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votes
What equipment do I need to record for streaming?
Hello!
I’m a musician that’s looking into recording video of myself as I’m playing at my home and then uploading it to YouTube. I was wondering if there were any users out there that do something similar and what type of setup you have/would suggest if there are. I play acoustic, no electronic pickup.
I appreciate any suggestions and hope everyone has a great day!
My advice would 100% be do not get a USB microphone like a Blue Yeti, Audio-Technica AT2020USB, RØDE NT-USB, or others. Yes, they can be convenient in that you have A/D conversion built in, but your quality will suffer and the equipment will also not usable in a practical way as you make incremental upgrades down the road.
You will want an audio interface, one or more microphones, and a DAW. I'm not sure of your budget, so I'll provide some examples at various pricing tiers. Keep in mind that when it comes to microphones, they are very much not a one-size-fits-all in the majority of cases and it will come down to personal preference as well as how your voice pairs with its frequency response and other specifications.
An audio interface does exactly what its name implies and allows your microphones/instruments to interface with your computer so that you are able to record inside of your chosen piece of software (in this case, a DAW for multitracking).
Anything above $600, you'll want to look at Universal Audio, RME, MOTU, Lynx, etc.
I'd usually advise against the UMC22 if you can afford to go for the UMC204HD/UMC404HD units instead, mostly because the conversion is a little worse and you only have the one microphone input. The biggest thing here is to look at how many inputs you need now as well as for the future. You don't want to be buying something that needs to end up being replaced as soon as you pick up another microphone.
Mirophones are a little trickier of a subject, because ideally with an acoustic guitar, you're going to want to record it in stereo. This is probably most commonly done with two SDC (Small Diaphragm Condenser) microphones in an X/Y configuration, but A/B, ORTF, Blumlein Pair, and mid-side setups are a few others. You might want to do some research into recording techniques for this area if you go with a multiple-micrphone setup.
If you're on a tight budget, get one fairly good LDC (Large Diaphragm Condenser) microphone. In recording, record your guitar first and then vocals separately. If you must record both simultaneously, you'll have to find a good position for picking up both (probably want to have more emphasis on your voice though). I know you mentioned not having an acoustic pickup, but you can get something like this and use it to blend in the direct input along with the microphone track as well.
If you can afford multiple microphones, your vocal mic will probably be a dynamic microphone since it is better at rejecting room reflection. That said, if you're in a well acoustically treated room during recording, a condenser mic is probably better.
Anything above $600 and you might want to look at AKG, Mojave, Neumann, Manley, etc. I just want to stress that more expensive doesn't necessarily mean "better", as the sound you are going for will be very subjective, and you can get by with cheaper equipment just fine depending on the applications. When it does mean better, you're still likely to run into diminishing returns.
Because you cannot use phantom power with dynamic microphones like you can with (most) condenser microphones, these mics tend to be much quieter. Depending on the audio interface you're going through and/or how much gain you need, you might want to look into and external preamp for dynamic mics. Note that this (probably) is not something that is necessary, but it may be something to look into for the future if you find you need more gain and/or the built-in preamps are too noisy for you on their own.
SDCs will be what you will most likely want to be using on acoustic instruments once you can afford them in your budget. They can be used for vocals and other applications too, but most times you'll want to use something else should you have the option.
Beyond this price range, Audio-Technica, Telefunken, Neumann, etc.
Do search around for the best pricing. Sweetwater, B&H, Adorama, Sam Ash, Thomann, and Amazon are great places to start looking.
Do feel free to buy used on places like Reverb, eBay, etc. Just make sure there's a seller profile system in place that you can view trustworthiness based on past sales to make sure you're not potentially getting scammed.
As for DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations), you have tons of options available to you that range from free, cheap, and expensive. You can get by with free-cheap quite easily.
Another free/cheap option is Ardour. It is free if you compile your own builds. $1 minimum donation for a pre-compiled build.
I personally use Reaper and think it is an amazing piece of software. That said, the interface is a little unconventional (but fairly customizable) and it isn't for everyone. It has a free 60 day evaluation period if you care to try it out.
If you want to look into more expensive options, check Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Studio One, Ableton Live, Cubase Pro, Propellerhead Reason, FL Studio, Bitwig Studio, and MOTU Digital Performer.
You'll probably want to pair this software with a range of plugins for processing your audio if you're not going to be using physical equipment for EQ/compression/etc.
Two great resources to get started out for plugins are KVR Audio and Bedroom Producer's Blog. You can find free options through both of those two links. For paid options, there's Slate Digital which offers all of their plugins under a subscription service of $15 a month. Some prominent names for paid plugins are Waves, Universal Audio, FabFilter, iZotope, and Soundtoys.
EDITS:
Now to add this topic any further, if you want to have a good production quality, you have to tackle the beast called mixing. Guide here lists many great software and hardware but not knowing how to use them properly will most likely end up in frustration. Without that knowledge, it doesn't matter if you have $20,000 worth of equipment or just $300.
