PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production How do I record vocals, guitar and jam track on my PC while videotaping the performance?

While you guys are waiting on the equipment, here's something you should try while you wait. You may already have some of this gear on hand. If not, it's inexpensive and readily available.

From the likes of Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target, Office Max, Office Depot - Get a digital voice recorder. Sony, Phillips and Olympus are some major name brands. These are excellent field recorders for video. Paired with a lavalier mic, they will match much more expensive shotgun mics. Wireless is acceptable but not necessary or worth the increased cost because the same result is achieved. Hard wired negates the possibility of interference, drop outs or moving out of the wireless range.

Features to look for: These are not all crucial to video recording nor in most cases necessary but they are valuable to the overall and many other uses for these devices.

. Better than MP3/WMA record quality - if proprietary format, usually comes with MAC/PC software to convert to WAV/AIFF
. Stereo recording capability (Device has input jack and not just built in mics)
. Stereo input that 1/8-35mm cable will connect into (normally labeled mic)
. Stereo headphone jack
. USB connectivity (negates removing micro sd card continuously)
. Stereo vue meters (not necessary but great to have)
. Active headphone monitoring when recording (you won't know this until you try out the unit. I've never seen this spec listed. Great to have)
. PFL listening (active headphone monitoring when in record mode) is worth asking to audition and review before purchasing. It's an invaluable feature with lot's of uses
. Multiple mic sensitivity levels
. Multiple record quality levels
. Voice Activation (you may not use this much for video, but it is very handy for other applications)
. USB Mic capability

Features to avoid or have the capability to disable

. AGC - Auto Gain Control
. Noise Reduction

Indispensable Accessories (for Video and other applications)

. Lavalier mic (You'll find this to be a necessary device to have)
. Shotgun mic
. Telephone suction cup Pickup device
. 1/8"-35mm to 1/8"-35mm cable (known as Stereo to Stereo Cable)
. 1/8"-35mm to 2 RCA cable (Known as Stereo to RCA Cable)
. Cable end adapters (XLR, 1/4" TS (mono), TRS (Stereo)

Free Bonus tips regarding the shotgun mic and telephone suction cup pickup

Most shotgun mics contain what's called an FET - there is modification that allows this type of shotgun mic's sensitivity to be increased to a level that matches commercial surveillance mics in the $2,000 range. No kidding. You'll likely never need this capability however, you'll find lots of benefit and uses of a shotgun mic with video recording.

Likewise, there are many uses for a telephone suction cup (TSC) Very common use for audio recording is the TSC when placed near a speaker functions as a transformer. It passes the electromagnetic waves of the speaker through the TSC transducer, through the wires and into the digital voice recorder (or any recording device). This effectively records the audio from the speaker as if it were a direct wired connection and eliminates all of the ambient room noise, talk, wind noise, etc. It's only mono but you can capture flawless audio in a room that a party is going on. The same if you're traveling in a car, boat or plane - place the TSC up to a speaker and eliminate car noise. Like the shotgun mic, there are some uncommon uses and ways to capture audio as well

Using a digital voice recorder in video recording allows the use of any video recording source and camera regardless if the video source or camera has audio capability or not. The digital voice recorder adds audio capability to any video source or camera. It also is useful if multiple cameras are being used for b-rolls.

Note that micro cassette recorders will work also with the caveat that capstan motor noise may be captured along with the other audio.