Record Conversations on the Telephone?

[TheJoelster]

Hey everyone I am a Radio Host out here in Southern California on KCAA 1050AM on a show GameTalkLive on Saturdays at 1pm trying to conduct interviews from my home, and I was just wondering other then Skype which I have been getting terrible quality on using Hot Recorder, what are some other options? Any suggestions on getting better quality on Skype?

I was thinking of recording a phone conversation for an interview up coming on the show, and I wanted to know what you guys would think would be the best way to go about doing this? Thanks in advance.

----Joel Szerlip----
GameTalkLive.com

[ozpodcaster]

Hey mate

Couple of suggestions.. head over to Radio Shack (at least i think thats what you guys call it in the US) they would be sure to have some contraption that you could use to record the regular telephone

As an alternative to skype check out gizmoproject.. has native free recording built in

Cheers

Matt
http://www.ozpodcaster.com

[SkinnyWhiteBoy]

When you say skype gives you horrible quality. Is this because of bandwidth issues (broken up sound) or is it the actual sound quality?

Skype is a very capable alternative to phone. I have used it with good success. Listen to the cruisebox interview in episode # 11 (here goes shameless plug again) @ http://skinnywhiteboy.kastpod.org

Of course this is not recorded in HotRecorder (I unstalled that almost as soon as I installed it) but rather through my mixer. There is another post that I replied to explaining how to do that. Just search the forums on my username

[rootsmart]

I have found that if I shut-down all of my other computers that are hooked into the router and I stop all internet services on my recording comp except Skype I get great quality recording. I would recommend either routing everything through your mixer (if you have one) or using two programs to record. Before I got my iRiver I would open up Audacity and Audition and have one set to my mic and one set to the "What U Hear" settings on my soundcard. That way I had myself on a seperate track, so I could edit each track seperatly.

If you are using the mixer method I would recommend having your voice panned all the way to the left and the skype panned to the right. That gives that ability to edit each track individually.

[jeffbearer]

I've had good luck putting a microphone to a speaker phone. another option would be to build one of these.

http://dmcex.com/more/pdfs/OSTI_8-1000_Plans.pdf

[bazookajoeshow]

I've done nearly all my remote interviews via Skype and I have to say that while Skype is handy, the audio isn't reliable. I've had conversations that sound almost as good as a phone call and others that were so bad I couldn't use them.

Lately I've been using the Radio Shack Wireless Phone Recording Controller (Cat. No. 17-855) that I'm pretty happy with. I run a line in to my iRiver and then clean up the audio in post as best I can.

Here's what you should know with the set-up I'm using: the other person definitely sounds like their talking on a phone. Secondly, my voice sounds a touch flat, although that could be the head-set I'm using. Even so, I'm still much happier with the results than I am with my Skype conversations.

Bazooka Joe

[Ibarionex]

I am currently using Garage Band to record my podcast. It's an interview show and the bulk of the show is being recorded on location with my M-Audio digital recorder. However, some of the people I want to interview for future episodes are outside of Los Angeles.

I did get Audicity with my digital recorder but I haven't installed it. Is either Audicity or Garage Band better suited for recording Skype calls?

What do I have to consider for getting the best audio quality possible? Any help would be appreciated.

My podcast is an interview show where I interview established photographers.

www.thecandidframe.com

Thanks for the help.

Ibarionex

[X Pat Radio]

Originally Posted by TheJoelster

Hey everyone I am a Radio Host out here in Southern California on KCAA 1050AM on a show GameTalkLive on Saturdays at 1pm trying to conduct interviews from my home, and I was just wondering other then Skype which I have been getting terrible quality on using Hot Recorder, what are some other options? Any suggestions on getting better quality on Skype?

I was thinking of recording a phone conversation for an interview up coming on the show, and I wanted to know what you guys would think would be the best way to go about doing this? Thanks in advance.

----Joel Szerlip----
GameTalkLive.com

If you have the bucks, try a Telos One unit. Its a real phone interface.

You may be able to use GTalk from Google.

[roadrageradio]

Originally Posted by X Pat Radio

If you have the bucks, try a Telos One unit. Its a real phone interface.

You may be able to use GTalk from Google.

I use something called a CellTap from JK Audio. It plugs in to the headset jack of my cell phone, and has a jack for a cell phone headset and an audio line out.

It allows me to record both sides of a phone conversation on my portable mp3 recorder.

It was $79 and they have a similar unit for land lines.

[NaughtiusMaximus]

Originally Posted by ozpodcaster

Hey mate

Couple of suggestions.. head over to Radio Shack (at least i think thats what you guys call it in the US) they would be sure to have some contraption that you could use to record the regular telephone

As an alternative to skype check out gizmoproject.. has native free recording built in

Cheers

Matt
http://www.ozpodcaster.com

I've got a couple of those. You stick it in your ear and hold the phone up against it. It's not a bad little electret condenser mic for only $20. I got two so I can walk around recording in stereo and people think I'm just wearing a pair of earbuds.