Church recording what needed.

rblapham

New member
At our church we record the sermons and readings - two locations. Presently used recorderS are complicated and hard for the pastor to use. Here is what I would like to do, need advice on where and what to buy.

Two wireless microphones that can be left on all the time - 110VAC?
A simple to use recorder - again 110VAC that can easily have the recording on memory card taken home for edit and put on web site with my home PC. Internet connect to the recorder would be great. Record quality does not need to be real good. The wireless microphones will connect to this one recorder.
Another feature wanted would be a way to program by day and time automatically to record - like every Sunday from 8AM to 9:30AM - Not a biggy as I plan to have the recorder in a room out of sight for the pastor to press a button or two.

Lastly - inexpensive.
 
These are a lot of requirements not normally associated with an inexpensive digital recorder. It almost sounds like a connected tablet device (iPad, or cheaper Android platform), connected to the existing sound system via a simple interface might be more capable to do all the things you're looking for.

But, there are lots of forums specific to "houses of worship" that have probably tackled this kind if scenario, vs. home recordists. As for vendors, I know Sweetwater does a lot of business specific to that customer base, so you might call there and see if someone can walk you through a few options.

Good luck.
 
Kind of hard to advise here but recording the sermon should be very easy. Sony makes a very compact small recorder as do a few other companies...

Most are mono but for a few dollars more you can have stereo so why not...

You will over pay for a "recorder" that has a mixer built into it and it will be limited to that.

I encourage you being as you are just recording the Pastors voice to buy a small mixer This would be adequate for $60

And This little handheld recorder for $30

An adapter from control room out on the mixer to the audio input of the recorder and you're rolling...

It's a very small learning curve to use the mixer and will make a BIG difference in controlling the audio of the two microphones....

Press record once the sound check is done and let it record the whole service...Plenty of space on the recordier for several hours of recording..

After the service transfer the audio via usb to the computer to edit..... Audacacity is a free audio editing / recording software that is easy to learn and use..

Under $100 you will have great recordings of his sermons...
 
No need for a mixer – mono would be good enough�� Guess my biggest need is a couple wireless microphones and hopefully ones that can be left on 24/7 so maybe battery powered with a plugin battery charger? Connect those to a stereo recorder with external jacks. Needing to go only 20 ft to a separate room with the recorder but no way to run wires without replacing a brand new carpet.
I use Audacity and have for many years. At my previous church I helped install and ran an Audio/Visual system with a 12 port mixer, 3 video cameras with feeds to different areas of the church as well as recording the video and showing on a big screen. This easy stuff is driving me nuts.

Presently we record on 2 stereo hand held cheap recorders that record to memory chips. The pastor must turn them on and wait for them to come up and then press record – takes him 10 minutes standing in front of the church, After the service must turn off and remove memory chips and take home to Edit and merge the 2 recordings with Audacity and then post to our web page.
firstlutheranclevelandtn.360unite.com/sermons

If I could get to where pastor just needs to do is press record in a separate room I’d be happy.
 
Now this is going to sound distinctly odd but bear with...
I have a Panasonic DMR-EX88 hard drive/DVD Freeview recorder. This can naturally be programed to record. It has RCA line inputs so could take the output of whatever wireless mic receiver you get. Once the service is done you could transfer the recording to DVD (or record it directly to DVD) and that takes about 5 minutes.

There is software I am sure for ripping sound from DVD faster than real time? I have Adobe Audition 1.5 but there must be a freebie by now? Obviously it only takes a few seconds to dump the DVD track to USB stick.

Of course you could also record the service on a camera. I have a 50 quid Maplin camera that has been in my garden over 5 years, most of the powder coating has peeled off but it still delivers excellent pictures.

Dave.
 
Is the Pastor at a lectern or fixed position? I'm just wondering if the most problematic stage - RF could be removed. I've never used one, but how about Tascam SD-20M Solid State Recorder - Recorders - Studio Gear - Studiospares
This Tascam? It has a one button record system, but also can work by a foot switch - which being contact closure - could be removed to simple buttons the pastor could use. I don't know if this would solve your problem - but the Tascam also double records at a lower lever just in case. Something like this could be pretty foolproof.
 
Good shout Rob!

With a digital timeswitch and a simple relay box that could be programed.

Dave.
 
If you end up with mics, don't leave then on all the time. The pastor's singing or communal prayer will blot out the congregation. Plus they some times make comments to others while something else is going on. If you go recorder at the pulpit, get something like a Sony ICD-UX560, much better than the various Chinese no-name for not much more,
 
Back
Top