Thank you very much for both responses. I looked at the first item and will look at this next.
If it's not inconvenient, could you expand briefly on what kind of audio interface you are speaking of? This is all quite new to me, and I'm as yet unclear on what I should be looking for. (I don't know -- yet -- how such a set up hangs together.)
Audacity I'm passingly familiar with and think I can further figure out.
P.S. I'm also looking and can probably figure out on my own. So no worries if it's not convenient -- this already gives me a/the direction to look in.
P.P.S. Browsing Amazon now with the browser that does not have NoScript, I see links to interface products appearing on those pages. Operating on 5 hours of sort of sleep, here...
There's all sorts of more expensive interfaces (and microphones) that you can buy, but for what you're describing, they likely wouldn't help much. I don't think you're needing to do professional foley recording of your furnace for a major motion picture. :-)
So in sum, if you went the separate interface/microphone route, you'd have something like:
- microphone sitting on microphone stand, say, eighteen inches away from the furnace. If you don't know exactly where the sound is coming from, set the stand so the mic is about half-way up the height of the furnace.
- XLR cable running from microphone to audio interface
- audio interface connected to your computer via USB or FireWire or whatever cable (based on your selection of interface)
- For that particular microphone, it needs to be powered by the interface, so press the 48v button on the interface to activate the power to the mic.
You'll need to adjust the input knobs and such on the interface ensure getting adequate audio signal. I can't tell you exactly what to set it to without being familiar with the particulars, but it shouldn't be hard to figure out. (You can record digital audio at a very low level and it still turns out usable, but if you record too high, it clips, and is pretty much ruined. So favor too quiet rather than too loud, if you're not sure, and boost the level in Audacity, if needed.)
I ordered the USB microphone with next day shipping (a bit excessive, but that will ensure it's here in time for our next major transition to colder weather).
If that doesn't do well enough, I'll follow up with the microphone that requires a separate interface. This gives me a little more time to investigate those details and to talk myself into the $200 or so.
Thanks again, so much. I knew there must be good choices out there, but wading in with zero knowledge felt kind of overwhelming, especially on top of the stress of the circumstances.
Years ago, people would tell me I should do voice acting (voice-overs -- whatever the right term is). (I never really heard that, in my own voice.) Who knows, maybe I'm inadvertently on the cusp of my new career.
If it's not inconvenient, could you expand briefly on what kind of audio interface you are speaking of? This is all quite new to me, and I'm as yet unclear on what I should be looking for. (I don't know -- yet -- how such a set up hangs together.)
Audacity I'm passingly familiar with and think I can further figure out.
P.S. I'm also looking and can probably figure out on my own. So no worries if it's not convenient -- this already gives me a/the direction to look in.
P.P.S. Browsing Amazon now with the browser that does not have NoScript, I see links to interface products appearing on those pages. Operating on 5 hours of sort of sleep, here...