How to Record an Audio Book
An audio book is a recording of a person reading a book. Although there are software programs that use voice synthesis to "read" a book to digital format, a professional-quality audio book can feature you or someone else reading. By using a digital recorder that records MP3 files, you can avoid the difficulties of proprietary file formats and conversions.
Things You'll Need
- Voice recorder that supports MP3 format
- External microphone
- Microphone cable
- Wind or pop shield
- Microphone stand
- Cable for recorder-to-computer file transfers
Instructions
-
-
1
Plug the microphone cable into your microphone and digital recorder. A microphone specifically designed for the recorder won't need adapters. However, if you are using a general voice microphone, you might need a specialized cable or connector.
-
2
Place the pop filter, sometimes called a wind filter. Most pop filters are round foam that fit over a microphone.
-
-
3
Place the microphone on a microphone stand. This could be important for long books when holding the microphone may become tiresome.
-
4
Activate the recorder and read the book into the microphone.
-
5
Transfer the file to a computer once the file is recorded. On your computer, transfer the file to an MP3 player or CD as you desire.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Most modern digital recorders have good automatic recording level controls. You shouldn't need to set the recording levels.
The person reading the book should have his or her mount 1 inch to 3 inches from the microphone. Experiment to find the best distance. This distance will vary depending on how the reader speaks.
Be careful of hard "P" sounds. Those can cause a puff of air that will overwhelm the microphone, resulting in a "pop" before the word. Although the pop filter can stop some of this, speaking with soft P sounds is better.
References
- Photo Credit audio tape image by Vasiliy Koval from Fotolia.com
Comments
-
sustenance
Aug 02, 2010
I hate to be a negative nelly, but those round foam things are not pop filters- they are windscreens, and they will dull your sound more than a pop filter. In the same way that inkjet book publishing can't compare to more professional equipment and expertise, audiobooks recorded this way will not sound like professional products, and without competent post-production (at least) will be unbearable when heard over headphones. There are companies such as AntBearAudio that can clean and master the audio, but some things just can't be fixed. Consider carefully whether this will end up being a negative reflection on you rather than the powerful self-marketing tool it could otherwise be.
