How to make a simple, unaltered, live, 4 part acappella mp3 recording for audition.

[dobervol]

TOTAL Newb here, almost in a panic situation. I apologize, as I know this question is far beneath the usual discussion here, but what I need to do is so simple, I can’t find any instructions on how to do it after hours and hours of searching the innerwebs, and looking here, as well as the FAQ. It may be on here somewhere, but I’m betting no one has had a question this dumb or simple before.

I have to record a group of 4 acappella singers for an audition that must be submitted by February 29th, so I have to do it this weekend. Each must sing on his/her own mic, but the recording can’t be enhanced in any way, except for relative volume, as they want to hear everyone in their unaltered glory, and all must be recorded simultaneously. It sounded so simple: all you have to do is record a 4 minute song, all at once, and send in the mp3 file on computer, but because people usually don’t want to make “just an unmixed, live recording,” I can’t find any instructions on how to do what seems like it ought to be the most simple thing in the world.

Because my wife and I have decided to try to learn to do some home recording later, she bought a Yamaha MG10XU, Yamaha MG10XU , which has 4 mic inputs, and we have 4 mics, cords, and mic stands.

However, the software Yamaha recommends, and which comes free with it, Cubase Elements 8, is far too advanced to learn before the weekend. What we need is some simpler software/app that will let us record and submit an mp3 file, is compatible with our preamp, and compatible with Windows 7. If your advice is to ditch the preamp/mixer and go with just an audio interface and DAW, what is the absolute simplest route to go for this purpose?

I’m willing to dig, and I’m willing to read, but if someone could direct me to where I could go to learn this information on my own, I’d be eternally grateful!

 

[Obi-Wan zenabI]

Cubase is easy. Just open VST devices and click your interface's outputs into the correct inputs.

Enable the tracks, and press play and record like an old tape deck.

Sure, it's a little trickier than that, but those are really the basics.

There is a Cubase user's sub-forum here that is very active and very helpful. They just hooked me up with help on my own noob question, even though I've been playing with Cubase for 10 years.

You could just get the right adapter, sing into one mic, and plug it directly into your Windows machine, making sure that you have it set to its own internal soundcard in the devices menu. It should work.

 

[Obi-Wan zenabI]

Also, find a local friend who can come over and help set up. Or stop into some little local studio and pay someone a few bucks and get-r-dun. There are lots of people out there who do this for a hobby and would love to work something sub-professional level for reasonable cash.

More fully equipped professional studios ask for *and deserve* more professional money...

 

[bouldersoundguy]

Microphones alter the sound. There is no such thing as "unenhanced". This restriction gives the advantage to people with superior skill, equipment and acoustic environments because there is a lot that can be done with mic choice and placement, all of which is unequivocally enhancement. And some people will have the ability to record all four mics separately allowing them to balance them after the fact. Those who can only record a stereo mix will be substantially handicapped. And how will the judges confirm that things weren't enhanced? The whole thing sounds bogus to me.

A program called Audacity might be the way to go. Normally I find it too clunky and limiting for recording but that might be preferable for you. Record in WAV format and make an mp3 copy after the fact.

 

[arcaxis]

but the recording can’t be enhanced in any way, except for relative volume,

The USB mixer records to a stereo track, so any adjustment of volume between singers will need to be done prior to the recording in the mixer. Once recorded no volume adjustments between singers can be done. Will there or have you thought about "panning" of the singers left and right in a stereo field or just putting them in the "center"?
An interface with 4 mic inputs (more $$$) would allow separate tracks to be recorded, volumes adjusted for each track, and then mixed to a final stereo track. The USB mixer is the easiest way to accomplish your goal, but just less flexibility in the what you can do once recorded.

Assuming the mics to be dynamic type mics. The distance of the singers mouth to mic will affect the sound of the singer due to "proximity" effect. Closeness to the mic will enhance the bass sound of the singer. You may want experiment with mouth to mic distance for each singer and find what sounds best and try to have them maintain that distance during the recording. A singer used to singing live may tend to work the mic closer to the mouth and this may not sound as good for a recording. You may want to keep the singers somewhat separated as the mics could conceivably pickup a singer next to them.

Audacity is about as simple as it gets and would likely be my choice for just a simple stereo tracked recording like you want to do. If you need help getting it setup, ask and we can give some pointers. Audacity doesn't natively save/export to an mp3, but an extra mp3 encoder is an add-on to allow it ( FAQ:Installation, Startup and Plug-ins - Audacity Manual ). As suggested you can initially save to a wav file and then later to mp3.

"seems like it ought to be the most simple thing in the world"