What is a good recorder for creating an audiobook - Page 2

BookCat · 12-12-2010, 11:47 AM

Podcasting for Dummies is available at Amazon (I've just checked).

From my experience of making youtube vids, the amount of editing required depends upon how competent - and confident, your speaking is. For example, if you tend to trip over words lots, or get at all muddled, then the editing will be considerable. On the other hand, if you have the clear, confident speech of a newsreader, your breathing is regular and the mic is properly positioned so that it doesn't catch any PTH sounds (try saying Peter Piper etc then She sells sea shells etc and listen to the playback), then the editing will be minimal.

Of course, there's a huge difference in the length of an audiobook and a youtube vid!

M T McGuire · 12-12-2010, 04:09 PM

Thinking of doing the same thing myself, there's nowhere to put the eggboxes though and I live on a busy main road... although we do have a cellar, which deadens a lot of the noise (when the boiler's off). Anyone else living downtown tried the DIY approach or should I just drive to the top of a hill and record it in the car? ;-)

Cheers

MTM

BookCat · 12-13-2010, 04:17 AM

M T try recording very late at night when there's little traffic or noise outside. Unless, of course, you live in a 24/7 lively neighbourhood.

It helps if you don't start ZZzzzz while recording!

John Carroll · 12-13-2010, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Lake

Ya know, we've been going on about this long enough, and with our combined experience, that I'm half tempted to pile all this knowledge together and write a tutorial, or at the very least, a wiki entry.

This is actually a really good idea! I did a search for it and didn't find out very much information. There are all sorts of different pricepoints for recorders and ways of recording that I've seen from looking at many of these links.

A list of places to host and sell the audiobooks would be useful too. I've seen a couple, but nothing as good as smashwords is for ebooks.

John Carroll · 12-13-2010, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M T McGuire

Thinking of doing the same thing myself, there's nowhere to put the eggboxes though and I live on a busy main road... although we do have a cellar, which deadens a lot of the noise (when the boiler's off). Anyone else living downtown tried the DIY approach or should I just drive to the top of a hill and record it in the car? ;-)

Cheers

MTM

Driving to the top of a hill and recording it in the car might be kind of nice, maybe even add to the atmosphere.

ebusinesstutor · 12-14-2010, 05:50 PM

Great ideas here. I will just add that if you need a portable method of recording, such as recording stories/anectodes from others, the Zoom redorders are excellent.

Got my wife one for when she is out jamming with her Native American flute.

dadioflex · 12-16-2010, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Carroll

Driving to the top of a hill and recording it in the car might be kind of nice, maybe even add to the atmosphere.

THAT sounds like the start of a horror story. Driving up to the lonely hill in the dead of night to get the perfect recording. but getting distracted by the noises outside. Get out of the car to see what's causing the strange scratching... there's nothing there. Returns to the car to complete the recording, but on returning home... what's THAT on the recording?...

John Carroll · 12-16-2010, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dadioflex

THAT sounds like the start of a horror story. Driving up to the lonely hill in the dead of night to get the perfect recording. but getting distracted by the noises outside. Get out of the car to see what's causing the strange scratching... there's nothing there. Returns to the car to complete the recording, but on returning home... what's THAT on the recording?...

Could be the start of a good murder mystery too. The author is reading out the murder mystery he wrote and he gets killed in exactly the same way. The detectives have the recording of his scream and try to analyze the background noises too.

Marseille · 12-22-2010, 01:43 PM

I can't give you actual experience, but one bias I'll have the next time I buy a portable recorder will be to get one with multiple mics and hardware noise cancellation. My TP2 has this tech to clear audio for speakerphone calls, and I like it there. The mic further away from the voice helps filter out non-voice noise. My favorite (not that I have, but that I want) bluetooth headset, the Voyager Pro, has similar tech to limit wind and background noise. An alternative solution that is probably more common is an omni-directional mic.

It's probably not a solution that prevents you from needing software for something like an audiobook, but it seems to me like it would be a nice helping hand. In some cases, a poorly designed system will affect voice quality as well as reducing background noise, so read reviews of any solution carefully.

