Microphones for voice recording from several feet
 

I'm trying to record my father talking about his youth but the recordings
come out with his and my voices very quiet and lots of hissing background
even though the room is quiet apart from our speech.

I have tried an old Tandy Realistic Omnidirectional Pressure Zone Microphone
bought about 1995, connected to a tape recorder bought about 1985, though
good quality. I am about five feet away on one side of the mike, my dad
four feet on the other side, but the speech comes out faint and you
have to listen through hissing.

Have also tried an Olympus WS-200s digital voice recorder - this seems to
pick up more - the speech is louder, but less clear, and same hissing.
I was surprised that the Olympus was not far behind the Tandy in quality.

Best is Sony camcorder about four years old, almost no hissing, and
speech is loud and clear, though can hear the camcorder whirring.

Please could someone tell me why the camcorder is good - what's going
on in it that makes the speech loud and stops most background noise?
Is it amplifying the speech?

More importantly, does anyone have any suggestiosn as to what
microphone(s) I should buy to get a proper sounding recording? Is there a
mike which would work from several feet away? Or should I buy two mikes,
one for my dad to hold near his mouth and one for me, with some sort
oif mixer. I notice maplin sell some cheap mixers £25 but I've no idea if
they are
any good. What should sort of device should I be recording onto?

Thanks
David

Microphones for voice recording from several feet
 

"david"

I'm trying to record my father talking about his youth but the recordings
come out with his and my voices very quiet and lots of hissing background
even though the room is quiet apart from our speech.


( snip tear inducing story)


** Recording people speaking is not so simple.

Film crews typically use expensive, highly directional mics mounted on a
long pole and pointed at the speaker from about half a metre away - the
mic is carefully kept just out of the view of the camera. The results are
OK.

TV studios often use miniature lapel mics ( mounted guess where ? ) to pick
up the voices of presenters and guests or else a directional mic mounted on
and even longer pole that the film crews normally use.

If you have a stereo cassette deck, then use two lapel mics, one in each
channel.

Get the kind that have the battery installed internally.

Also a tip - speak up.



........ Phil

Microphones for voice recording from several feet
 

In article ,
david nospam@nospam274503 wrote:
I'm trying to record my father talking about his youth but the recordings
come out with his and my voices very quiet and lots of hissing background
even though the room is quiet apart from our speech.

I have tried an old Tandy Realistic Omnidirectional Pressure Zone
Microphone bought about 1995, connected to a tape recorder bought about
1985, though good quality. I am about five feet away on one side of the
mike, my dad four feet on the other side, but the speech comes out faint
and you have to listen through hissing.

Have also tried an Olympus WS-200s digital voice recorder - this seems to
pick up more - the speech is louder, but less clear, and same hissing.
I was surprised that the Olympus was not far behind the Tandy in quality.

Best is Sony camcorder about four years old, almost no hissing, and
speech is loud and clear, though can hear the camcorder whirring.

Please could someone tell me why the camcorder is good - what's going
on in it that makes the speech loud and stops most background noise?
Is it amplifying the speech?

More importantly, does anyone have any suggestiosn as to what
microphone(s) I should buy to get a proper sounding recording? Is there
a mike which would work from several feet away? Or should I buy two
mikes, one for my dad to hold near his mouth and one for me, with some
sort oif mixer. I notice maplin sell some cheap mixers £25 but I've no
idea if they are any good. What should sort of device should I be
recording onto?

A microphone being seen by someone not used to one can be intimidating -
so I'd be inclined to use a personal type clipped to a lapel, etc. They
don't give the very best sound quality due to their position but can be
adequate - after all they're universal for TV newsreaders etc. Maplin,
etc, sell quite reasonably priced ones.

A decent 'gun' mike which *might* work well from a distance of a 5 feet
(depending on things like room acoustics, external noise and voice levels)
will cost a great deal of money. Best part of 1000 quid. It will also need
a pro mixer to power it.

As regards the recorder, mic amps in cheap recorders are invariably poor -
as are they in cheap computer sound cards. But with the high output from a
close personal mic most should be ok.

I'd concentrate on getting the voice of your father correct using just one
mic. You can then re-record your questions later and chop them in using
one of the many free computer editing progs. Otherwise you'll need two
mics and a mixer - or record to two tracks and mix later.

Other alternative would be to contact a local hire company that does
broadcast gear and hire what you need for the day - two mics, mixer and
suitable recorder. This may not prove more expensive than buying things
you may never use again - but should give very satisfactory results.

--
*We waste time, so you don't have to *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Microphones for voice recording from several feet
 

Thanks Dave and Phil for your suggestions. I think
I will get two mics and connect them to a mixer. Maplin
sell mixers about £25

http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?...31137&doy=15m8

Is the quality this cheap going to be any good?

Microphones for voice recording from several feet
 

In article ,
david nospam@nospam274503 wrote:
Thanks Dave and Phil for your suggestions. I think
I will get two mics and connect them to a mixer. Maplin
sell mixers about £25

http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?...31137&doy=15m8

Is the quality this cheap going to be any good?

It will depend a bit on the maximum output and what it's feeding since
'headroom' is very important on a mic amp and a 9 volt supply ain't going
to allow much. But it might well be ok for your purpose if used with care.

--
*How much deeper would the oceans be without sponges? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Microphones for voice recording from several feet
 

"Owain"


I wonder if the problem might be a basic impedance mismatch; the cassette
recorder is probably high impedance and the microphone may be low
impedance.


** Lotsa cassette decks have dedicated mic inputs ( often on the front)
using 1/4 inch jacks - these normally work well with internal battery
powered electret mics.

The RCA line inputs on the back do not have adequate gain or the low self
noise needed for use with mics - that is unless you don't mind yelling.




......... Phil

Microphones for voice recording from several feet
 

Thanks Phil and Owain for you replies.

** Lotsa cassette decks have dedicated mic inputs ( often on the front)
using 1/4 inch jacks - these normally work well with internal battery
powered electret mics.

My external mic is an electret condenser with an AA battery and it
has a 1/4 inch jack which I have plugged into an adaptor to make it
3.5mm to fit into the tape recorders 3.5mm dedicated mic input.

The RCA line inputs on the back do not have adequate gain or the low self
noise needed for use with mics - that is unless you don't mind yelling.

My mic's specs say:
impedance 600 ohms
sensitivity - 74 dB (0 db = 1 V/microbar, 1 KHz)
frequency response 20 - 18,000 Hz
polar pattern hemispherical

According to the tape recorder's specs, it's input sensitivity and impedance
is... "external microphone: 4 mV, 600 ohms"


David

Microphones for voice recording from several feet
 

"david"


** Go away - you have your advice.

Don't be a PITA.





........ Phil

Microphones for voice recording from several feet
 

I wasn't expecting more advice, I was merely saying that I
already have what you and Owain say works better.

David


"Phil Allison" wrote in message
...

"david"


** Go away - you have your advice.

Don't be a PITA.





....... Phil

Microphones for voice recording from several feet
 

"david"
Phil Allison


** Go away - you have your advice.

Don't be a PITA.


I wasn't expecting more advice, I was merely saying that I
already have what you and Owain say works better.


** DO NOT TOP POST !!!!!!!

ONLY COMPLETE PRICKS DO THAT !!!

You ARE being a REAL PITA.

By implication - you are now whining about the advice given.

It was 100% correct.


Your mysterious " tape recorder " with 3.5 mm jacks is still a big secret.

Why ?

Makes you a PITA liar.




........ Phil