Topic: Just bought myself a Sony PCM-M10

[HouserPhan]

I will definitely be reading the manual... I was only asking because someone said there was a limiter switch...

If you record on the highest quality setting can these files be played on a ipod without converting them?  Seems like these files might be hard to distribute via email if they are way bigger than MP3.  Is there a better way to distribute that is free?  In other words, are there any sites where i could upload them to where they could be available for others to download?

Sorry for all the newb questions, but this stuff is all like reading chinese to me right now...

[rastasean]

You are probably using pretty decent gear to practice on, right? It's not a walmart drum set or a target bass and the vocalist probably sounds pretty good, not like me when I sing, right? You probably also know how to play these instruments and make music, right?

What I am getting at is: record in higher quality than what mp3 offers and worry about the post processing later. If you set the recorder to 24bit 48KHz, it will record in a wav file which you can take and put on your computer and directly convert to mp3 or flac file and distribute online. Flac is equivalent to wav (as in lossless) which means it will sound the same as wav and require less processing and disk space.

I guess you could record in mp3 320kbps and down convert from there but you will never be able to convert to wav or flac.

[HouserPhan]

One more question... I want to go ahead and purchase a 16G memory card.  Everything I've read about the M10 says that it accepts micro SD cards, but I've read a review or two that state it only takes the Sony cards... ?

What memory cards are you guys using?  Can you recommend one?

[rastasean]

One more question... I want to go ahead and purchase a 16G memory card.  Everything I've read about the M10 says that it accepts micro SD cards, but I've read a review or two that state it only takes the Sony cards... ?

What memory cards are you guys using?  Can you recommend one?

You will find that us tapers are very malicious about our gear. lots of things have been answered before...including this topic...
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=147879.0

enjoy!

[earmonger]

Is there a better way to distribute that is free?  In other words, are there any sites where i could upload them to where they could be available for others to download?

There are many sites that act as digital lockers, where you can upload a fairly large file for free and send a link to your potential downloaders. Check out www.yousendit.com , www.mediafire.com , www.rapidshare.com , www.megaupload.com , etc.  There is also www.sharebee.com , which will upload a file to a bunch of those sites simultaneously.

Most of these sites have a size limit on free uploading--typically 100MB--and various paid versions with more options. 

Uploading to these sites--at least in the free option--is slow. Downloading is faster, so don't be discouraged.

[ArchivalAudio]

for sharing your own music
you might try
http://soundcloud.com/

I don't know much about it but it can also be easily shared with social media - FaceBook and the like...
kinda cool for musicians
--Ian

[newplanet7]

for sharing your own music
you might try
http://soundcloud.com/

I don't know much about it but it can also be easily shared with social media - FaceBook and the like...
kinda cool for musicians
--Ian

Soundcloud is great because they can stream it too.
I am on comcast so I have my own page where I can put up files to stream. But it's comcast.
Then you have all the other go to sites like sendspace, megaupload and such.
My favorite site to upload files for downloading is fyels.com . Each file can be up to 11gigs!

When you tape REAL shows you will definitely want/need external mics and/or a preamp/battery box
depending on the mics you will be using. Sure you may get a passable recording at a real show just using
the m10's internals BUT, that will be few.
However, for right now, the band practices will be fine.

[HouserPhan]

Thanks to all for the helpful advice! 

I got the device a few days ago and recorded my first practice with it today.  Now, I am in the process of figuring out what to do with the files. 

Per everyone's advice, I went ahead and recorded in the 48/24bit mode, and now I want to covert to MP3 for distribution.  I've installed the Soundforge software that came with it... I guess I can accomplish this with the software?  I've checked the help menus for coverting files, but can't seem to find anything.  Do I just do a save-as and specify MP3 as the format? 

What file types will iPods play?  Will they play wav files in the 48/24 mode I recorded them in?

