want to get my gf some recording gear but her laptop is very old. could i pair somthing like thi http://www.zoom4u.co.uk/Tascam-dp-004-bundle-1660-p.asp and a good mic to get recordings to put on soundcloud and youtube. the recording would be here and autistic guitar or here sing over prerecoded traks. would this work for what she needs
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You don't give any idea of how much you want to spend. About t
You don't give any idea of how much you want to spend.
About the cheapest way of achieving what you describe would be to use something like the Zoom H4N, which is around £180. In addition, you would need to spend something on cables, headphones, a USB SD card adaptor and a camera tripod (really!). This kit would work for singing to pre-recorded tracks, but, ideally, a separate microphone such as a Shure SM58 should be used for singing with the autistic guitar. I'd be interested to hear that.
This gear would give you acceptable results, but may be a bit clunky. One way of working it would be to use the laptop to play the backing track into headphones while making a copy on to tracks 3 and 4 on the H4N. Tracks 1 and 2 would record the built-in microphones. When you come to transfer the recorded tracks to the computer, you could either use the lower-quality backing track copy as the final one or just use it to line up the vocal track visually with the originals in a sound editor. An alternative way of working would be to copy the backing tracks to the SD card and have the H4N play those into the headphones while recording the singing. No lining-up would then be needed and there would be no quality loss due to the transfer. The H4N can make MP3s directly for internet posting.
The H4N is around the same sort of cost but would give you better results than the PocketStudio you linked to. If you want to spend a bit more than these entry-level units, come back to us, as there are lots of ways to go.
The tascam you propose records at 16bit 44khz. It could be ok fo
The tascam you propose records at 16bit 44khz. It could be ok for many applications but not the ideal to have a good headroom and it only have 1/4in inputs and no phantom power for condenser mics
I'd check upon the Zoom H4 : http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/H4N which is near the same price.
It can record up to 4 tracks at the time in 24bit 96khz (2 stereo mics and to extra ones with Xlr connectors and phantom power)
The included stereo mic will do a good job for the acoustic guitar and you could add a mic like a Shure SM58 for the vocal.
For what you want to do, it's a solid unit that won't let you down. (like computers may)