Audio Recording

[Mike Falgout]

I currently record audio narration on videotape using my camera's audio input. (mic-XLR) I am interested in researching information on what hardware is necessary to record narrations directly on my computer hard drive. I have a Mackie mixer. I've seen the window come up in FCP a few times and tried unsuccessfully to config. Any info on this would be appreciated!

[Ben Balser, ACT]

The Mackie mixer set up in FCP is to use the mixer as a control surface for FCP, it has to support the Mackie protocol, which not all mixers do. Not even all Mackie mixers, and that is just to control the faders and stuff in FCP. You still need an interface to change the mixer's analog signal into a digital one to go into your computer, which is not the function of a mixing board. Here's some suggestions.

You can get one of the top end USB microphones, which are nice. They plug directly into your computer's USB port, and these have great quality sound.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AT2020USB/
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/C01UCW/

Use them with a pop filter, the proper sound environment, and you're good to go.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PopFilter6/

There's also the Apogee Duet, which rocks, letting you use a professional grade microphone. This option let's you input just about anything; mics, guitars, etc. I'd recommend a really good quality microphone. Spend money on it, call Jason at Sweetwater sound. Cause mic quality make all the difference in the world for VO work.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Duet/

People are blown away with the quality of VO sound I get, even seasoned VO professionals. But they're all used to videographers using wireless lavs and cheap mics. I spent money on top quality, studio grade, professional mics, and it makes ALL the difference in the world. No wireless lav or cheap mic will get the pristine quality I get, they just never will. It's like using the built in MPEG video recorder in your point and shoot consumer camera to film a whole wedding video.

This one is at a HUGE sale price for the moment. I use it, love it. It is hand held, which means holding it, you won't get the ruffling sounds of you hand against the body of the mic.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/E835/

And this one is even better, but not hand held, it has to be in a really professional mic holder. It's a studio mic, and will pick up the sounds of your hand against the body really easily. But it's much more sensitive and will give you top quality sound, though. You'd want to put this in a shock mount on a really good quality, solid mic stand.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/E865/

Then, how it's handled in post, EQ, Compression, Normalization, Reverb, etc, will also make or break your VO work. But, if it's from a cheap mic to start with, you'll never get it to sound not-cheap.

[Mike Falgout]

Ben...as always, thanks for the information. A couple of questions on the Duet. In the product specs, it indicates 2 XLR inputs but the cable serial interface in the picture looks like 2 RCA and 2 1/4" females. Does the unit come with the serial interface with XLR females? Also, I use a Neumann BCM 104 studio mic for my voice narration recordings. I have a switch on the back of my camera's XLR audio input that I need to put on +48V in order to power it. I noticed that the Duet states -48V. Is there a difference? Also, I am assuming that FCP or Soundtrack Pro will recognized the Duet when connected or is there a software installation? Thanks again!

[Ben Balser, ACT]

Actually, it states +48v phantom power (and industry standard, phantom power is the same on every single piece of audio equipment made, there are no versions of it, just 48v phantom power, period), and a -10v output for self powered speakers. The I/O's of the Duet are very nice, and it does have XLR's for mic inputs (female). Not sure how you're combining "serial" with XLR, as those two terms are not related. Does not matter what application you use, the Mac OS see's the Duet as a legitimate audio input, and will route that to any app you open that accepts hardware audio inputs.

The cable input is not "serial", drop that term, nothing "audio" is "serial", that's an IT term. The audio interface is actually a "breakout" box type of interface, a cable that splits into 3 different "pairs" of I/O. One of which are female XLRs. It's plug and play, no real software to install, AFAIK.

Give Jason at Sweetwater a call, he can answer all of your questions in more detail. And they're on sale now, so this is a great time to get one of these puppies. Remember, the Apogee Duet is a top shelf PROFESSIONAL piece of hardware, this is not a cheap toy for joeblow consumer! This is used by industry professionals!

[Brian Marsolan]

I use the voiceover utility in FCP. What do you mean by narrations? Are you saying you just want to record audio without video?

[Mike Falgout]

Yes. "Voice Over" narratives is what I was referring to. I'm familiar with the FCP utility. Sometime ago I attempted to config an output from my Mackie Mixer and route into the Hard Drive but I was unable to get it to work. After researching, it looks like the "Duet" Ben was referring to is a great tool for this. How is your system set up?

[Ben Balser, ACT]

Mike, "how" were you connecting the mixer to the computer?

FCP's Voice Over tool is OK, but not the best, as it does not give you the sweetening ability you get in STP. I use QT Pro to record my VO's (narration and VO are two words for the same thing), then bring it into Audacity or STP to sweeten it.

Brian, what we're talking about is the physical device that takes the mic signal and converts it to a digital signal that goes into the computer, not the software that records that signal. And yes, recording audio without video.

Mike, call Sweetwater Sound, 800-222-4700, Jason's extension is 1389. Tell him Ben Balser from Louisiana sent you, he knows me very well. He'll give you all the info you need and not ask for sale. No pressure from SS, best customer support around, you can't beat them. You can save a couple of bucks (not much) by going else where, but if something goes wrong, no one will take care of you like SS! I think it's worth the extra $5 on their prices. Jason is a very experienced sound guy, been doing this for years, and has been working with me on video/broadcast sound for YEARS. He can answer your "product specific" questions better than I.

[Mike Falgout]

Ben...sorry for being ambiguous but regarding the config: It was a while back but what I think I did was attempt to route through my "feeder deck" (Panasonic DCPro50 which has XLR inputs) thinking the firewire connection would be recognized by FCP, or STP. No dice.

A question...when recording your VO's, does FCP assign a Timecode reference on the digital file?

thanks, Mike

[Ben Balser, ACT]

1- Firewire is firewire, and FCP only recoginizes it for what it is, a live stream from a deck. So, no, that would not work for audio mixing. You're computer has no way of knowing what is connected to the deck on the other side, just that it's a video deck.

2- Yes, TC gets assigned to everything FCP records. But, TC for audio AIFF files is not the same as TC for video files. Audio is not timed the same as video. There are no "frames" in audio, only samples per second, that's all.

[Ben Balser, ACT]

Also, as I'm looking at these options, seriously consider this much more affordable device, also! It's the PreSonus AudioBox USB. I use the PreSonus Firestudio Project for my larger audio needs (8 inputs), and love it. So, this one, which has great user reviews, would be nice for smaller 1 or 2 mic setups, portable, etc. And only $150.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AudioBoxUSB/reviews/#anchor

[Ben Balser, ACT]

One last note here, to correct something I typed too fast.
XLR line levels can be +4 dBu, -10 dBv, or straight.
Phantom power is +48V.

The difference between the PrSonus and Apogee units, is the quality of the pre-amps and analog to digital converters. Yes, the Apogee does have $350 worth of better quality circuitry. But for most videographers, if you're on a budget, the PreSonus will do just fine.

I use the Apogee, the software gives you tons of control, and you can save settings for repeated identical set up quick and easy. Either unit will work with any software that uses Core Audio units (which pretty much all do).