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A better way to record sound for your vidios?
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Ferret
Byron Bay Australia
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July 17, 2013 - 8:30 pm
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A few weeks ago in another thread about recording I mentioned that, due to my disappointment in the audio recording capabilities of my video camera, I was going to try recording my audio through an independent and hopefully better set up.

 

@Worldfiddler  Mr Jim suggested that I record a tune on both the camrea and its microphone and the microphone in the new set up and post the results for all to see / hear. It sounded good to me so here are the vids :)

 

The gear used in the first vid is just what the cam and its inbuilt microphone recorded.

 

The gear used in the second vid is the cam without using its audio output. The cam audio has been replaced with a recording made with a Bedringer large diaphragm condenser microphone and a Toshiba notepad and the audio program Audacity

 

The new gear cost: Mic $60, Stand $10, Shock Mount $30. Total AU$100

 

There is definitely a difference. Whether all the hassle is worth it is up yo you

 

The difference you hear will probably be effected by the quality of your playback device

BTW.... Copious praise of my playing is totally welcome rofl

 

A pic of the set up

IMG_0043-1.JPGImage Enlarger

Vid 1

 

 

Vid 2

 

 

sp_PlupAttachments Attachments

Seen it all. Done it all. Can't remember most of dunno ..... What was I saying???? facepalm

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Steve
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July 17, 2013 - 10:08 pm
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John, good to see you back again! I couldn't tell anything was wrong with you so you must be doing a lot better--this is wonderful!.

The fancy second setup definitely gave better audio--more bass, more overall fidelity. But I couldn't complain about the first recording with just the camera--I thought it was more than acceptable. All your other videos which I presume used this same setup sounded decent to me.

So I guess, pending what others have to say, if it's significantly more work to do the separate audio and combine it with the video, then continue with just the camera.

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DanielB
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July 18, 2013 - 12:25 am
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Well, there's a little background noise on the second take.  Sounds like maybe a fan or air conditioner somewhere near.  Easy to take that out with Audacity's noise removal, though.

I liked the second one better.  It sounded a bit warmer and more natural to me.  But the camera isn't all that bad a sound either, for "on location' recordings, especially.

 

"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman

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Ferret
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July 18, 2013 - 4:36 am
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DanielB said
Well, there's a little background noise on the second take.  Sounds like maybe a fan or air conditioner somewhere near.  Easy to take that out with Audacity's noise removal, though.

I liked the second one better.  It sounded a bit warmer and more natural to me.  But the camera isn't all that bad a sound either, for "on location' recordings, especially.

 

@DanielB 

That noise was the bloody air conditioner bunny-headbang

It wasn't picked up ny the video cam microphone

 

Seen it all. Done it all. Can't remember most of dunno ..... What was I saying???? facepalm

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FinalPatriot
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July 18, 2013 - 12:15 pm
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@ Ferret,

 

This is way off topic but I'm always impressed with people who can play the violin sitting down.  I know this doesn't make any sense but if I'm not standing, I can't play it.  Perhaps I've hit my head one too many times.  :)

"I know a girl who cries when she practices violin because each note sounds so pure it just cuts into her, and then the melody comes pouring out her eyes. Now, to me, everything else just sounds like a lie."

Conor Oberst
 
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wookieman
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July 18, 2013 - 3:32 pm
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This topic is GREAT!  The difference in sound is definitely apparent!  I'm glad you started this thread, I would have never even thought about it.  I will definitely have to give it a try.  I've discovered, because of you guys, that the microphone from my kids' "rock band" game actually works in my computer as well, and may be what I use temporarily until I break down and buy a condenser mic.  Thanks again for the topic!!!

There is no failure, only results.

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Fiddlestix
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July 19, 2013 - 1:36 am
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FinalPatriot said
@ Ferret,

 

This is way off topic but I'm always impressed with people who can play the violin sitting down.  I know this doesn't make any sense but if I'm not standing, I can't play it.  Perhaps I've hit my head one too many times.  :)

 

Then you probably wouldn't do well in a Symphony orchestra where all the player' are sitting. lol

 

Ken.

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DanielB
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July 19, 2013 - 2:47 am
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Ferret said

@DanielB 

That noise was the bloody air conditioner bunny-headbang

It wasn't picked up ny the video cam microphone

 

Yeah, large diaphragm mics are more sensitive, so they pick more good, but also any of the "bad" sounds that are near.  You can get closer to professional quality sound with them, but it needs to be quiet.  

Or more specifically, it needs to be quiet where the microphone is "listening".  Cutting down on unwanted background noise is probably something enough people will need that I'll start a new thread in this section just for that topic.  That way we can keep it easy to find when folks need it. 

"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman

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Ferret
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July 20, 2013 - 3:24 am
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@Fiddlerman Pierre, I'm sure that your input on this topic would be of interest to all. What are your thoughts mate. Same goes for @Worldfiddler Mr Jim.

beg

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Worldfiddler
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July 20, 2013 - 5:42 am
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I think the sound is a bit fuller and clearer with the new mic, compared to the inbuilt camera mic.