Some people believe recording a song is simple as just pressing the record button and just putting some EQ on the way they like and be done with it. Sadly its nothing close to the reality and there are lots of aspects of the sound that will not translate from knowledge of playing an instrument. If you think your mix as a room, every instrument you add will rush to fill that room and after a point it just becomes a race between instruments to see who will get the biggest part in it and thats where you come in. Your job is to tame all of these instruments to play nicely with each other and create a harmony.
But fear not, there are lots of good guides online and people willing to help you out. You should just start with the bare bones like your interface and mic and immediately start training your ear. As soon as you start, you will realize while your mix is clean, it lacks certain kick or it just sounds dull. Thats the part where you're gonna need to toy with EQ and compression and move on to things like mid/side channeling. But like I said, there are plenty of good guides and with time and practice, your mix will get better and better.
When it comes to DAW's, most of them do the same thing but main differences will be their UI and the tools they come with. I started with lite edition of cubase that came with my processor and haven't had any troubles with. Although, it had like 24 track limit at the time it was just more than enough to learn basics. I would recommend Garage Band as it's UI is very simple and pretty much identical to Logic Pro X and its also free. As for the plug-ins, I'd say hold off buying anything at first. There are lots of good plugins out there but most of these DAW's will have plugins good enough to do the job.
Lastly, when it comes to recording your video, I'd say you have two viable options to go for. First one would be recording your song before and dubbing it to video but if you prefer the live feeling, you will need to sync your audio to camera. Since it's harder to start both video recording and audio at the same time, I'd say just play a bar of dead notes before you start and then sync that sound with the audio from your camera. At the moment I cant think of anything else to write but if you need anything else, you can ask us in here or just search for it on the internet and good luck with your new hobby.
There's sound advice here, but I disagree in the following:
It is harder than simply recording audio alone, but I wouldn't say it is considerably harder. It really depends on how far down the rabbit hole of editing you want to go down. They could simply go with the standard when filming and emulate a clapperboard. Film yourself clapping with your hands a few times at the start of recording and then sync it up in your NLE software of choice. When editing, you just remove the beginning section of audio/video before export.
Speaking of video editing software, there's DaVinci Resolve which is free and fairly powerful starting out (likely more than capable for anything you're looking to do right now), but you have plenty of other options.
If you're looking for ways to film your video, you can go with a variety of means. Most mid-range and flagship phones can record fairly well for this type of thing, so if you have a decent phone you might not even need to worry about additional equipment for YouTube right now. If you're streaming though, you'll want a decent webcam at minimum to a DSLR and HDMI capture card at best.
The Logitech C920 can get you started if you're currently lacking anything better. If you're taking streaming seriously and the costs are justified to you though, you'll probably want to go with something like a Panasonic Lumix G7, a decent lens, and Elgato Game Capture HD60 Pro. The camera, lens, and capture card are just examples. You can get by with cheaper options.
This is entirely true. The great thing about today is the wealth of freely available information out there on the internet. The downside is that there's a lot of junk to sort through in order to find the good stuff. I'm not sure where you're located, but you might be able to gain access to a Lynda.com subscription through your local library, so check into that. Sometimes it is also offered through your education or workplace.
Start reading through Sound On Sound and Tape Op.
iZotope has a free mixing guide that is really great, but it uses their own software as reference that might be difficult to follow along with in a few places (but really you should be learning the concepts of how and why to do something rather than copying), but most of it is quite good and can be applied with any similar plugins. You might find this similar guide helpful too.
Speaking of iZotope, they have an excellent site you should use to help train your ears called Pro Audio Essentials that can really benefit learning EQ and compression.
At the end of the day, you should just record and try improving on recording technique/mixing abilities as you go. You have to be terrible first to learn on how to improve and build those skills.
On the topic of mixing, you should invest in some decent studio monitors when you can, but a decent flat-response pair of headphones now if you haven't already. Good starting options are the Sony MDR-7506 and Audio-Technica ATH-M40x (you might prefer the m50x, but I find there's too much bass for my tastes).
Using a cell phone may not be a bad way to start for every aspect, actually. Cell phones tend to have pretty good microphones on them too. It's obviously not going to be as nice as a multitrack professional setup (and it won't even be stereo), but it should sound pretty good if you fix up the room's acoustics.
Thank you for your response! I'm really looking forward to reading through all of this now that I've got some time. You all are awesome for providing such great feedback and genuine discussion.
This is an excellent comment with a lot of great suggestions, but I disagree about a decent USB microphone for starting out. It's a $50 investment to get some audio onto the desktop today. When I was learning this stuff, it was overwhelming, and comments like that just made my head spin. You get ten levels deep on links to expensive mics and reviews and DAW differences and opinions, and weeks later you've got no audio recorded, and you're into one of those "internet hobbies" that involve more reading than actually doing.
From his initial statement, he's looking to record video with audio to upload to youtube. Hell, I'd sooner recommend he use his phone, because he'll get something done right now. These USB mics are popular because not everyone wants to learn all the details; they just want to get something going, quick, and that leads to realizing why they need something more—or maybe he's fine with what he's producing, and never goes any further. And a used Snowball or Yeti is easily sold on the used market for a small loss.
