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Almost any professional microphone will give you much better results than the built-in one that your laptop has. One issue is that you will not be able to connect a studio microphone directly into your PC (they typically have XLR connectors on them). Here are two basic options you could choose between: Buy a USB audio interface with microphone input and ...

You'll get the best audio quality with a boom mic and a field recorder who knows how o use the equipment well. However, if quality is your primary concern and you don't have a skilled boom operator, you might consider looking into lavalier mics. Lavalier mics would essentially do what you're considering doing with the bluetooth headsets. You clip one onto ...

I'd suggest seeking out a more directional mic than one with the cardoid-style pattern you're looking at now, possibly even a shotgun mic. (My first guess woud be to check out Audio-Technica mics, but that's just a guess.) You'll also need an audio interface, and almost certainly one that has phantom power to feed the condenser microphone. The good news is ...

If you are only going to be using the iPod for a "sketch pad" for your ideas, I would think that the quality wouldn't be an issue. The important thing is to get the idea recorded in a way that you will remember it as completely as possible. I have a Sandisk Sansa MP3 player with a built in mic that I have used for recording some ideas on the fly. The ...

Technically, the PMD661 and that mic should be clean as a whistle. Maybe your gain is turned up too high? I don't know if changing the recording method would change that, but it could if you use a device with a better mic pre-amp, so the gain isn't so high and the hiss isn't introduced. Personally, I would try borrow another device and see if the hiss ...

Simple solution is for you to get all your audio from the PA mixer, and for when the instructor does his walkabout, just turn down or mute the signal to the speakers instead of muting the mic. This way you keep the same audio signal throughout for your recording, so no messing about with other microphones.

A bit of a kludge but may solve your problem. Use a 2nd wireless mic that goes directly to your Canon HF10 camcorder as described here: http://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/canon-vixa-hf-10/using-wireless-microphone-system/ Looks to be about $250.

Give the Sony M10 a try. Battery life is insane, particularly on a pair of Eneloops. The manual is available here. I just ran a test on my M10 - after a power cycle, the M10 remembers which track you were playing, but not the position within the track. The Sony has very good battery life, so you could just slide the power button to "lock" mode and keep it ...

It comes down to how much control you think you need and how many inputs. If you get a Marantz 660 or Zoom H4n style recorder you get two XLR inputs and control over the levels. If you need more inputs then you need to put a mixer in front of it. Another thing to consider if if you need phantom power to your mics, or if you even need mics and want to use ...

I personally own the Rode VideoMic and Rode NTG3, for the same purpose as you require. The NTG3 is lightyears ahead of the VideoMic, but thats appropriate for the associated price, and the fact it requires 48v. There is a new VideoMic out which is smaller, and from what I have heard (from the actual mic, not people talking about the mic) it is very capable. ...

As a fellow foley enthusiast i would highly recommend looking into a field recorder when you budget allow. For foley, the benefit of field recorders is their portability. If you can take it anywhere you will begin recording everything, and you will end up with a library of sounds far more eclectic than you could achieve if you had to lug a laptop around. ...

If your mixer has direct outs, this is probably the way to go: http://www.alesis.com/hd24 Alesis HD24, 24-Track I've seen similar units out there as well. Perhaps the JoeCo BBR1 might meet your needs, but is a bit out of your price range: http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/JoeCo-BBR1-Blackbox-Recorder?sku=485728 I haven't tried either of ...

I have a Tascam DR-08 which does not have the tripod mount like the DR-05. It's also extremely microphonic, even the slightest touch like having the head phones attached while recording are an issue (if the cable moves it vibrates the chassis and is picked up). You have to think of these things as one big exposed mic element. Cheap ways of dealing with ...

The first thing to look at is an inexpensive desktop tripod, like the Gorillapod (get the small "original" version or maybe the one for video with the ballhead). That will take the recorder out of your hand and onto almost any surface - a table, or a rock, or tree branch. And the cost is about a tenth of the Rycote. Next, I'd grab a windshield, but get a ...

Depending on the quality of audio you're trying to get, there are several options you can go for. Assumptions: This will be used in fair conditions, and does not require any additional ruggedness. 1) Buy an omnidirectional LDC (Large Diaphragm Condenser), a matching shock mount, and some sort of boom stand. Set it up in the middle of the space you want to ...

Your hardest question is: "How I make a home-recorded voice sounds like as an open-field recorded voice?" Below is also a workflow on cleaning audio recordings. But first to the home/field recording question: Before decreasing the quality of your home-recorded voice, try by all means to increase the quality of your field recording (for example by using a ...

Get a decent quality sound recorder and directional mics with good windscreens if you want to get good audio on location. Balancing music and vocals is going to be a trick you'll have to play by ear. You can apply things like normalization and compression if the audio for voices tends to get softer and louder. Either of these approaches will shrink the ...

No matter how I think about it someone will have to be at the mixing desk momentarily. If syncing the audio in post isn't an option, then I'd get another set of wireless transmitters, hook the transmitter to the mixing desk and connect the receiver to your camera. Then when the instructor does the demonstrations you could quickly go to the mixing desk and ...

I've not used them myself, but just going by the specs on Shure's site, I don't see why not. Shure is generally a good name in audio production, although I know them more for microphones than for headphones. The 840s are circumaural ("goes around your ears") and so will probaby not leak audio very much, so they shouldn't interfere with your location ...

We use a Sony PCM-D50 at work and I can't recommend it enough. Sound quality is good enough for our engineering (automotive sound quality) use and the built quality is top notch. It's a bit more pricey than some of the others, but I would consider this "professional"-quality equipment.

If you are not in need of a computer during the recording, and you can use something similar to an old-fashioned tape-recorder, the Alesis HD-24 is the machine to go with. As Brad mentioned in the comment, you can transfer the audio tracks to your computer after the recording, or you can hook up an analog mixing desk to do the rest of the work, basically the ...