Audio recording straight to my PB

[Stampyhead]

I am a classical musician and I have been using a Sony Minidisc recorder to record audition tapes, concerts, etc. Due to the fact that my MD recorder got broken in my gig bag a little while ago and I am about to trade in my Ti 550 for a new Al PB 1.5, I am looking at the possibilities of recording straight to my computer and burning CD's from there. I've got a Sony digital mic that I would plug into the audio in port on the PB (the 550 doesn't have one). My question is, what, in your opinion, is the best software for recording the audio, basic editing, and outputting into various formats (AIFF, MP3, etc.)?
Thanks. By the way, I just joined today! It's great to be a part of the Mac Rumors community.

 

[FlamDrag]

A couple of notes.

In my experience, it's much easier to record onto an MD first. Mainly b/c it's easier to stop/start recording with the MD. Plus, you're not filling up your hard drive with bad takes etc. Additionally, the MD is a little more fail-safe when recording extended tracks. After a point, your RAM and HD might not be able to keep up with the load and then you'll have some gaps.

Not to mention the fact that when you want to record, you have to bring along your Powerbook. The MD fits great in my pocket. Let's not get into battery life.

In my experience, I'd avoid this situation. However, I fully understand the desire to skip the re-recording step. So, here's what I would do - keeping in mind that I'm not an audio expert.

1. Buy an iMic (or their other audio product) from Griffin. This should give you a better signal-to-noise ratio than your sound-in port.

2. Get a fast external HD and record directly to it.

2a. RAM RAM RAM

3. Get SoundStudio Pro from FeltTip.com It works pretty well and it has a free trial.

 

[Stampyhead]

Thanks...

Thanks FlamDrag, you brought up a few points that I didn't really consider (such as disk speed, filling up the HD, etc.). You're probably right about recording straight to the computer. My main reason for not wanting to go back to the MD was that there is no way (that I know of) to hook it up directly to my Mac. I always had to hook the MD up to a CD recorder and burn a CD, then deposit that into my Mac. That resulted in a lot of wasted time and CDs...
Do those iPod microphones have decent recording quality? I read that they are good for voice but not great for recording live music. If the quality is indeed acceptable for music then I think that would be a good option, as I am planning on getting an iPod pretty soon.
I'll check out SoundStudio Pro, thanks for the tip.

 

[neut]

Thanks FlamDrag, you brought up a few points that I didn't really consider (such as disk speed, filling up the HD, etc.).

diskspeed and HD space will only matter if your running low on space and your multi-tracking; which it sounds like you don't do much of.

if your a classical musician i would assume that sound quality is pretty important to you. don't skimp out if you going to use a PB to record... you've got a portable professional recording studio... osxaudio

look into getting a real audio input and a multi-channel recorder... for now you could use the line-in and Garage Band.


*iPods are not quite ready for recording quality audio.

peace.

 

[Stampyhead]

Wow, osxaudio is cool, I didn't know about that site. Thanks!
When you talk about a multi-channel recorder, is that hardware based or is there software that will do the same thing? A good portion of my recording is done away from home (i.e. in a concert hall or somewhere similar) so I'm trying to find the best quality recording solution that is also portable.

 

[neut]

Wow, osxaudio is cool, I didn't know about that site. Thanks!
When you talk about a multi-channel recorder, is that hardware based or is there software that will do the same thing? A good portion of my recording is done away from home (i.e. in a concert hall or somewhere similar) so I'm trying to find the best quality recording solution that is also portable.

im talking about software, but some people like to mix outboard on hardware.

it all depends on your preference... osxaudio has lots of info on software you can use.


peace.

 

[mms]

The mics that can be attached to iPods are only good for voice recording. I've used Sound Studio for several nonprofessional recordings and it works well enough for me.

 

[FlamDrag]

MD phone jack >> 1/8" Male/Male Cable >> iMic USB (or line in if you have it) >> Recording Software

It sounds like the missing link for you (until you get your new PB) was the iMic which took your 1/8" plug and ran it through your USB.

Neut is probably right. The last time I tried this I had very little HD space.

Good luck to you.