I want to record my voice

[Guest]

My computer has the following, I believe;

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim4600/en/4600/sm/index.htm
My goal is to speak to a cd using Sonic 6.5 or windows if it will do it.
Thank you the time

 

[Chris Laarman]

Grampy Pete ([email protected]) in
(e-mail address removed):

My computer has the following, I believe;

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim4600/en/4600/sm/index.htm
My goal is to speak to a cd using Sonic 6.5 or windows if it will do
it. Thank you the time

I would split the process into recording (to the hard disk) and burning (to
a CD).

Recording can be done using any "wave editor" you may have, but not the
Windows Sound Recorder, as it is limited to one minute per recording.
A versatile and free program is Audacity, http://audacity.sourceforge.net/.
It can also be used to remove noise, cut errors etc.

Before burning consider how you want the CD to behave: as a proper audio CD
or as a data CD. The latter allows MP3 and other file formats, the former
only WAV files of "CD quality": stereo, 16-bits sampling accuracy, 44100 Hz
sampling rate. (These WAV files then get renamed to CDA.)

 

[Guest]

I believe I download Audacity after I have installed my mic. and now can
record my voice to my hard drive sort of like sending pictures to 'my pix'.
I then would use Sonic to record the voice I have created in 'my sounds'.
Now I am a bit confused b/c of limited knowledge. I want to record my
speaking voice to learn a new language so what format should I use? I am not
fussy about quality but want as much room as possible.
Thank you

 

[Chris Laarman]

Grampy Pete ([email protected]) in
(e-mail address removed):

I believe I download Audacity after I have installed my mic. and now
can record my voice to my hard drive sort of like sending pictures to
'my pix'. I then would use Sonic to record the voice I have created
in 'my sounds'. Now I am a bit confused b/c of limited knowledge. I
want to record my speaking voice to learn a new language so what
format should I use? I am not fussy about quality but want as much
room as possible.

I would record as uncompressed WAV, then after choosing what to keep
compress to MP3.

I think that some software can compress on the fly, but I think that doing
it as a post-recording job is more efficient.

Likewise, consider storing your MP3 files until you can burn a batch of them
onto a Data CD. (Many newer players can play MP3, even my cheap television
with built-in DVD player can.)
You'll get some ten hours of sound onto a CD if you use "CD quality", and
more if you sacrifice quality (stereo»mono, lower sampling rate; I would not
use 8-bit accuracy.)

Do experiment!

 

[Guest]

This is what I needed-thank you.
I am going to follow thru with the voice to cd but had an incidental
question, if I may; It is easier to record to my cassette and just plug in
ear plugs ,BUt, I do want to learn both ways for learnings sake and to
utilize both.
Would putting my cassette with my voice turned on and next to the mic do
the job of sending voice to pc or is there a better way? I have several
loaded cassettes + the transfer would be helpful, if possible.

 

[Chris Laarman]

Grampy Pete ([email protected]) in
(e-mail address removed):

This is what I needed-thank you.
I am going to follow thru with the voice to cd but had an incidental
question, if I may; It is easier to record to my cassette and just
plug in ear plugs ,BUt, I do want to learn both ways for learnings
sake and to utilize both.
Would putting my cassette with my voice turned on and next to the
mic do the job of sending voice to pc or is there a better way? I
have several loaded cassettes + the transfer would be helpful, if
possible. --

Yes, there is a far better way than playing back the cassette tape in front
of a microphone.

You were wise to send a link to the description of your computer.
According to these data your computer has a Line In audio connector. Your
cassette recorder likely had a Line Out. Connect these. If your cassette
recorder only has a Headphones Out, this will have to do - but it will take
you some trying of settings to get the best sound quality. I still recommend
it over loudspeaker-and-microphone.

Once you have your recordings transferred (and backed up!), I'd encourage
you to explore your audio software. You may be able to remove noise from
these cassette recording and to maximize the output volume (the latter is
called "normalizing"). This likely makes listening back a greater pleasure.

If you're using software like Audacity, try other things for fun, like pitch
shift.
This home page of mine will disappear shortly:
http://home.hccnet.nl/v.c.laarman/. It has my voice on it: pitch-shifted and
with a deliberate bathroom reverb.
(I recorded it straightly into my PC in my living-room, probably using the
headset you see.)


Note: If you don't have a matching audio cable, you'll have to invest in
one, if the plugs are different probably in both a "straight" cable and a
short conversion piece. I say "invest" instead of "buy", because this small
purchase will prove useful over the years.

 

[Guest]

That is amazing! Thanx also for the information as I'm getting the idea about
lines in and out.