Will you help a complete novice??? Please!!

My quest: to make GOOD quality voice recordings and burn them to CDs. I would also like to include on the same CD computer executable files so that a user could either put the cd in their walkman or car stereo and hear the audio tracks or put the cd in their computer, hear the recordings and see animated files on the screen.

Here are my questions so far....

1. Can I make a GOOD quality recording on my PC? If not what type of equipment do I need to buy or should I hire a professional. I would rather do it myself if I can afford the equipment and can learn how.

2. I read that I can mix executable computer files with music tracks on a CD. These will only play on a computer. Can I also include audio tracks that will play on a car stereo (for example) on the same CD so that the same cd would work for both?

3. Are music cd files that will play on a stereo always .cda files?

I told you they were dumb questions. I would be grateful to anyone who can educate me.

1. Yes you can, with a mic with 3.5mm jack, soundcard with mic-in, and a basic recording program. How? Plug the mic into the mic-in on your soundcard, press record on your software (Muiscmatch Jukebox gives good quality recordings), and start talking.

2. Depending on the age of the CD player, you can have CD audio and data CD's that will work in most newish CD players. A program called 'Nero', among others, can do the combined audio/data burning. Sometimes CD's like this wont work in older CD players, but Im yet to have a CD not play in my system.

3. Yes, unless the stereo has MP3 capability. Most burning programs will convert your audio (mp3, wav, whatever you're using) to .cda for you, so you dont need to worry.

DJ Frogi

Thanks so much for the information! I will try out the recording on my pc!

Until I come up with more DUMB questions.....

FAC17

Main thing - Borrow a decent mic off someone!

Yeah, those $2 mics usually dont cut it...

Yeah, i agree with all on this thread, but the settings at which your C.D burner are at will definatly affect the quality of the recording when listening from playback,
wont they?

Depends, depends. If you refer to the write speed, lower write speeds will give higher quality results (not in audio quality, rather, the durability/compatibility with older CD players), and hence, the quality of the CD you are burning to (once again, this will not affect audio quality).

The bottom line being, the CD burner settings have little overall impact on the final audio quality of the CD.

Hmmmmm, not entirely convinced on that one Frogi,
but ill take ur word for it m8.

Not convinced? Ask someone else for a second opinion dude, Im not talking out of my ass here.

So what you're saying is that my CD burner 'settings' (could you refer to which settings?) will afffect the overall quality of the audio quality? Mate, I could use a 50c CD, throw on whatever settings I like for the burner (making sure the audio that is being burnt stays at a consistent quality, of course), and then by a $10 Sony Audio CD-R, spend hours fine tuning my CD burner 'settings', and I would get no noticeable difference in audio quality from the two CDs.

No Frogi No. Don't Embaress yourself