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deut3221 · Posted - Tue Mar 12, 2002 9:57 pm

Hi,

I would like to record classroom lectures on my notebook w/ CoolEdit. I just can't get enough gain w/ my notebook. I am uning a factory-furnished mic. I have the mixer recording gain set to the max and the box checked in "Advanced Properties" to get the max mic boost. There is so little volume that I can't record voice in a large classroom.

Any suggestions out there would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks.
Steve

Graeme · Member Location: Spain

Either a microphone with a higher output level or some form of external amplifier for the mic.

I'd go for the latter personally, since it will probably give you more flexibility at a later date when you strat to do clever things with the files you record.

That said, I'm a little curious about the phrase 'factory furnished mic' - if, by this, you mean the one that came with your computer, I doubt if you will ever make a good recording with it in this environment. These are designed for close speaking and picking the voice of a lecturer from some distance away will not be easy with this sort of kit.

resistor man · Posted - Tue Mar 12, 2002 10:42 pm

Is the jack in the comp a stereo jack used for line and mic both? If so, does the mic have a stereo jack, or (unlikely but possible) a balanced trs plug? Does the mic take a battery?

SteveG · Location: United Kingdom

As a follow-on from Graeme:

One of the things that's always worked best for recording lectures in distinctly dodgy acoustic environments is Pressure Zone mics, like the Realistic. Even if you end up with a slightly low level recording, the clarity is usually so much better that boosting it afterwards doesn't cause anything like the problems that it otherwise does with this type of material. Just don't put it on the table with the OHP...

Steve

deut3221 · Posted - Wed Mar 13, 2002 8:17 am

The mic is one that came with a desktop PC. I tried two of them, but both of them wre furnished with a new dell PC. I believe they are designed for chatting on the Net.

**What kind (brand/model/etc) of mic should I purchase to use for recording lectures in a classroom?**

Thank you!!!

Steve

Graeme · Member Location: Spain

As SteveG has suggested, you could do a lot worse (if you are on a budget) than one which works on the pressure zone principle.

Personally, I would look to a short gun type - but we could be talking a lot of money here - depends how important it is to you, I suppose.

deut3221 · Posted - Wed Mar 13, 2002 11:43 am

I don't know anything about microphonces. If someone has a "favorite" brand, model, etc (even where to buy) for smoething that will work well in a classromm for recording lectures I would be very appreciative.

Thanks!!

-steve

PS Also, what settings would you use in CoolEdit? (stero/mono; frequence, etc) Thanks.

Divy · Posted - Thu Mar 14, 2002 12:25 pm

mics: akg D3700, sennheiser 421 or the little dynamic shure sm 58. settings: mono, 16 bits/48.000 hz. It should be placed near to the speaker, at least 1 meter. If the distance to the speaker is longer: beyerdynamic MCE-86N C 02.

instead of recording with the notebook you shoul do it with a minidisc or dat-recorder. the on board-soundcards in the notebooks are not too good.

resistor man · Posted - Thu Mar 14, 2002 11:09 pm

Really, you guys... we're talking classroom lectures here! You know, the kind where people use little hand-held recorders with built in mics? Pretty much any mic will do, cheap "computer" mic or whatever, as long as it's intelligible, and not for reproduction. The Realistic PZM option is fairly cheap, but expensive gear is overkill. That's what deut3221 get's for posting in a super-geek zone Wink

SteveG · Location: United Kingdom

Actually, resistorman, the PZM advice isn't a guess at all, but based on some actual research into the problem. Intelligability is obviously significant, and one of the huge advantages of a PZM in this situation is that the room modes will affect it far less than they will a 'conventional' microphone in the same situation. Since classrooms tend to have, to say the least, extremely variable acoustic qualities, this is a solution which is a) cheap and b) likely to be effective in a wide range of different situations.

As a second choice, I'd go for a short rifle mic, but with lecturers that move about, you have to make sure that it's always pointing at them, and quite a few of them feel a little uncomfortable about this. And it's harder to make notes at the same time!

Most of these 'Net Chat' microphones are useless - even for chatting on the net! And mics like SM 58s aren't really appropriate for this sort of application at all, being intended as either instrument mics, or for close-up vocals. Okay, they're better than the Net Chat Nasty, I suppose.

I do agree with divy about using minidiscs, or even a portable cassette recorder, not because of the quality but because of the battery charge life and sheer convenience. Also, the mic preamps in portable MD recorders are one step up from the ones usually present on soundcards.

Possibly the best solution though, is to feign deafness. Demand that an induction loop is set up, and that the teacher wears a radio mic to feed it. Then all you have to do is get a loop pickup coil and feed it straight into your MD, Cassette, Notebook and make sure that you keep wearing headphones... Now I'll admit that this is a slightly geeky suggestion, but the others? No, not geeky but practical.

Steve

resistor man · Posted - Sat Mar 16, 2002 12:06 am