Okay, so after reading through different threads and researching about different kinds of gears that I'm going to use in this course, I was finally able to put up a simple setup. Something that I hope will suffice and enable me to create something beautiful, or at the very least, palatable. :D
Speaker/Monitor - Dausen Headphones
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| Dausen headphones, foldable for your convenience |
A classmate posted something about a sale on headphones in Lazada. I checked it out and thought maybe this can be a good monitor, and with a super sale price, I was sold. Good thing that Lazada offered cash on delivery, that way I won't have to use any credit card to purchase online. This was the second time I purchased an item over the Internet (the first one was a pair of shoes from Zalora, another online shop). I'm enjoying the added convenience of shopping online, since I can't find the time to go to the mall to buy stuff I needed. Plus, the discount is just irresistible.
Microphone - Zoom H1 Handy Recorder
It took me a while to find a good microphone for recording. There were a lot of discussions about the microphones, and there's just too much information to process. I narrowed down my choices between a Samson USB Meteor Mic and the Samson Q1U-CW, although I'm leaning more towards the Meteor Mic since this seems to be the popular choice among the class.
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| Samson USB Meteor Mic (image from soundcorp.com.au) |
But then, I thought it would be better to have a stand alone recorder, since this can be more functional in the long run. I can record office meetings, and also use it for future projects, like video making. The Zoom H1 Recorder seems to be a good choice, but with the cost of 6,800 pesos at channel.com.ph, this is something way out of the budget.
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| Zoom H1 Handy Recorder, works as USB mic too! |
However, a classmate told me that there's a shop in Singapore where Zoom H1 is offered at only 130 SGD. That's about 4,390 pesos (at 33 pesos per SGD), quite cheaper than the listed price of channel.com.ph. I beggged, pleaded, coerced, and bargained with the wife (who is currently working in SG) to buy me one and ship it through LBC. Shipping was at 18 SGD (594 pesos), so still, it is way cheaper.
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| Thanks to my ever supportive wife. She's not a professional singer, though. (Photo grabbed from her FB page) |
Software - Wave Lab LE / Audacity
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| Screenshot of WaveLab LE |
The Zoom H1 came with a free copy of Wave Lab LE software. I will also be using Audacity for audio processing, since I'm a fan of open-source softwares. Processing will be done using my trusty Asus laptop, or in the office desktop, which is a lot faster than my laptop.
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| Dausen headphones and Zoom H1 Recorder |
Basically, the Zoom H1 will be recording either directly into the computer (when used as a USB mic) or into the microSD card (when used as a stand-alone recording device). The recorder has a 3.5mm jack, where the Dausen headphones can be connected. The recorded sound can then be downloaded to the workstation for further processing.
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| Signal Flow of My Recording Setup (mindmap created from www.bubbl.us) |
There goes my setup. I hope I can make something good out of it.
