'm not Shure (pun intended) that his SM58 mic can be used directly with the computer's soundcard, its a low impedance mic. You could do that with a cheap hi impedance mic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 ---------------- On 7/30/2004 2:08:28 PM artto wrote: Duh. You're right. Why didn't I think of that? On second thought, I'm not Shure (pun intended) that his SM58 mic can be used directly with the computer's soundcard, its a low impedance mic. You could do that with a cheap hi impedance mic. ---------------- Yes, you can, but there'll be a LOT more noise. Skip the cassette deck, and record straight in to your computer from the mixer. The only mics that can't be patched directly into a soundcard like that are condensor mics that typically require phantom power and a preamplifier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 He could use an impedance matching xformer. I did that with a Shure mic and it worked out great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 ---------------- On 7/30/2004 8:11:40 AM Tom Blasing wrote: The cassette recorder and the microphone is a good start. After you record the reading on tape you'll probably nead a preamp with outputs that would normally go to an amplifier (the Mackie might be able to be use for this). Instead of running a line from the preamp (mixer) to an amp it neads to be connected to a a computer's audio line-input (not a microphone input), this would usually need a speacial cable such as one with a male 1/8" stereo at one end and stereo male RCA (phono) plugs at the other. Once all is connected, a computer with CD burning hardware and software should be all you need. The instructions with the CD-R burning software should have a section on recording from an analog source (tape, phono, live microphone etc.) The only thing you'll probably wind up doing any adjusting to is the input signal level (how strong the input signal is resulting how loud it will be when you play it back). Once the recording is done be sure, when you go to eject the newly burned CD-R, be sure to tell the computer to "allow the disc to be able to be read by any (most) other CD players and/or computers". How to tell it this will vary per various software programs. BTW- Have plenty of CD-R's on hand just in case of mistakes, Lord knows I've made em'. ---------------- This is one of the adapters he's referencing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted July 31, 2004 Author Share Posted July 31, 2004 Thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted July 31, 2004 Author Share Posted July 31, 2004 Thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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