Laptop Y Pc

[risingsun]

Hi..I want to be able to record an acoustic guitar and voice on laptop and pc...now i am using a SHURE..dynacmic dual 5155d play out mic..1/4 jack (mono) sized down to 1/8 stereo jack to use
on my cr lab 32 bit soundcard...with sound fondry 6.0 or cakewalk..

Please advice me on what I need ...
1) do i need a stereo mic..
2) do i need a pre-amp mixer combo??? to mix the guitar and voice..
3) do i need a better sound card...??

As you can see I am not familiar with the procedure and items needed..but I have great knowledge of laptops and pc configuration...

Thanks...
Joe

 

[Chris Shaeffer]

Hi Joe,

Most laptops, unfortunately, don't have stereo inputs so there is no way to capture a stereo signal without a different soundcard. You can only record one mono signal at a time so a stereo mic wouldn't be of any use at the moment.

So at the moment you have a couple options with what you have.

1) Use your mic to record the guitar by itself.
2) Listen to the recorded guitar with headphones while you sing onto a new track.

or

1) Play and sing at the same time and set your mic up so that your guitar and voice are well balanced.

If it were me, my next upgrades would be a USB audio interface (m-audio duo, for example- though there are less expensive options) and a second microphone. Then I could mic the guitar and mic my voice at the same time.

At least that's what I can think of at the moment. There's a host of options availible for laptop recordists these days.

take care,
Chris