Recording Advice

[lar]

Hello,

I’m looking for some recording guidance/advice. I would like to record audio+video. Mainly so I can remember songs I’ve learned, and maybe also to post on this forum infrequently.

I do record audio now on my Digitech, using the AKG mic, but have no idea what to do with the SD card after that: i.e., what software to use to mix audio and video together. My setup (below) seems a bit cryptic and complex to me given the year is 2021 (especially the Digitech), but it does work. I wouldn’t mind buying a new stand-alone device if I can get good sound and it’s easy to use (like the recent mention of the Spire Studio, ~$500 – which is audio-only of course).

Do you have any suggestions/guidance on how I can proceed? I’ve been thinking about this for a while but I’m at a mental standstill (due to lack of knowledge).

Setup:
1) Acoustic guitar (no electronics)
2) An old AKG C3000b Condenser Microphone with a Nady phantom power supply
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/akg-c3000b
3) Digitech Jamman looper that stores audio on an SD memory card
https://www.amazon.com/DigiTech-Jamm...dp/B000ACGXFY/
4) Mac Laptop and a desktop PC
5) Iphone 6s (and a separate digital camera)

[rmp]

Glenn Willow on this forum has been very helpful in the past for me.

Maybe he'll see this and oblige!

[Doug Young]

You need some sort of video editor- nearly all will let you combine an audio track and video together and synchronize them. I use Final Cut on a Mac. iMovie works as well. I'm way out of date with any experience on Windows, but I think Windows Movie Maker will do it, if that still exists. Adobe Premiere and Sony Vegas are others. There are probably dozens if not hundreds of programs for windows.

What I do in Final Cut is record the video, which has audio from the camera, as well as the separate audio - I use a Zoom portable recorder usually, but you can use anything. I copy the audio and video SD cards to the computer, open them in Final Cut, and tell Final Cut to make them into a single clip. It handles the synchronization, and now I have video from the camera with the better sound from the audio recorder/mics.

[Rudy4]

Hi LAR,

Check this recent topic on economically making 1080 videos for Youtube:

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=617860

I've been playing with the process a bit, working toward simple and inexpensive methods.

I'm presently combining HD video shot with my Moto G6 smartphone and separate audio using Reaper on my PC. I also use my looper occasionally in the process. The process using a looper is outlined in my "How do YOU use a looper?" topic.

[TBman]

I think a few members use the Zoom Q8 to do videos. It has built in mics and two XLR inputs in the back for external mics.

If I were to try doing videos I'd probably go with this. I'm assuming it saves the videos to a flash drive card and you could probably do a direct transfer via usb to a computer too, as you can with other Zoom products, to edit in a DAW.

[RodB]

I do a process similar to that described by Doug, but just want to add that I load the SD card audio into a DAW first on my computer to make some basic processing of the audio. e. g. Trim, High-pass filter, adjust level, etc. There is free DAW version available from some software companies that are more than capable of doing this. I use Waveform.

This is then what I use to replace the original audio of the recorded video. A hand clap or similar, before starting to record, that can be cut out after sync of video and audio can help.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by rmp

Glenn Willow on this forum has been very helpful in the past for me.

Maybe he'll see this and oblige!

Thanks for the kind words, Ray.

Hi LAR,

I made a video below to show how I do my videos. I do the video and audio separately, as do most folks, to get the best of both worlds. Synching up the two audio and video systems is not hard using the method I show in the video. I use different microphones and preamps today, but the method shown in the video is still valid. I hope this might be helpful.



- Glenn

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by RodB

I do a process similar to that described by Doug, but just want to add that I load the SD card audio into a DAW first on my computer to make some basic processing of the audio. e. g. Trim, High-pass filter, adjust level, etc.

Yes, I do that as well, tho I sometimes wait until later. Logic, which is the DAW I use, can open a video file. I think Reaper does that as well, likely others, too. So I generally edit the video first, including selecting which of multiple takes, etc. Then once I'm happy with the visual part, I can open the final video in Logic, do any audio tweaking, EQ, add reverb, etc, and then export the movie. I can't edit the actual movie in Logic, but I can edit or even replace the audio. Saves me from putting in work on the audio before I look at the video and discover I was out of focus, or my head was cut off, or whatever...

This is then what I use to replace the original audio of the recorded video. A hand clap or similar, before starting to record, that can be cut out after sync of video and audio can help.

