How to Start Recording Audio on Your PC
In this multi-media, internet-dependent, YouTube-watching age, the ability to create your own audio has never been more important...nor so easy. If you have never produced audio before, now is the time to get started. And I do mean NOW, as in today! Most of you may not have the money necessary for a professional recording studio, which usually costs between and per hour! And that's just fine. Because home recording is fun, can be profitable, and you probably have all the gear you're going to need already. You'd be shocked at the quality you can get on home recordings produced this way, as long as you have a few bits of key knowledge.
The first step to getting started in recording your own voice for a podcast, video narration, voice-over, audio book, etc. is to have a computer (with a soundcard), a microphone, headphones/ear-buds, and recording software. Any PC (a Mac is still a personal computer isn't it?) will do an excellent job as long as it was manufactured in the last decade. If you have a computer with a bunch of RAM, as well as a fast processor, things will, of course, be a bit faster and smoother. But again, you'd be surprised how much you can do with very little in the way of computing power. Audio does take up a fair amount of hard drive space (though nothing compared to video!), so keep that in mind as well. It will probably be helpful to have an external drive to back up your audio files from time-to-time.
A microphone is also a necessity for recording your own voice on the PC, but there are plenty to choose from that all work a bit differently. If you were to ask your local music store guy what kind of microphone (or "mic," for short) you need for home recording, you're likely to walk out of the store with hundreds of dollars less than you walked in with. But you may not need "that much car!" I strongly urge you to start out with a really cheap one; and I do mean cheap...as in those .00 plastic PC mics....uh huh! When you know what kind of quality is possible with an inexpensive mic, you will be much better off when it comes time to upgrade....if you ever decide you even NEED to upgrade.
Once your computer equipment is set up and ready to go, you will need recording software to make your recording. Some excellent programs are available as shareware and even FREEWARE (hint-hint) and should be given a try before spending a lot of money on commercial software choices. As with the mic, you should begin with the inexpensive stuff. I highly recommend Audacity, which is open-source software (as in, it costs no money), and is unbelievably powerful for a program that does what it does. No, I don't have any affiliation with Audacity. I'm just a satisfied customer!
Whichever recording software program you decide to use, the process is pretty-much the same. You plug your mic into the pink input on your computer's soundcard, stick some headphones (with the small pin, like for you iPod) into the green output (you may need to unplug your speakers for that, which is fine), click the "record" button in the software, and you're off to the races! Yeah, there is some set-up in the software, as with any program. But honestly, its just about that easy! So what are you waiting for?
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