Can anyone help regarding recording equipment?

[Mockingbird]

Hi,

 

I have a general question about recording equipment I hope someone can help me with.

 

I would like to get a DVD and a CD together of me playing some songs on piano. I barely have any knowledge about what I should be using, or what the heck I need to do!

 

I am obviously going to need a camcorder, but can anyone recommend any in particular that won't cost too much (less than £100?) Also, should I use a microphone too...if so what can you recommend?

 

All I want to do is get some videos together and then somehow transfer them to audio (how?) and make a CD too but I know absolutley nothing! Any knowledge would be greatly appreciated!

[james90]

So basically, you want to have a DVD (audio and video) and a separate CD (audio only)?

 

I'm not sure what to recommend as far as camcorders go (or mics for that matter, as I'm only really familiar with ones for vocals and amplifiers). Would camera audio be good enough, or did you want something better?

 

Some cameras have great quality audio (obviously not the same as using a proper mic) but it depends on what you want exactly.

[Mockingbird]

Hi, thanks for the reply. And yes that's right, ideally I'd like to put together a DVD (audio & video), and a CD (audio). It doesn't have to be amazing quality - but I'd like it to look/sound pretty good - I'm sure a camera audio would be just fine. I have recorded myself in the past but that's only on my little samsung camera - the quality was ok when I uploaded to Youtube, but when I changed the files over to audio using this file converter programme, the sound quality deteriorated considerably and was all crackly. So I'm looking for a step-up from that really, and the best way to go about things.

[Seaking]

You can check some piano covers online and if you like the quality see if they list their recording process, if not you can always ask them.

[james90]

Hi, thanks for the reply. And yes that's right, ideally I'd like to put together a DVD (audio & video), and a CD (audio). It doesn't have to be amazing quality - but I'd like it to look/sound pretty good - I'm sure a camera audio would be just fine. I have recorded myself in the past but that's only on my little samsung camera - the quality was ok when I uploaded to Youtube, but when I changed the files over to audio using this file converter programme, the sound quality deteriorated considerably and was all crackly. So I'm looking for a step-up from that really, and the best way to go about things.

 

How's the video quality on your current camera? If you're happy with that, I'd get something to record the audio only, and then synchronize that with the video from your camera. Plus, you can put the audio recording onto the CD separately without having to rip it from the video.