Something a little different

P

Peru

New member
I'm an English teacher living in Peru. I need to record a CD with English conversations designed to aid students in their learning process. A sample conversation is below:

A: Hello, my name's Paula. What's your name?
B: Rosa
A: Where are you from, Rosa?
B: I'm from Argentina.

My plan is to record four separate wav files, combine them into one, convert it to an MP3 and then store it in a directory for burning onto an audio CD.

I have a microphone, which came with my DVD player. It's designed for karaoke. Questions:

How do I know if this mic is any good?
What software programs do I need? How much do they cost?
How can I ensure a minimum of background noise?
What am I overlooking?

Thanks in advance for your help and advice.
 
Peru said:
How do I know if this mic is any good?
Click to expand...

Does it sound good when you talk through it?

What software programs do I need? How much do they cost?
Click to expand...

Download a program called Audacity...it's free.
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/


How can I ensure a minimum of background noise?
Click to expand...

Try and get away from your computer as far as you can...make sure there isn't many other noises in the room. Speak loudly enough so you don't have to turn up the amplifier on the microphone (which will, in turn, amplify the room noise)

What am I overlooking?
Click to expand...

No need to make an MP3 of the WAV files unless you plan on e-mailing them or putting them on the web. Just export them as 44.1kHz, 16 bit WAV files and you can burn those to CD just fine.
 
You could probably plug the karaoke mic straight into the mic input of your soundcard, and use audacity. It won't be great quality, but it will be audible. Make sure you record in a quiet environment, away from the computer, speaking loudly and close to the mic(although, make sure it doesn't clip), and maybe a little light music will hide the noise you will bound to have using a karaoke mic and soundcard mic input. Also, it may help to buy/make(will tights round a coat hanger) a pop filter.

I'd recommend against export to mp3 before burning to CD. Export as wav, and keep it as wav. If you want mp3, for transferring to an mp3 player or online, then export this after and only use it for that.
 
Thanks for the tips

I'll download the program and check back when I know more / need more help.
 
Peru said:
I'm an English teacher living in Peru.
Click to expand...
Vaya, un compatriota por acá. Ok, algunas consideraciones.

1. Por lo general el micro para karaoke es... ejem, para eso. Si suena bien y no hace ruido (y el cable está en buen estado), úsalo.

2. Audacity és una buena opción y es gratis

3. Ruido? Trata de utlizar un cuarto vacío. Para evitar plosivos (p, b) y siseos (s) tienes dos opciones: a. Consigue un pop filter en Paruro (solución pro) o b. Al momento de grabar hazlo con la cabeza mirando hacia un ángulo de 30 grados en vez de hacerlo directamente frente al micro.

4. No comprimas el audio final en MP3, utiliza el WAV y luego quema tu disco usando Nero o iTunes.

Suerte. Avísame si hay algo más en que pueda ayudarte.

PS: I replied this post in my native language just to help out the guy who started the threat. :D
 
killthepixel said:
Vaya, un compatriota por acá. Ok, algunas consideraciones.

1. Por lo general el micro para karaoke es... ejem, para eso. Si suena bien y no hace ruido (y el cable está en buen estado), úsalo.

2. Audacity és una buena opción y es gratis

3. Ruido? Trata de utlizar un cuarto vacío. Para evitar plosivos (p, b) y siseos (s) tienes dos opciones: a. Consigue un pop filter en Paruro (solución pro) o b. Al momento de grabar hazlo con la cabeza mirando hacia un ángulo de 30 grados en vez de hacerlo directamente frente al micro.

4. No comprimas el audio final en MP3, utiliza el WAV y luego quema tu disco usando Nero o iTunes.

Suerte. Avísame si hay algo más en que pueda ayudarte.

PS: I replied this post in my native language just to help out the guy who started the threat. :D
Click to expand...
Well he(?) is an English teacher, so i doubt he is struggling too much with our posts, but it's good to know you're helping.
 
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