Sound recording for a dummy!

[Wulls]

Help,
I consider myself a computer dummy......... Is there any way I can record pipeline and dump it on a tape, CD, MP3 etc so I can listen to it in the car? I do not get a lot of 'puter time so it would help me immensley if this were possible.
regards, Wulls.

[Scott Jones]

Total Recorder (http://www.highcriteria.com/) is a neat little program for capturing streaming audio.

[Donald Ross]

I use WavePad, which is a totally free download, or Goldwave, which is free for a while and then you need to register it for a small, reasonable price.

I have used both and they record pipeline, as it plays on my computer via highspeed connection, in CD quality sound. After that, I save it as wave files, or mP3's, and divide it up into tracks so I can skip around (these programs are recorders, but they are also nice little wave file editors).

These are easily burned onto CD for listening wherever you want. Just put "Wavepad" or "Goldwave" into your search engine and download them from their sites.

Good luck!

[jd3214]

As a beginner in this activity, I am still somewhat confused. I want to download pipeline to make a CD and listen in my car every week. I downloaded Goldwave but can make nothing out of the instructions.

Do you play the audio file (ie:Pipeline) on your computer while using a microphone to record the audio from your computer speakers? This would not be like the old days of recording directly from a card onto some sort of media (ie: radio to cassette)? Seems like there would be a lot of extraneous noise.

There are so many bells and whistles on Goldwave and the absolutely first bit of instruction (like finding the recording source) left me cold; I could find nothing on the topic even though it is referenced in several places in the instructions. Am I the only one with this difficulty?

Is there a simple software package that is easy to use that will do the same job?

By the by, how do folks record live performances these days? I just paid a fortune for a vintage cassette recorder on e-bay. Is this the only device left for recording pipe band performances (needing hours of recording time/not minutes or seconds)? What do you use?

[Mark A. deJong]

Download Total Recorder. It's a great little program that captures the audio as it's leaving your computer; thus, no neeed to use a microphone.

As for recording live, I use a minidisc player/recorder, as many people do nowadays -- they go for a song on E-Bay and have excellent recording quality.

[Bill M]

My friend at work has a program - I believe it's called "Audio Hijacker" or something like that. He has it set to record "Pipeline" for me every Sun. He then gives me the MP3 of it & I burn a CD from that. Hope that helps.

[nicholas]

Is it possible to have one of you e-mail or post somewhere some of these files for download or is this illegal?

I to would like to hear this program and replay it later but am not able to stream it across the internet or obtain it else where.

Nick.

[HotScot]

Ok, for jd3214, I figured out how to make Goldwave work for internet music downloads. Once you set up your recording device (go to rightquickmarch.com- he walks you through it all). get your recording device on, then select F11-volume & select stereomix. Start your recording. It works beautifully.

If you need more help, let me know. It's all very confusing, until you've worked with it a bit.

[Mark A. deJong]

Nick,
I'm not sure of the legality of it, but I know that to post a full hour of MP3 with decent sound quality would be way too big of a file for anyone without high-speed internet to download. Not to mention the toll it would take on the hoster's bandwidth...

[jd3214]

Thanks for your help folks. I will try your suggestions and let you know how I make out. I should probably tell Nick that I fear the only way his friend might help me is to send me the MP3 file too. Hmmm? Is this a void that needs filling? It sure would make it easier if Radio Scotland would be able to allow us access to the file; they tell me it is not legally possible and I suppose it probably isn't practical since it might negatively impact Radio Scotland financially which is something I would never want to do. But...even if they sold the file for a profit; I certainly would buy rather than go through the hassle of recording every week. With the program seemingly getting better on a weekly basis I am afraid I am missing out on some absolute gems of fine programming when I miss and don't get the time during the week to "Listen again".

[jd3214]

Mark, Total Recorder is where I started this quest for a "user friendly" program. I found it about as intimidating for me as Goldwave (which is completely baffling to me). I must admit that I have not actually downloaded Total Recorder but I have got access to the manual and got put off by it. If you think I should keep at it ... I will give it another try.

Mini disk recorder??? Can you still buy disks for these devices? and can you play back on the way home in the car? Sounds great. I will check them out.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[jd3214]

Pardon me. It was Bill who made the suggestion of the friend and not Nick. Sorry.

[jd3214]

Elaine, I just read Rightquickmarch.com instructions and one thing he leaves out is ... what do you use for a recording device for Pipeline or other streaming audio? Can you run a cable from your output to your input on the same sound card? Again, if you need to use a microphone and record from your computer speakers it is going to be a poor quality recording because of the extraneous noise. How do you do it?

[Bill M]

Originally posted by jd3214:
It sure would make it easier if Radio Scotland would be able to allow us access to the file; they tell me it is not legally possible and I suppose it probably isn't practical since it might negatively impact Radio Scotland financially which is something I would never want to do.I don't get it. Do you have some sort of firewall or something that is preventing you from listening?

