Comments on: Interviews via Skype

By: bloh

bloh — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 11:51:51 +0000

mmm…as for me I record Skype with SkypeCap

By: Jim Robert

Jim Robert — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 02:07:15 +0000

Hey… Many recorders have built in preamps.

If this is the case, you should be able to get rid of the mixer all together an just plug the mic and computer’s audio out both directly into the recorder.

Not only does it save you money on the mixer, and 2 cables… it also saves you 1 point of failure (and many small, low-budget mixers do fail)

By: Antonio

Antonio — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:48:32 +0000

Doug, thanks for that information. I’m wondering, can you suggest an inexpensive recorder. Also, lets say that I’ve got skype on the mac going to my behringer 802…for the cord that goes back into the mac with my voice, can I have it go into mic in? Or do I need to use line inputs – btw, I’ll be using a recorder to back up the conversations. Is the line input only for the final mixdown?

Also, have you heard of the zoom h2 recorder?

By: Doug Kaye

Doug Kaye — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:12:00 +0000

Antonio: You can’t directly feed a line-level signal into a mic-level input. It requires a device to reduce the level and match the impedance. You could use two separate USB audio interfaces, once for each laptop, but it’s probably cheaper just to buy an inexpensive recorder. There’s no way to suggest settings remotely. You’ve got to work with the audio. I suggest you look at http://forum.conversationsnetwork.org/viewforum.php?id=22

By: Antonio Perez

Antonio Perez — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 06:33:28 +0000

Hey Doug, I’m currently trying to get this setup working. I’ve got two laptops, and neither of them have line inputs on the crappy built in sound cards. Is it possible for me to get away with just getting a usb or a pcmcia sound card with line inputs for the laptop that will be feeding my voice back into the laptop running skype, and just use the other laptops built in mic input to record the entire conversation? For the laptop that will be recording the conversation, I can just use adobe audition to remove the noise, which actually works pretty damn good. Also, do you have any tutorials or suggestions on what settings I should use on my behringer 802 mixer to keep the sound good (no hiss, static, etc.)

Thanks

antonioperez@atriskstoriesofhope.com

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 22:59:53 +0000

Doug, I saw this a few months ago and put it into use about ten podcasts ago. It was exactly what I was trying to figure out what to do with skype and it works great. I use it exactly as you have it in this diagram and it was a lot of help. Thanks!

By: site admin

site admin — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 04:40:59 +0000

The cables will depend on your mixer, etc. No one-size-fits-all, I’m afraid.

By: Balki

Balki — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 04:34:14 +0000

Hi Doug –
Thanks a lot for writing about this setup. I am going to give it a shot. Can you suggest what type of cables do I need to connect the various hardware units?
Thanks
Balki

By: Doug Kaye

Doug Kaye — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 00:37:22 +0000

Hi, Steve. I do’t record from Skype, but dozens of people have tried this and liked it. See also http://www.blogarithms.com/index.php/archives/2005/07/22/interviews-via-skype-revisited/

There were many more comments here, but I lost part of a database. (Long story.)

By: Steve Hodgdon

Steve Hodgdon — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 14:48:43 +0000

Doug, I was wondering how this Skype-recording solution has been working out for you and if you had made any enhancements. I’ve experimented with dozens of software combinations for recording Skype calls for podcasts, and they’ve been overly complicated hairballs that didn’t work well. So I think I’m going to try your hardware-based model with the external recorder and mixer, if you still give it a thumbs up.
- Steve