M T McGuire · 12-24-2010, 09:45 AM

@dadioflex If you write it, let me know, I'd love to read it!

Cheers

MTM

Steven Lake · 12-26-2010, 05:33 PM

BTW, to John Carroll and the others, I'm still planning on doing that writeup on doing audiobooks. I just haven't had a chance to get to it yet, but I will soon. BTW, once it's written, if anyone wants to add to it, by all means please do. I also plan to add it to the wiki here, but I'm not sure what the rules are for that, or if it would even be allowed. I would think it would, as it could be added to an "author resources" section. But we'll see.

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12-12-2010, 11:47 AM	#16
BookCat C L J Posts: 2,911 Karma: 21115458 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Birmingham UK Device: Sony e-reader 505, Kindle PW2, Kindle PW3, Kobo Libra2	Podcasting for Dummies is available at Amazon (I've just checked). From my experience of making youtube vids, the amount of editing required depends upon how competent - and confident, your speaking is. For example, if you tend to trip over words lots, or get at all muddled, then the editing will be considerable. On the other hand, if you have the clear, confident speech of a newsreader, your breathing is regular and the mic is properly positioned so that it doesn't catch any PTH sounds (try saying Peter Piper etc then She sells sea shells etc and listen to the playback), then the editing will be minimal. Of course, there's a huge difference in the length of an audiobook and a youtube vid!

12-12-2010, 04:09 PM	#17
M T McGuire Addict Posts: 231 Karma: 1006970 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England Device: kindle	Thinking of doing the same thing myself, there's nowhere to put the eggboxes though and I live on a busy main road... although we do have a cellar, which deadens a lot of the noise (when the boiler's off). Anyone else living downtown tried the DIY approach or should I just drive to the top of a hill and record it in the car? ;-) Cheers MTM

12-13-2010, 04:17 AM	#18
BookCat C L J Posts: 2,911 Karma: 21115458 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Birmingham UK Device: Sony e-reader 505, Kindle PW2, Kindle PW3, Kobo Libra2	M T try recording very late at night when there's little traffic or noise outside. Unless, of course, you live in a 24/7 lively neighbourhood. It helps if you don't start ZZzzzz while recording!

12-14-2010, 05:50 PM	#21
ebusinesstutor Star Gawker Posts: 526 Karma: 6944314 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Spruce Grove, AB Canada Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Great ideas here. I will just add that if you need a portable method of recording, such as recording stories/anectodes from others, the Zoom redorders are excellent. Got my wife one for when she is out jamming with her Native American flute.

12-22-2010, 01:43 PM	#24
Marseille Guru Posts: 687 Karma: 5700000 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: kindle	I can't give you actual experience, but one bias I'll have the next time I buy a portable recorder will be to get one with multiple mics and hardware noise cancellation. My TP2 has this tech to clear audio for speakerphone calls, and I like it there. The mic further away from the voice helps filter out non-voice noise. My favorite (not that I have, but that I want) bluetooth headset, the Voyager Pro, has similar tech to limit wind and background noise. An alternative solution that is probably more common is an omni-directional mic. It's probably not a solution that prevents you from needing software for something like an audiobook, but it seems to me like it would be a nice helping hand. In some cases, a poorly designed system will affect voice quality as well as reducing background noise, so read reviews of any solution carefully.

12-24-2010, 09:45 AM	#25
M T McGuire Addict Posts: 231 Karma: 1006970 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England Device: kindle	@dadioflex If you write it, let me know, I'd love to read it! Cheers MTM

12-26-2010, 05:33 PM	#26
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,158 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	BTW, to John Carroll and the others, I'm still planning on doing that writeup on doing audiobooks. I just haven't had a chance to get to it yet, but I will soon. BTW, once it's written, if anyone wants to add to it, by all means please do. I also plan to add it to the wiki here, but I'm not sure what the rules are for that, or if it would even be allowed. I would think it would, as it could be added to an "author resources" section. But we'll see.

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