I would like to record a radio play and / or an audio book. A narrator's voice is to be recorded, the voices several protagonists and various sounds. It shouldn't be necessary to lick the recorder to get good sound with no noise, but it doesn't have to pick up any sound at several meters away either. I have a smartphone and could possibly borrow a laptop. My budget is around 50 euro +/-.
The question now is which setup makes the most sense:
Use your cell phone for recording alone.
Buy a microphone and connect it to a cell phone.
Buy a dictation machine and record it alone.
Buy microphone and dictation machine and record with it.
And of course, which microphone - and which dictation device, if applicable - is worthwhile in each case.
I would buy a voice recorder. Mine costs 29.99 euro and has always served me as a high-quality companion in interviews for presentations at school.
However, I don't know my way around in the segment well, for an audiobook I would have to dig a little deeper into my pocket.
Good night.
I'm not familiar with recording studio apps for mobile phones, but I find that using the mouse and keyboard is easier for such a purpose.
It makes it much easier to name the different soundtracks individually and to save them in your own folders. You can also use programs like Audacity on a computer that are free and sufficient for your purposes.
Since a professional recording is practically impossible with your budget, a headset with a reasonably reasonable microphone is sufficient.
You can download background noises from various websites for free. Pay attention to the licenses, depending on what you want to use the finished radio play for. You can use some of these sounds completely freely for everything, others only for non-commercial projects etc. On the respective pages this is usually stated for each sound.
I think I would just use the cell phone first. You don't get a particularly good recording device for 50 euro. Depending on the phone, the sound quality could be even better.
Since your budget is quite low, I guess you're a little younger. Your parents may be able to support you if they notice that creating radio plays fulfills you.
I'm not a microphone professional, but just have a look at the video, then you know that you can spend an incredible amount of money on good microphones.
First of all thank you for your detailed answer.
You are right, the operation with mouse and keyboard is easier, so the post-processing will also take place on the PC. At this point, I'm only concerned with the recording, processing is secondary there.
a headset with a reasonably reasonable microphone is sufficient.
Would you have a suggestion for one with a jack connection?
You can download background noises from various websites for free.
Depending on the phone, the sound quality could be even better.
This is the main reason for my question… Of course I don't want to spend money just to be of poor quality. My cell phone is a bit older, is a Samsung Galaxy S5. Should I use the cell phone microphone directly or better connect an external microphone of whatever kind?
And if so, do you have a recommendation for one?
Can you give me the name of your dictation machine?
I bought this one for my youtube videos and camchats in 2014:
https://www.amazon.de/...004AP8R3S/
It was quite cheap, now there are better ones. I would suggest that you search for affordable headsets and / or microphones on Amazon and then on YouTube for audio examples that were recorded with these devices.
Since quite a few channels test products, you might find something there.
The problem with headsets is that they are only intended to record voices. I can't imagine recording noise with it. In addition, I don't have a microphone in your budget that I could seriously recommend.
If I were you, I would record a little radio play with my cell phone and write down what bothered me about the recording. Then I would go to a music store or whatever you have and get advice. You can also test microphones there directly.
As a microphone you could watch mald as Samson Meteor, costs about 50 euro (depending on price changes) on Amazon and is connected to the PC via USB, I have it myself and I'm very satisfied with it. I pick up the sound from about half a meter away, a little more and find the results comparatively good and significantly better than with "cheap" Lavalier microphones or built-in microphones in in-ear headsets from my cell phone. There are also some videos about the Samson Meteor on YouTube, otherwise you can simply order it on Amazon, test it and, if you don't like it, just send it back.
Costs only about 30-35 euro on eBay
Do you know if you can also connect it to a cell phone using an adapter?
With such little money, you can't expect a sensation. Of course you don't record anything on your cell phone. PC or laptop. Free program Audacity. You can even record in multiple tracks. Take a look at the tutorials in Youtube "AUDACITYWORKSHOP".
I think you don't have a reflection-free, dampened studio. There will be a lot of background noise. Then you can only use a dynamic microphone. Since you have no money for an interface, use the MB88 U from Thomann. Don't forget to order cable + tripod.
https://www.thomann.de/...b7aa46036e
If you have saved something and buy an interface / mixer you can continue to use this microphone. Otherwise does not work with a USB microphone.
Supposedly it should work, but unfortunately I don't have an adapter ready to test it.
https://samsontech.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/218312037-Samson-USB-Products-with-Android-Devices