[newplanet7]

If you want to encode to mp3 do it after you have processed and SAVED your wav files. Then after you saved your processed wav files.
drag and drop them from the folder to Traders Little Helper.
http://tlh.easytree.org/

[HouserPhan]

What do you mean by "processed"?  All I've done is drag & drop from the PCM to a folder on my PC.  I don't plan to do anything else to them at this point, as I'm clueless as to what should be done... lol.  As I have time, I may research how to make the tracks sound better with the provided software, but for now, I'm not going to do anything.  Are there any easy things you can do with the Soundforge software that I should do as a matter of standard practice when I pull the files onto my PC? 

I downloaded Trader's Little Helper...   I see where I go to Format>Convert Encoding Format and select MP3 as the "target format".  It also asks for compression level... what is that about?  I guess I should select 8 (best)?  Will those be files of managable size?

[earmonger]

Executive summary: Save your .wav in an archive, unchanged.  For distribution, convert to 320kbps .mp3.

------------------
Some explanations:

The best mp3 is 320 kbps=kilobits per second. That's about 2.3 MB per minute.

Mp3 compresses a file--makes it smaller--by throwing away information.  A .wav file on a CD is 1411 kbps, kilobits per second.  So the mp3 has discarded a lot of information, and the more it compresses, the lower the fidelity.

But given those absolute numbers, the quality of mp3 sound is actually quite good, because it is designed to discard the least crucial parts of the waveform first, the parts you rarely notice.  And 320 kbps sounds fine to a lot of people.

Mp3 is called "lossy" compression, because you lose fidelity. There is also lossless compression--the FLAC format--which gives you files smaller than .wav files without losing fidelity. (How, given the numbers? Magic, as far as I am concerned.) Audiophiles like FLAC, and so do the online tapers' trading sites. However, FLAC files are larger than .mp3 files and an average listener may not have a player that plays them.

Processing means anything you want to do to the files--including, for instance, chopping a rehearsal recording into separate songs.

 If you just want quick and dirty, you don't have to do anything. And for your archives, you don't want to do anything. You want to save the original, unprocessed recording. You only want to process a copy, not the original, because presumably the original is the highest fidelity. (Though of course simply editing a long recording into separate songs doesn't change the fidelity.)

But there are an infinity of things you can do in processing. Suppose you were running at a rehearsal, had a false start, and then plunged into the song. You can edit out the false start. Or suppose you record a live set, and there's applause in between songs, and you want to distribute one song. You could make the track fade in on the applause from the previous song and fade out on the applause at the end, for a smoother listening experience.

Soundforge has all kinds of effects available, most of which you hardly need for live recordings. Regardless,  you never want to apply effects to your original or archive copy--only to a separate copy.

[Javier Cinakowski]

I would recommend the gentleman above record at 24/44.1 instead of 24/48. Even with a decent preamp and a good pair of mics, very little is captured above 20k of which 44.1 handles just fine.  44.1 is also more compatible with MP3.  (yes 48k is compatible with mp3 standard, but some players and decoders resampsle to 44.1 anyway...)

Frankly, I really don't see the point in running 48.  My mics barely go above 18k and my playback isn't rated above 20k either.  Even if I can afford a super awesome playback someday, I still won't be able to capture anything above 44.1 with my current equipment anyway.  I do appreciate the headroom (more accurately floor-room) of the 24bit, though I don't think it sounds any better than a 16bit file that had proper levels set...

[aaronji]

My favorite site to upload files for downloading is fyels.com . Each file can be up to 11gigs!

Very nice!  Thanks for the heads-up.  Just used it at work to easily distribute a large file to a bunch of colleagues too...

[newplanet7]

What do you mean by "processed"?

I figured since you had soundforge(which is what I use) you would be adding volume because you ran your levels conservatively(use peak normalization) or possibly some other tweeks to the sound and then saving the processed file to later track out.
It's always a good idea to save the original file if the material means a lot to you.
A great program to split tracks is cdwave, which most of us use.

[Belexes]

I always save my raw file and then the file I did my tweaks to.  You never know when you may want to go back to that original file.