Audio Interview Suggestions?
I might be doing an audio interview in person in a few weeks with another internet business owner. The only problem is that I don’t have any special equipment to pull it off. I thought about recording using my laptop microphone, but any audio recorded with it sounds pretty bad. I normally record with a headset, but it would be pretty silly to pass it back and forth.
So here’s my question, to anyone reading this:
What is the best equipment to use to record an audio interview (in person)?
Perhaps a good microphone which can plug into a laptop? Or a separate device which records audio than can be made into an .mp3 file?
If you have any good suggestions, please leave a comment below.
Thanks!
- Aaron Brandon
I saw this recently on PopSci.com
Xeni Jardin
Tech journalist, co-editor of BoingBoing.net
Geek gift: I’m kind of slobbering over the new Marantz PMD-620, a flash-based audio recorder. I’ve been using the PMD-660 to record all of my segments for NPR News for a while and loved the quality and stability, but it’s too bulky. This new one’s lighter.
Comment by Wayne Buckhanan — January 7, 2008 at 3:03 pm
I used a great recording device that records files directly to MP3 for attending lectures and seminars in graduate school. I can’t remember the exact model, but you can easily find recording devices that record to MP3 directly. I’d check Amazon or Ebay.
Comment by Tyler — January 7, 2008 at 3:09 pm
I would suggest getting a Lavalier microphone. You can pick up one of those from Radio Shack for about $20. If you can get one that has dual heads (2 microphones), then that’s even better and perfect for interviews.
If you can’t get a dual head one, then just conduct the interview while recording him/her. After they leave record your questions and then edit the original recording to add the questions in between in answers.
Easy!
Comment by Steven Lohrenz — January 7, 2008 at 3:40 pm
I have recorded in-person interviews using an Olympus digital voice recorder. I use the WS-100 model. Unfortunately, it doesn’t record straight to MP3. Instead, it records to WMA, and then I convert it to a WAV file (using a file converter) to edit in Audacity. After editing in Audacity, you can export as MP3. It has very good sound quality.
Comment by Christy — January 7, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Aaron, not sure if you want to spend this much, but I got this thing as a Christmas gift and it sounds like just what you’re looking for.
Here’s the link:
http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.aspx?ObjectId=757
Or just search for “r-09″ without the quotes to check prices on it.
It might be overkill for just one interview, but it would also be good for capturing good fodder for articles, podcasts, and so on. May be worth it if you can see more use for it than just the single interview.
The other idea would be to just go “all out” and do a video using something like TheFlip. I don’t want to junk up this comment with too many links but you can find that at this site:
theflip (dot) com
Those are the two things that cam to mind anyway.
Hope that helps.
Kenton Newby
Comment by Kenton Newby — January 7, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Hi Aaron,
You can pick-up fairly inexpensive MP3 players that support recording. I picked-up a 1gb player for about $30.00 at Staples. It handles recording as well, and is pretty clear — though I’m not sure how much you can record (time wise) as the manual wasn’t very clear. I’ve also seen many other digital recorders that you could purchase through Staples. If I remember correctly, they are all around $100 and have different features which may or may not be useful to you.
Regards,
Mohamed
Comment by Mohamed — January 7, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Hey Aaron,
may I suggest you ask a local radio station for a favor, to either lend a microphone or use their recording studio/equipment for an hour or so. Normally, if you offer something in return - like your expertize - they’d be more then happy to help you.
But do go local, the bigger stations won’t help you.
-Dave
Comment by Dave Origano — January 9, 2008 at 3:35 pm
For a live interview, either a laptop with a high quality microphone or a portable digital recorder such as one of the olympus models(preferably with a quality external microphone) will do the job well. The advantage of the stand alone recorder is that it is simple (less to go wrong) and less distracting. With a laptop you can more easily monitor sound levels but the device becomes a distraction.
The important thing is to practice beforehand so you don’t accidentally get a blank or distorted recording. Oo a short test and play it back as a sound check before starting the interview to be sure everything is set up right.
Consider recording each person on a different track and then mixing afterward to a mono recording. This will let you easily adjust sound levels for the 2 people.
Finally, consider setting up a back up recorder as insurance.
Comment by Physician Entrepreneur — January 10, 2008 at 5:40 am
Aaron, I use a Samson C01U USB studio condenser mic. I plugs right into the USB port. No software or drivers to install. I bought the model that includes recording/editing software, a mic stand and vibration dampening shock mount all in a padded aluminum case. I don’t use the included software. I just use Audacity. The combination makes fantastic recordings. I’d tell you to check out my latest blog post for a sample. But there was some construction going on outside my house when I recorded the audio and I had to use Audacity’s noise removal feature to filter it out of the final MP3 file, so it sounds just a little hollow. However, I have seen reviews of the mic from a few podcasters that include samples. Just do a search for Samson C01U and I’m sure you’ll find them.
- Dan Moran
Comment by Internet Business Bench — January 19, 2008 at 4:31 pm
[...] had an excellent post about audio interview suggestions a few weeks ago, one of the things he touched on was a good way to record the interview. He [...]
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