The hand clap's always a good idea, and Glenn's video looks like it demos that approach well. With Final Cut as well as Adobe Premiere, the software can sync any number of camera angles and audio file into a composite clip, even without the clap, tho it's still nice to be able to see it for visual confirmation. There's also a third party piece of software called PluralEyes that can do this for you - basically open the files in question, it lines them up for you and saved versions that are trimmed to match, so you can just load them into your video editor. The clap works great, just kind of fun to see the software do it for you, and it's also useful in cases where you may have multiple short clips, which I've had a few times when shooting other people with multiple cameras. The software can take a bunch of short clips that were started and stopped during the song and line them up correctly for you.

[gfirob]

+1 for Doug’s suggestion of Final Cut Pro X from Apple. This is very powerful program and will rise with you if you want to upgrade your progress and technique. I sometimes use it to edit picture and then work on the track in Apple Logic, but most of the time I just finish piece in Final Cut.

This is a technical universe that can accept very simple original material, or multi-camera production with all kinds of bells and whistles, depending on how you want to operate.

All system are limited by the quality of the original material, however, so shooting in the highest resolution you can is going to help you and paying careful attention to lighting and composition during the original shooting is quite important. That and a good mike. Garbage in, Garbage out.

Planning is important, and with double system sound (a separate recorder) some kind of hand clap or marker slate will make life a lot easier.

[anton]

Davinci Resolve is another video editor that runs on both Windows and Mac, and has a free version. I've been using that for my Youtube stuff, and its great, definitely a pro level piece of software.

I'd like to give Final Cut a try though, because I am on a Mac.

Like others I record audio and video separately and combine them in post. Definitely the way to get the best of both.

[phcorrigan]

Originally Posted by anton

Davinci Resolve is another video editor that runs on both Windows and Mac, and has a free version.

The only downside to DaVinci Resolve is that it is resource intensive, and a dedicated GPU with at least 4GB video RAM is recommended. I just added a 4GB Nvidia GPU just so I could use DaVinci.

Shotcut is also free, and doesn't require a dedicated GPU, but it is less capable. It runs on Linux, Mac, and Windows.

[lar]

OP here: Thanks for the replies. The learning process has begun.

I understand that that the process is:

Audio Recording (microphone) --> DAW --> Video Recorder <-- iphone video recording

So with that information, I decided to try Tracktion Waveform DAW. I recorded something on my guitar, on a Compact Flash (remember those?). Transferred it to my computer. Downloaded Waveform and watched some tutorials. And finally imported my recording and did some 'trimming'. Moderate success!

An now I'm stuck.

From other posts, reverb and a high pass filter (at around 30 hz) were recommended (the purpose of the DAW). I don't see either in Waveform. Do I need a 'Plug in'?

After some 'plug-in' hunting , I found that Tunefishv4 has filtering, but it's a synthesizer. Amplitube has reverb, but it probably isn't appropriate for acoustic (amp sounds), and it has no filtering.

Do I continue plug-in 'hunting'? If so, do you have any recommendations?

Thanks,
Lar

[phcorrigan]

[QUOTE=lar;6771998]From other posts, reverb and a high pass filter (at around 30 hz) were recommended (the purpose of the DAW). I don't see either in Waveform. Do I need a 'Plug in'?/QUOTE]

Waveform probably includes basic plugins, including a parametric equalizer, which will include a low-cut (also called high-pass) filter capability. If not, do a search for "free EQ plugins."

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by lar

From other posts, reverb and a high pass filter (at around 30 hz) were recommended (the purpose of the DAW). I don't see either in Waveform. Do I need a 'Plug in'?

A high pass filter is just an EQ with bass cut. Surely your DAW has something. Bt that is not required, it's just sort of common as a way to cut out low end noise, from traffic, air conditioners, your foot tapping, and so on. Like any EQ, it's just something you use if you need it. You may also want other EQ, depending on your track, how you want it to sound, and so on

Reverb is also optional, and seems like something any DAW would have, so look around. There are also tons of reverb plugins, assuming Waveform supports 3rd party plugins, some of which are very cheap or even free.

[robj144]

The Cakewalk DAW, which is 100% free, can load videos and export videos so audio and video can be combined. It's a solution if you're looking for a free alternative.

Likewise, Davinci, is primarily video, but has a sound editor too though it is not as powerful as Cakewalk. That's also free.

I have used both, and for primarily audio, I'd use Cakewalk. It's fairly straight forward.