Even a Zoom H1 ($100) will give him excellent stereo audio of his guitar, and he can use his phone for video.
(By the way, excellent suggestions on the Studio Projects B1 and C1. I have the C1, and it's incredible for the price.)
Thank you for your response! As I mentioned above, I'm looking forward to reading through all of them now that things have gotten less hectic around here. You all are fantastic for providing such great discussion and background!
I completely understand this point of view as well. The point here is that you should be creating with whatever you have available to you or through which you have the means to afford. That said, should they have the means for a $200 budget or more, they should absolutely invest in an interface and an XLR microphone if they have even the slightest interest in expanding in the future.
I've always been of the mind that when learning a new skill/hobby, you should definitely not spend exorbitant amounts of money on things since you might decide it isn't for you, and then you're stuck with it in a closet or having to try and sell it used. You still also don't want to go on the opposite end of the spectrum and cheap out too much where it may make the experience of learning that new skill/hobby harder or less enjoyable than it ought to be.
I think this is a very fair assessment, and something I too encountered. It's obviously not something I was considering when putting together this information, but I hope that they might copy it down somewhere or bookmark this too come back to as reference. I think the NPR and iZotope links provided are especially useful.
This is very true and something I actually was considering putting in, but again I was thinking of how to best future-proof and so I thought against it. If they could spring for it, I think the H4N is great too at $200, and it can be used as an interface in addition to a field recorder. The great thing with these handheld recorders is their stereo mic pair. The quality is really amazing on some of them.
I'm also a fan of the Shure MV88 for an iOS device.
I stuck a Zoom H1 on a photo tripod into a room of people playing and singing (actually only two people were playing acoustics, but just about everyone was singing). The audio came out great, and after some editing I sent out a few copies of it and people loved it. I'm a big fan of things that make it easy. I didn't need any wires or even real knowledge (even though I know more about the thing than most people would care about) to hit record, and I had the audio on my desktop a couple minutes later.
Again, everything you wrote is a great resource; I've just known too many people who have multiple mics and interfaces and expensive mic leads and cables, and never really record any audio because they spent all the energy they had for the technical aspect of it to spend any more actually doing it.
That thing is seriously cool. If it wasn't $150, it would be ideal for a lot of vloggers who use their phones, but most of them record remote audio anyway.
Not the OP but would like to thank you. Very informative.
My blue yeti died after about 3 months of use. I also have a snowball. Don't buy into what the snake oil sales men say. Get quality stuff.
Ooof! Thanks for the reply and backing up that suggestion. Glad to read all of this first before making these investments.
This is an excellent response. I definitely learned quite a bit. Thanks for taking the time to share!
Hello!
I apologize for the delay in responding! Things got hectic around here but seems to have died down now.
I wanted to say thank you so much for putting so much effort into your response. That's a ton of great information and I'm looking forward to reading up on all of it. Comments like yours, and those below, are why I so thoroughly enjoy the community here.
Have an awesome rest of the day, wherever you're at.
-samwasdroppingeaves
For an acoustic guitar, you'll probably want a condenser microphone. From what I've learned so far, they're far more sensitive than your typical dynamic ("stage") mic, and can pick up a broad range of sound.
That said, depending on whether you want to mix your vocals louder in comparison to your guitar, or whether you're playing standing or sitting, you may want one of each -- a condenser located about 2-3 feet from the guitar's hole, and a dynamic mic about 2-4 inches from your mouth hole.
Personal anecdote time! I was given a cheap condenser mic kit on Amazon not long ago, which comes with its own "interface" for recording to USB. The interface worked OK, but because it was custom-built to the microphone, I ended up getting a Behringer UMC-22 and this did two things:
In conclusion, welcome to the world of audio production! I'm still very new, so please take my advice with a grain of salt, but if anything I've posted above helps, then I'm very glad! I'll also post one of my acoustic covers here for comparison, this was recorded using a Samson CO1 condenser mic from a distance of about 2.5 feet from a sitting position, so I was close enough to the microphone that I recorded it onto one channel. In hindsight, I probably could have mixed the voice better by doing two tracks and mixing them together, but I'm still happy with how it turned out. :)
I've recorded quite a bit. I have a Lexicon Lambda interface (it's ancient, but it still works somewhat with limited driver support, so I don't recommend it even if you can still find it). Any USB interface would work, or just get a Blue USB mic like the Snowball ($50-ish) or Yeti (~$100). One mic is fine for both acoustic guitar and singing, unless you really want to get into it and have dedicated mics for each. A lot of good covers on YT are recorded with one mic, so it's a good start.
Producing your audio once it's recorded is another matter, and the steps vary wildly based on your choice of DAW, but once you get started it's pretty simple to learn.
That's fantastic! Thanks for your response and posting the example! I'm definitely enjoying it.
Have you ever messed around with recording video for it as well?
Not at the same time yet, I was recording some video before I got a microphone, but that was just using my crappy laptop camera/mic.
I can't imagine it would be too hard, but I don't know if you could just use a simple program like Photo Booth (for Mac) and just replace the inputs with the camera and microphone, or if there's more mixing/syncing required to get it to look & sound good at the same time.