Recording acoustic guitar + vocals using webcam and mic?

[Rivers]

Does anyone have any recommendations as to what kind of equipment I should be purchasing? I am trying to get a setup that would allow me to webcam record me singing and playing the guitar at the same time, then have it uploaded to youtube.

If it helps, I have a M-Audio MobilePre unit lying around (believe it provides phantom power). Don't have to use it though, but just thought I should mention.

I am wondering if I should be getting:
1. Logitech Pro C920 Webcam
2. I hear the C920 mics' pick up the guitar sounds too loudly and will overpower the vocals. If so, what mic should I be getting and how would it connect up to the webcam or PC? No plans on running the guitar through the amp as I prefer the guitar's natural sound. Open to getting a usb mic as well!
3. Any other stuff I should be getting?

Plan is to hopefully have everything plugged into my PC and then have the logitech software do the recording?

Is this even possible? Budget is under $250 preferably.

[Neal Pert]

Buy one of those Zoom video recorders, whatever you can afford. The mics and video are great-- WAY better than what you'd get with a web cam-- and you can record anywhere it sounds good. Easy upload capabilities.

[muscmp]

Originally Posted by Neal Pert

Buy one of those Zoom video recorders, whatever you can afford. The mics and video are great-- WAY better than what you'd get with a web cam-- and you can record anywhere it sounds good. Easy upload capabilities.

good point about recording the guitar's natural sound rather than electrifying it. i like that method also.

fran guidry may chime in here but, i have the zoom zi8 and it works great. you may want to do a search of the forum to see some of his past threads on this subject. doing a search prior is always a good idea anyway.

play music!

[Ty Ford]

Something else to look at......

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...8631/KBID/9745

Regards,

Ty Ford

[Fran Guidry]

Originally Posted by muscmp

good point about recording the guitar's natural sound rather than electrifying it. i like that method also.

fran guidry may chime in here but, i have the zoom zi8 and it works great. you may want to do a search of the forum to see some of his past threads on this subject. doing a search prior is always a good idea anyway.

play music!

I will chime in to point out that the Zi8 is by Kodak and not Zoom <grin>.

Fran

[Fran Guidry]

Originally Posted by Rivers

Does anyone have any recommendations as to what kind of equipment I should be purchasing? I am trying to get a setup that would allow me to webcam record me singing and playing the guitar at the same time, then have it uploaded to youtube.

If it helps, I have a M-Audio MobilePre unit lying around (believe it provides phantom power). Don't have to use it though, but just thought I should mention.

I am wondering if I should be getting:
1. Logitech Pro C920 Webcam
2. I hear the C920 mics' pick up the guitar sounds too loudly and will overpower the vocals. If so, what mic should I be getting and how would it connect up to the webcam or PC? No plans on running the guitar through the amp as I prefer the guitar's natural sound. Open to getting a usb mic as well!
3. Any other stuff I should be getting?

Plan is to hopefully have everything plugged into my PC and then have the logitech software do the recording?

Is this even possible? Budget is under $250 preferably.

Webcams (in my experience) deliver a very low frame rate. The result is a bit of motion blur and lack of detail in the video. Audio is limited by the mic placement and the fact that the mic system is designed for voice intelligibility rather than fidelity. But I did some videos on my Logitech Pro 9000 webcam a few years ago, and I was able to capture the audio through my recording interface, which was a noticeable improvement.

I see reviews of the C920 that indicate it's much better quality than the Pro 9000 model I used, so my experience may not apply directly. But if at all possible try to arrange a comparison so you can see the quality of the 920 vs the Zoom Q2HD, which will provide the webcam function as well as recording.

Fran

[SteveHung]

I'm not much of an A/V expert, but for youtube videos and such I have a pretty basic setup where I use my laptop's built-in webcam, m-audio pre mobile usb, and a behringer C-1 mic. Here's the type of video you can get from this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EshOlJRNiXY

[muscmp]

Originally Posted by Fran Guidry

I will chime in to point out that the Zi8 is by Kodak and not Zoom <grin>.

Fran

thanks, fran. i got too many zzzzz sounds going!