REALLy newbie question

[winterwind_23]

Hi, this is my first post.

I record my piano with a cheap dynamic mic, plugged directly into my computer, and then with sound recorder.

I was thinking of switching to two condensors for better sound quality. Could I connect the condensors directly to the computer or would I need a preamp and then the preamp to the computer? Can a preamp connect to a computer, and through which jack?

Thanks.

 

[Track Rat]

You'd have to have an external mic preamp (either two mono units or dual mono) patched to the LINE INPUT of the sound card. If your sound card is stock, you may want to upgrade that as well.

 

[winterwind_23]

So i'd buy a line external preamp and that would go into the line input? Is it that little thing next to the mic and output jacks, that is skinny and protruding?

What do you mean if my sound card is "stock"?

 

[Track Rat]

I have no idea where your particular line input is located. And by stock I mean the card that came with your computer. These are suitable for gaming and not much more.

 

[winterwind_23]

Do most PCs come with a line input?

What is a cheap and simple preamp with two mic inputs?

 

[JeffLancaster]

Here's a possibility:

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MobilePreUSB-main.html

Cheap and simple preamp/interface with two mic inputs. It has phantom power so you could record your piano with a pair of condensors.

 

[winterwind_23]

How about two cheaper condensor mics for recording an acoustic piano? Which ones do you recommend?

 

[IronFlippy]

Small condensers work well. Can't give you any brands, I'm no good with that. Check the mic forums, I've read about it before. When you're getting the mics, check to see if they need phantom power. If so, you'll need some of that with your mic preamp. Lucky for you, it's almost always built-in.

TIP: use a program other than sound recorder. Krystal and Audacity are free, try them both and use one you like.

BTW, I can't think of any computer made in the last 7 years that doesn't come with a line input.

 

[invisiblenemies]

How about two cheaper condensor mics for recording an acoustic piano? Which ones do you recommend?

I have 2 AT-3035s ($199 new) that work quite well for male vocals, acoustic guitars, and drum overheads. I also use a Shure SM85 ($50 used) for vocals & guitars, however, it is very low end oriented.

I've never recorded a piano so I'm not sure if either will work.

Definitely use something other than SoundRecorder. There are many free alternatives that will provide incredibly better results as stated earlier.

Best of luck.

 

[winterwind_23]

Yup, I' started using audacity and it's much better.

Anyways, do you guys recommend used mics, like from ebay or something?

BTW, I read about a condensor mic that connects to your USB? How well do they work? And which input does that record through? Next to line-in and microphone there is no USB option.

 

[daav]

You should ask yourself where this is going for you,that will greatly help you decide waht you ned to purchase.
by that i mean- willyou continue to want to try toget better recordings, or will you be more contrained by budget to settle everything for a few hundred bucks and never look back. Or maybe getting into too much technical stuff may be distracting for you.

Either way, i am going to assume you are going to want to do a bit more than JUST record the piano. For a small investment youcan do pretty well. I will tell youthe stuff i bought, mostly from browsing these boards and reading reccomendations from otherwho own the stuff:

preamp/phantom power: M-audio DMP3, someone just sold one for $100 used in the free ads forum of this board, a pretty good price. This is a dual channel, so will let you record two small or large diameter condensors for a nice stereo image.

Recording software - Audacity will work, but you might want to look into other options with more functionality. GEt used to your equipment first though, it will help inform your decisition.

interface- not a bad idea to step aware from your stock sound card and its lame inputs, you can get a decent 20 bit card/interface for < $100 these days, especially used with everyone unloading their old stuff as they upgrade. You can get a very decent recording from 20 bit once you learn the basics.

Mics- lots of choices, i have 2 MXL 603s Small diameter condensors i would probabaly use for this, you can find 2 of these for $120-150 these days. Or plenty of people talk about using two SP B1s, but i don't own one yet, so nothing substantial to go on there. The good thing about a LDC like the B1 is that it can work on many vocals as well.

that would be enough to get you started and keep you going for a while. I bought the preamp, the 603s used, some monitors, and a few other items. I generally try to watch the free ads here and if someone has a good rep (good guys thread, etc) I will trust the purchase.

Daav