[HotScot]

No, you won't need a microphone or any cables. Download Goldwave, after you've got Goldwave up & running follow Right Quick Marches instructions on how to get the devices on the screen, you'll need to click on F11-volume & change to "Stereo Mix"- now I loaded Goldwave vol 4.26 because the new version was too confusing for me. You set up the Goldwave exactly as per RightQuickMarches instructions, though. Run the Pipeline show, click
"Control" then hit the record button. After it's recorded, again follow RightQuickMarches instructions to trim the recorded (if needed)-you don't have to doctor it up, but you can.

Try it again, it's not too difficult, it worked for me & I'm no computer whiz kid. The lines & cables are for downloading off an external recording device like a minidisc- & yes, they still sell the discs- I get mine at BestBuy. You can get all this stuff off internet sites, too.

[nicholas]

I use a computer and internet connection that does contain a firewall that prevents such a procedure. Time is also a factor that makes would difficult to listen for a full hour even if it were possible. I would like to burn it to CD and listen whilst travelling in the car.

nick.

[jd3214]

I don't get it. Do you have some sort of firewall or something that is preventing you from listening?

Bill M. I don't have a problem listening. I have a problem recording. Like Nicholas, I have a lengthy commute and it would be great to listen to Pipeline on CD each week. Also, I happen to think some of the interviews are priceless bits of advice that I would like to share with students or to remind myself about from time to time. So, it would be great to develop a library of these programs to enjoy over and over again.

[jd3214]

"No, you won't need a microphone or any cables. Download Goldwave, after you've got Goldwave up & running follow Right Quick Marches instructions on how to get the devices on the screen, you'll need to click on F11-volume & change to "Stereo Mix"- now I loaded Goldwave vol 4.26 because the new version was too confusing for me. You set up the Goldwave exactly as per RightQuickMarches instructions, though."

Elaine, I don't know what instructions you are looking at. The ones I see on Rightquickmarch start out with an entire paragraph discussing cable configurations and the instructions refer to "recording devices". I DON'T WANT TO RECORD WITH A DEVICE. I WANT TO RECORD FROM THE SOUND CARD SO THERE IS NO EXTRANEOUS NOISE. There are no instructions on Rightquickmarch for doing this that I can see. Are you looking at a different set of instructions? Maybe my page is not current? Or am I am just going whacky here!

[jd3214]

It worked without cables!!! Thanks!!! Only problem now is the first three minutes used up nearly 2 MB of space not to mention how much memory its gobbling to get those melifluous tones out. Now, onto figuring out how to reduce those MP3 files. Thanks again. I feel like I am on the right road here thanks to the folks in this forum!

[Ian Robertson]

I second (or third) the utility of Total Recorder for capturing the Pipeline show. I just use the defaults and it sounds really good--well worth the $12 it cost me. What I use to cut the program into tune-specific tracks is a really slick program called CD Wave Editor (just google it). This is the best thing I have ever seen for cutting a long wav file into managable chunks. And if you have ever made a wav file from a cassette or LP (with the aim of burning a CD) it can actually find all the breaks for you. It won't do that with a Pipeline broadcast, but you can usually see the starts/stops of tunes just by looking at the sound track. It only costs $15--you can use it for free, but the registration fee is peanuts compared to what is worth. I have used the combination of Total Recorder and CD Wave Editor to make CDs of the entire year of Gary West and I play them to death. These programs shouldn't just disappear.

Best, Ian

[Bill M]

jd - glad to see things are finally starting to work out. I also have a long commute & the Pipeline shows are helping out there. If you can listen (or stream), then you can record. If you can record, then you can create files. If you can create files, then you can burn CDs. 1 or 2 Mb per minute is not really that big. There are lots of simple editing programs out there that can break up the big file into smaller ones if that's what you need - although, personally I don't find that to be necessary. Maybe you need to look into a storage solution next (bigger hard drive, or maybe an external USB drive). Hope this helps.

[Ronan Maguire]

Has anybody had any success recording the Planet Pipe broadcasts ??
On a machine where I have Total Recorder installed the playback is 'clipped' when I kick off the recording process.
Once TR is uninstalled,normal playback resumes.
Are we being prevented from recording the stream ?
:shrug:

Ronan.

[HotScot]

I haven't had any trouble recording Planet Pipe using Goldwave.

JD3214- as far as using the RightQuickMarch instructions- I only meant to use them for getting the Goldwave up and running- not for using the Minidisc recording info. It will show you basic instructions on how to set up the Goldwave. I initially used the instructions with my minidisc, but he shows you how to get the recordings started, and the device on the screen. You won't need to hook up cables or anything for you internet broadcasts. I wouldn't have figured out how to use the Goldwave without his instructions.

[HotScot]

JD3214- skip the cable configuration section, but use the rest of the info on RightQuickMarch, the only thing you need to change is to hit F11-volume & select stereomix. I also ignore the part about using audiograbber-unless you need to. My computer will convert the files without the audiograbber.

[Lightningstorms]

Ronan, re: TR and PlanetPipe. I had to change some settings in QuickTime: Edit, Preferences, QT prefs, change SoundOut to Wave out. Worked for me.