Topic: I want to set up a low-tech taping system with a netbook... what mices recommend

[landshark]

....and back to the original question...

I looked into this a couple years ago, thinking I'd work something with my Asus eee.  Some lessons I learned:

The mic inputs are really crap.  Unless you can somehow internally change them to line inputs, you're going to be putting the signal through a really piss poor amp and you'll be adding a lot of noise.  Not to mention very little dynamic range in your recording (which means at any given volume, the soft sounds are inaudible and the loud sounds cause overload).  I tried running my CChurch preamp into the mic in, and it made a significant improvement, but even then, a lot of noise was added.  People were looking to crack open the eee and try resoldering the leads since it looked like the soundcard used had a line-in option, but I never followed up to see if that was done. 

So, the first question I had was how to get the signal into the computer.  One alternative is to use a PCMCIA card, but since you referenced a netbook, I'm guessing this is not an option.  The mic in is sucktastic, so that's out.  That leaves the USB.  There are a number of USB-in solutions that people have referenced, and they range pretty dramatically in price depending on the mics you plan to use.  Some are a combo of preamp and DAC, and there are a number of all-in-one solutions, mics with built in preamp and dac that just plug into a USB port.  I tried these out:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MicPortPro/  - worked pretty good, decent noise level, ran 100% off USB, but could never get two to work at once (stereo) - I think the USB bus was not wide enough to handle 2x 24/96 signals.  It would run 48v phantom mics.  At $150 bucks each ($300 for stereo) might be more than you want. 

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Snowflake/  - looked like a good solution, but the case was metal so very heavy.  I forget if I was ever able to run 2 at once though to get stereo, but I don't think I did.  There was something about how the two devices conflicted or something.  Wiser USB-heads tham mine might have prevailed though.  If you're OK with mon, this moght work.

I'd do search on USB stereo microphome and see what you get.  Here's Sweetwater's list, for reference:  http://www.sweetwater.com/c981--USB_Mics

Something like this might fit the bill, but I have no idea about sound quality:

http://www.amazon.com/Apex-Apex188-Condenser-Microphone-Shockmount/dp/tech-data/B001E0DDLI/ref=de_a_smtd

Good luck!

Mike

[sunjan]

Another thing to keep in mind is that, more often than not, the microphone input on a laptop/notebook is mono and not stereo.

Depending on submodel, Acer Aspire One is reported to be stereo:
http://forums.ncix.com/forums/?mode=showthread&forum=107&threadid=1793242&pagenumber=0&msgcount=1&subpage=1&product_id=30747#top

That said, I'd be very cautious about throwing money at expensive frontend gear for lappy taping before asserting that your backend is noise-free. This thread indicates that Acer netbooks have serious hardware issues bogging down sound quality:
http://chipmusic.org/forums/topic/2163/acer-aspire-one-too-much-hiss-when-recording-in-audacity/&rct=j&sa=U&ei=hjjATIjuNMv0sgaRxpnjCA&ved=0CCgQFjAF&q=Acer+Aspire+One+mic+input&usg=AFQjCNF9zc13R93sDqrkPwSC5FQdNw21Ng

Maybe you can borrow an external USB soundcard from a friend and test your potential rig at home first? Or find a retailer that accepts open returns within a certain time frame?

[moth170]

Thanks for your astute contributions qpl. Some may have thought the first one was funny and I'm sure even moth170 took it as a joke, but doing it a 2nd time after a bunch of informed & helpful posts have been added is uncalled for and a total waste of space. The guy is here looking for help, not to be insulted because he made a typo.

just have a problem with bad spelling, I thought it was funny, so terribly fucking sorry you don't

I didn't get what that was about until he spelled it out. God, those things are disgusting.


So much great info here, thank you all so much- lots to research and digest.

Peace,

S

[aosone]

I'd make sure the netbook can handle high rez audio, because they don't work for sh*t with HD video, other than using the SD slot to dump what you've already recorded. You definitely can't watch it though.

[heyitsmejess]

i reguarly multi track (44.1 32 bit) on my netbook.
granted, its in a live setting, and i only use it to capture (i do the processing/tweaking on my home computer).

you might be suprised....some of the atom processors benchmark around the same or better than a pentium 4.

[sunjan]

I'd make sure the netbook can handle high rez audio, because they don't work for sh*t with HD video

Strictly from a processing power viewpoint, laptops have been able to record in at least 16/44 since 1996-1997.
It's more a matter of keeping the Windows installation clean and not cluttering it with other software.
If bandwidth and the footprint of your audio tool is an issue, downgrading the software to a lower version might even help. There are still lappy tapers using CEP 1.0 since wayback then.

If your netbook still has issues with audio, it's usually poor hardware design (shielding etc) or cheap components (line in jack, ADC...). Don't blame the CPU.

[aosone]

I didn't say a netbook won't work, I said to make sure it does. While I haven't tried any of mine with audio, they suck with video.

[splumer]

What about a battery-powered mixer with a USB out? Doesn't Tascam make one? That's not exactly low-profile, though.

_{Personally, I love mice and have had many as pets. Keep the pics coming!}

[moth170]

Thanks, this is all great stuff. I'll give another example to help narrow things down:

I have been going to these trainings that I pay a lot of money for, part of the time there is a faculty member lecturing, with a mic mounted on his chest and amplified through a small PA. We have been forbidden to record the lectures, which is BS because we pay a butload for the trainings. If I had a recorder set-up I wouldn't be able to pull it off. But everyone has laptops out, so no one would notice my netbook running goldwave if I could find the right mics that were stealthy, but could pick up the signal over the room noise. It may be too much to ask.  This is a conference room with about 30-40 people in it.

I'm not sure if I want the stealth system to do it all, or if I would have a secondary rig for places where it was OK to record.

[rastasean]

I have no experience with this but it may work:
http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-MMM-1

or this usb one:
http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-COURT-REPORTER-MIC-PRO

are you sure a netbook can run goldwave?

[sunjan]

are you sure a netbook can run goldwave?

GoldWave requires a minimum 1.5GHz Pentium 4 (or compatible processor), a mouse, 256MB of RAM, 20MB of disk space, and a sound card. For best performance, a 2GHz or faster processor with 512MB of RAM or more is recommended. Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, or later is required. Older versions of Windows will not run recent versions of GoldWave, but you can install GoldWave v4.26 on those systems:
•Runs on Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000
•Minimum system requirements:
◦100MHz processor
◦32MB RAM
◦10MB hard drive space available
◦Video card running at 16-bit or 32-bit colour


Taken from http://www.goldwave.com/faq.php#requirements

[sunjan]

Otherwise, there's always Audacity:

Windows version  - Recommended - Minimum
Windows 98, ME:  128 MB / 500 MHz  - 64 MB / 300 MHz
Windows 2000, XP: 512 MB/1 GHz  - 128 MB/300 MHz
Windows Vista Home Basic: 2 GB / 1 GHz - 512 MB / 1 GHz
Windows Vista Home Premium/Business/Ultimate: 4 GB / 2 GHz -  1 GB / 1 GHz

[moth170]

Goldwave works great on my netbook. I use it frequently.