Recording audio only

I

Inveresk

Well-known member
I need some advice on audio recording. Among my several hats I have one of a politician and we want to start recording all our public meetings for uploading online. We piloted video recordings but its overkill. Admin. staff obtained a spec. for the hardware we need that I have doubts about although I'm no pro. Here is the spec and my comments. Can I ask what would be a good system to put together that would be reasonably priced and portable? We hold our public meetings in different halls and so something fairly compact is preferable. This is the spec recommended to staff. My comments are below.

  • A 500 GB external hard drive to archive and transfer video files from local office to head office.
  • A MacPro computer (or similar) to direct the disk video recording and to upload to the video host website.
  • Final Cut Pro editing software (or similar) to complete post-production work (i.e. segmenting, audio processing)
  • Peavey VMP.2 Tube Mic PreAmp and2 Senheisser ME 80 microphones. Miscellaneous cables, stands and connectors. Backup gear including 4-Channel Audio Tecnica 4462 field mixer, Yamaha 16-Channel Audio Mixer, 2-AKG C1000, Shure 57 and 58 as well as other microphones.

I doubt we need six mics. We generally have a top table where two mics would do. We need a mic at a dais where the public address the committee and we need one mic to pick up speakers in the audience. The hall isn't big, maybe up to 50 people.
I'm not sure what we'd need in the way of preamps and mixers but I do know the AT 4662 is several years old and, I believe, discontinued.
The macbook pro is something the office could do with anyway but would a separate hard drive also be needed? I would have thought we could record to the MacBook and transfer files to SDXC cards for getting to head office. We do have meetings that last all day but I can record them on a Tascam DR 40 with 64GB SDXC card and still leave room to spare.
How about preamps, mixers and field mixers? Would we get away without a separate hard drive?
On software, Final Cut Pro seems like overkill for audio only. Would garageband work? If not, is there audio only software that would be better the FCP X?
We'd need C stands and cables.

Any comments and/or advice would be appreciated.
 
Thats a lot of stuff.

If you want to have multiple channels (say 6) and want it to to be portable, a decent field recorder like a Tascam 680 would do the trick, since it has good preamps. There are a few others that would give you 4 channels at a similar price. You could add a small mixer like a Mackie DFX, but you might get by without. Unless you want a dedicated computer, most anything will do; Mac or PC. You will need a sd card reader. yes on the external drive, but preferably a small Raid for better security. FCP is overkill. A very basic audio software is all that is needed, even something like a free version of Audacity. SM58 mics would do OK, but others might have better suggestion. One thought would be to have a channel of wireless for a pass around mic.

Not sure what you need for public process protocol, but the list you got is not a very good one.

Grant
 
Your biggest issue is going to be a shocking amount of room sound - reflections/reverb. The only way to avoid it in your situation is to close-mic any speaker, which may be a huge hassle.
 
The list you have is based on video.
500G harddrive is silly small and except in a laptop size is not redily available. I would be aiming at one or two Terabytes. That would cost maybe $150USD.
Mac Pro is not portable and is over kill for audio only. If you want to be portable MBP.

You could go with a separate recorder as others have pointed out but since you need a system to proses, edit and up load anyway then getting a mixer with a USB2 or FireWire that can connect to the laptop makes sense. You can use BOOM RECORDER to capture and have a lot of options for editing.
FCP is a VERY bad choice for doing sound. STP isn't a great choice either so I would stay away from FCS all together for a sound only production.
Pro Tools is an option but Nuendo and Logic are also possible.

Garage Band might work, but it's not the ideal choice.

You could also go with a Windows setup but I'm guessing that a Mac was specked either because that is what your city uses or because that is what the person who will be doing this is familiar with.

If the above are not the case then as much as I am a Mac guy I would stick with the OS your people know. The tools you will be using are available on pretty much any platform (not nec the same product but the same functionality). There is no "magic" that Apple brings to the table so it only makes sense if people already know the OS.
 
Thanks for the replies.

The wireless mic suggestion (Grant) is a good one. One wireless mic passable around the hall would be really useful. I checked out on Tascam's web site the rest of the suggested hardware and prices look reasonable. I saw on the web site mention of the Tascam US - 800 computer audio interface and wondered about this as an option when working with a laptop. Is this the type of device you were suggesting, SK?

http://tascam.com/product/us-800/

Incidentally, I checked out Audacity and it's an excellent suggestion. I've just edited a recording I took of the last committee meeting and the programme is intuitive, appears to have all the necessary tools and is easy to learn.
 
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If your dealing with a 'portable' system, I would suggest a dedicated audio recorder. (Tascam DR-40 or 100 type) fed by a mixer... possibly an auto-mixer (Shure 410/810) if unattended recording is the case. If it needs to feed a PA system also, that's another set-up issue?
The wireless H/H mic is a good idea, but not being connected to a PA would be confusing to many, as would a podium and table mics for that matter. It's difficult enough to get folks to talk into a mic even with a PA.
i dealt with these issues recording professional org. legal seminars for 'quite a while' with on site audiences ranging from 50 to 500. Many of the recordings were 'audio-only' others were multi-camera live switched. The cameras didn't change the audio set-up much. I mixed everything 'on-the-fly'. A single person speaking from the podium was easy, the all-day panel discussions were not.
While the multi-track recorder idea is good, I doubt it would practical in your situation.
 
If you intend to record directly to a laptop, then take a look at the Motu Traveler Mk3 firewire interface. It has a lot of options for mobile recording including being able to run on remote firewire power from a MBPro or other 12vdc options if you need a no AC power option. The newer usb mixers might be a good choice as well. Once again, Mackie would be a good choice for a mixer. The question you may want to ask is, do I want to mix all the mics down to one track, or record each mic into separate tracks. The Traveler can do 8 distinct tracks but is only an interface, not a recorder. The Traveler can output each track and a mix at the same time. The DR680 can record 6 tracks and do a mix as well. If you use the typical music mixer, or record to a two track recorder, you will be limited to how you mix it real time. Not a real right answer for this, it comes down to what you want for an end product, but there are implications. For a wireless setup you might look at the Sennheiser G3 with plug-on option. Note that for every mic, you will need some type of stand, cable etc.

Hope all that made sense, if not ask.

Grant
 
Some good ideas and options to consider. I need a further discussion with staff since they'll be operating the system. I appreciate the input and am grateful for the help received through the forum. Thank you.
 
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