Certainly worth the cost, imo.

I think you definitely have to stop that a/c noise when recording, though. If you try to remove it using Audacity, you'll only further degrade the quality of the sound.

It's more about getting as good a signal as possible at source, rather than try to fix things afterwards.

I'm using a similar setup when I record a video, except I'm using two mics to give true stereo sound. They are actually right above the fiddle, one to the left and one to the right, suspended from a wooden rod on the ceiling, just out of camera view.

I'm using two AKG-C1000S mics, and I use PowerDirector software to sync the video and audio.

I used to put up clips just recorded with the camera mic, but I've taken them all down now (or most of them anyway) because of the poor sound quality. 

Just one other thing about Audacity - I know it's free, etc, and I do use it a lot for editing, but if you use if to record directly to PC or laptop itself, it does pick up noise and vibration from the unit itself.

It's always better to use a dedicated recording device. Doesn't have to be massively expensive, either. I'm using a Fostex digital 16-track (it's a budget model, and was about £400 about 5 years ago), but there are devices like the Zoom which are more affordable and good quality too.

I guess it boils down to : have as few steps in the recording chain as possible, and use the best gear you can afford :)

Mr Jim dancing

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Fiddlestix
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July 20, 2013 - 9:34 am
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@Worldfiddler;

Not to question that you're using two mic's to get true stereo, but I'm wondering how you can get stereo sound from one instrument, unless you are moving about the room. I thought the idea of stereo is to pick up the sound's from source's in different location's, either moving from L-R or R-L or just being stationary and producing sound's at different time's. Kinda like the feeling of surround sound. Or when closing one's eye's the feeling of being there and hearing the sound coming at you from different location's.

This audio topic is very interesting to me, but is totally Greek. I have yet to figure out how to use Audacity or to convert a YouTube audio / video to MP3 format, even though I downloaded and installed a converter, (which I have already uninstalled).

I bought a CAD U37 Condenser mic and Audio-Technica M20 stereo headphone's and other than just using the mic in conjunction with, Window's Movie Maker, have no idea how to use them together with Audacity or back track's or them click thing's which are nothing more, IMO, than a metronome.

I'm totally confused and thourghly disgusted.  dunno yell

 

Ken.

 

 

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Worldfiddler
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July 20, 2013 - 5:04 pm
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Ken - let's just take one thing at a time.

Stereo recording is simply recording one instrument / duo / ensemble with two mics instead of one.

Think of the mics as ears. We all have two ears, and generally speaking, individually, they function properly, and the perception is that they act as one, after the sounds are processed by the brain.

If you make a mono recording, using only one mic, the sound is located and recorded at a single spatial point - and that is how the playback will sound.

If you make a stereo recording using two mics, the sound will be picked up from two different locations. In the case of my solo fiddle, the left mic will pick up more on the G and D strings, and the right mic will pick up more on the E and A strings. A bit of breadth in the resulting sound canvas. That's how it works.

If you want to expand on that a little bit, if my mics were recording a four-piece acoustic band, the guitar and mandolin might be on the left, and the fiddle and banjo might be on the right.

Imagine you are listening to that on headphones. Your left ear will hear the guitar and mandolin, and your right ear will hear the fiddle and banjo.

Now, cut the lead that connects to your RHS headphone. That sound source will now be dead. You will now only hear the guitar and mandolin, and nothing in the right phone.

Listen some more and you will now hear the fiddle and banjo (although faintly) as well.

That's about it, really. I hope that will give a bit more insight into the difference between mono and stereo.

Mr Jim   dancing

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Fiddlerman
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July 22, 2013 - 3:59 pm
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I prefer the brighter sound of the first one without the condenser mic. For me the second one sounded a bit closed, not so open, and a bit darker. Could be appealing for many but I prefer the open bright more natural sound (IMAO) from the first recording <---- Sky boat cam.....

"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."

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Ferret
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July 23, 2013 - 5:55 pm
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Fiddlerman said
I prefer the brighter sound of the first one without the condenser mic. For me the second one sounded a bit closed, not so open, and a bit darker. Could be appealing for many but I prefer the open bright more natural sound (IMAO) from the first recording <---- Sky boat cam.....

@Fiddlerman

Thanks for the input FM. I've been having trouble myself working out the best.

And there is the option of putting either of them through Audacity or it's like and tweaking them to make them sound better. But then we get back to an earlier thread that I started 'would it be cheating'.

What I'm looking for is a way for people to hear my fiddle sound like it really dose. It's probably not really possible dunno

Seen it all. Done it all. Can't remember most of dunno ..... What was I saying???? facepalm

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Fiddlerman
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July 24, 2013 - 10:42 am
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True John,

Some people are listening to you on old cheap computers with small built in speakers and there is no way that can compare to an acoustical fantastically designed fine wooden instrument. :-)

"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."

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