# Equipment for recording audio

Having the right audio equipment makes a big difference in the quality of recorded audio. Surprisingly, basic audio equipment can be relatively inexpensive.

- Computer with sound card: The sound card installed with your computer acts as a digital recorder for audio.

- Microphone: If possible, avoid using the inexpensive microphone packaged with your computer. Also, use a proper microphone cable and a stand to hold the microphone while you are recording.

- Microphone preamplifier: A preamplifier boosts the signal of the microphone. The microphone input of your computer's sound card probably includes a preamplifier, but it is most likely a poor quality one. When purchasing a preamplifier, you can choose a small mixer or a stand-alone version. Mixers let you connect several microphones and devices to one location and adjust their volumes independently. Stand-alone preamplifiers are considered better than mixers at filtering out unwanted noises.

- Speakers: The speakers that came with your computer are probably good enough for recording purposes, although you may want to change some of your speaker settings. However, if you are working on a laptop, you must use standard desktop computer speakers instead of the built-in laptop speakers.

Note: In Microsoft Windows operating systems, you can usually find speaker (sound) settings by clicking Start in the lower left corner and selecting Settings > Control Panel > Sounds.

- Headphones: Headphones are important because when the microphone is on, speakers can cause distracting feedback. Additionally, it is best to use closed-ear headphones that prevent leaking sound (which can be picked up by the microphone).

- Recording software: A wide range of recording software is available. Important software features include editing functionality (to fix mistakes), music and sound effect options, and the capability to create the file format you require (such as MP3 or WAV). An excellent, easy-to-use, and free option is software named Audacity (available from audacity.sourceforge.net).

- Recording area: Once you have acquired the necessary audio equipment, the most important action you can take before recording is an obvious one: find a quiet place to record. Try closing doors, turning off any unnecessary computer equipment, turning off or lowering lights that might be making noise, turning off phone ringers, beepers, and pagers. Of course, try to tell coworkers that recording is in progress.