question about multitracking skype recordings

[jaymo]

I'm a long time listener to podcasts, so when I was asked to host, record and edit one for a website I frequent, I figured I would go for it.

Heres my dillema.

We are using skype, we usually have 4 people on the conference, however I am not 100% happy with the results. because 2 of our users are out of town on a wireless broadband ( 1 mbps down, 128kb up ) I would like to deal with each user on skype as their own track when editing. Lamens terms, if I have 5 people on skype plus myself, when I go to edit it, I want each user on thier own track, so 6 tracks total (including myself).

My budget is below $1000 for this project, and since its coming out of my pocket, the closer I can get to $200 the better.

I currently have a dual core Athlon 64 Windows XP PC with 2 GB ram and 500 GB internal storage, and a 2 Ghz core duo MacBook with 2 GB ram and 550 GB firewire external storage. I can utilize both of these for recording, but I am at a standstill with where to go next if it is at all possible to do what I am looking to do. I imagine a mixer of some type is in my near future, but like I say, the lower the cost the better ( I do like bang for the buck equiptment, so if there is a $100 mixer and a $250 mixer and the $250 one blows the cheaper one out of the water, I would gladly go for it)

Any help on what to buy and the basics on how to set it up would be greatly appreciated.

[pwfenton]

This is so cool. There is a solution that you can do on the Mac. I have never tried it myself but I have participated in such a call in. Using Garage Band and IChat you can put each person on a separate track automatically. And if participants don't have Apple computers they can use AOL's Instant Messenger. Check it out.

[Dok]

Another option would be to extend the concept of "double ender" to multiple ender. During the chat each partecipant records locally a track with his own voice, then everybody sends the tracks to you. You have only to sync them in a multitrack software (Garageband?).
P-Dub's solution is much easier, this one gives you better sound quality, indipendent from the bandwidth of every partecipant to the chat.

[cybercooler]

If you are doing a double, or in this case a 6 ender, be sure at the beginning to have some sort of cuont down. I've done a few double enders. For fun we all count down from five together and show BOO-YA This gives a nice clear spike to line up so when you assemble it in your multitrack software (I use mixcraft (http://store.eSellerate.net/a.asp?c=2_SKU9820713189_AFL3054396228)on a PC) hopefully everyone's answers and questions line up.