Can you use the Behringer mic, SoundblasterUSB card and preamp with computer to record live music?

[JimP]

Sorry for such an off topic question, but I'm trying to record some live church music using something I already have. Is it possible to basically use the same equipment used for REW to record live music using "Sound Recorder"? I see a need for using headphones in the preamp to monitor the sound. I'm using a Vista laptop.

Would using another mic be better?

[JohnM]

The Behringer mic and preamp should be fine for recording music as long as you want to capture everything in one go and not individual artists or instruments - the mic is an omni so not best suited to trying to narrow down who/what you want to capture. For more knowledgeable input on this general area try the Audio Production forum.

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

From what I see here, it shouldn’t be a problem.

Not sure about monitoring with headphones, though, but I think it’s pretty common with other programs, so I’d be surprised if it didn’t work.

Regards,
Wayne

[JimP]

Thanks guys.

What I'm trying to record is a church chior, so an omni directional mike like the Behringer mic will probably do.

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Yep – an omni will work great for a choir. Keep in mind, however, if you have live instruments on stage that’s probably what you’re going to get the most of in the mic.

Regards,
Wayne

[DrWho]

I would recommend Audacity as the program for recording...it's free and works as well as Pro Tools and CuBase (all of which I use regularly).

[JimP]

Thanks Mike, I'll look into it.

The chior doesn't have musical instruments. Its a very remarkable 4 part harmony.

I was thinking about using dual Behringer mics, but don't know if I'm creating unnecessary problems. Suggestions?

[JimP]

Mike,

I've got Audicy up and going. Fairly intuitive.

Can you suggest a set of headphones appropriate for one time project available from some place like guitar center. This is for monitoring through the preamp. My intent is to tweak out bass, mids and highs. My preamp has these adjustments available.

Also, on Audicy, I'm not sure where my signal is suppose to remain within on the running plots. I'm guessing that I should never exceed +-1 while recording. Can you suggest an online forum where these type of questions are addressed. The only one I found didn't go into this detail.

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

I’m moving this to our Audio Production Forum, since it really doesn’t have anything to do with REW.

I’m actually a bit surprised that Mike says Audacity is as good as Pro Tools or CuBase. My main beef with Audacity is that it doesn’t allow for real-time EQing, gain or other adjustments, which makes it kind of cumbersome. But then, the price is right.

As far as headphones, it’s hard to go wrong with anything from AKG or Sennheiser.

As far as the signal level, just keep it from maxing out in the running plots. That’s make the signal clip, which will show it having a “flat top” if you reduce the gain after the recording is finished. It’s easy enough to increase the signal level after the fact if you need to . Hopefully you found the plug-in download for additional functions and effects – it includes one called “Simple Amplifier” that adjusts gain.

By the way, a second mic would help with a stereo/ambient effect. That might be good if you’re intending say, to distribute this to the church members. If this is just for practice, i.e., for the choir members or director to study and critique themselves for improving their performance, then the single mic will do.

Regards,
Wayne

[drf]

If you want headphones for setting the eq on the preamp then you'd probably want to spend as much on your headphones as you can and get some with the best FR you can afford. When I started recording music for church I made the mistake of mastering a cd using a cheap set, the end result was that everyone got a cd with too much bass.

Another free program you should check out is Reaper. If your computer has a stereo line in then reaper can record 2 individual channels (just like protools etc).

[JimP]

I do need some more direction on those headphones. I'm not really interested into going into audio production per se, but how much does it generally take to get a set of headphones that are reliably flat? $100 or $300 or more?

My alternative is to record everything flat according to the preamp, avoid clipping with both the preamp lights and the graph on Audacity. Then when playing back the recording through my home theater system adjust the bass and treble with the filters if needed. Burn to CD and test on a couple of different players. If bass or treble are out of wack, go back and redo the adjustments on a trial and error approach.

[tweeksound]

Here are some great headphones used commonly for location sound recording in film and video
http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/produ...T&cm_keycode=4

Your best bet is to make your EQ adjustments while listening on a good pair of speakers.
There are folks that use $60,000 studio monitors and still have to check their mixes on other speakers just to be sure it translates well from system to system.
Mixing on any headphones is basically a no-no but if you get good mic positions and maybe use a high pass filter or low freq. roll off, you should get something pretty usable.

Sorry if I missed it, but what are you planning to use these recordings for?
Just so musicians can use them for reference? For all who enjoyed the music? Sales?
How big is the choir/ensemble?
Are you using the preamp in the SB card?
What model Behringer is it?

Once I know more about the specifics, I can help you more.
I teach audio engineering and design rigs for all applications.

Sorry for all the questions but no 2 recording situations are alike so you must tailor the process and use of gear to each situation.

[JimP]

Matt,

Thanks for posting.
Very busy right now with some things that have to be done by tomorrow.
I'll get back with a detailed response on Monday.

[CoteRotie]

Audacity is OK, but I'd recommend REAPER. (www.cockos.com) It's very low cost and has some excellent effects included. There should be no problems recording with a Behringer mic and a Soundblaster, but don't expect professional results. A professional setup would have a multi-input audio interface and several mics all recording to different tracks which are later mixed and processed accordingly.

Regards,

John

[JimP]

Thanks for the referal.

I had just emailed a friend about looking for something better than Audacity.

[tweeksound]

I second the Reaper thing. Really great software.