Recording yourself - What to buy?

[atticus]

Hi all,

I would like to record myself for practicing purposes (i.e. playback while listening and making observations, etc).  I have a acoustic piano...

What do I need to buy for this?  Any recommendations are appreciated.

Thanks,
atticus

[jazzyprof]

If you have a laptop there's a built in microphone.  Now download the free recording software called Audacity.  It will install itself.  Bring your laptop close to the piano, click the record button in Audacity and you're recording!

If you want better sound, spend about $300 for a Zoom H4 digital recorder.  Or about $400 for an Edirol R-09 digital recorder.  You can google all of the above for more information.

[quantum]

I created this thread about microphones.  It may interest you:
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,10124.0.html

[m]

I would like to record myself for practicing purposes (i.e. playback while listening and making observations, etc).  I have a acoustic piano...

What do I need to buy for this?  Any recommendations are appreciated.

The first and main question is what's your budget and what pieces of equipment do you already have--laptop, mic stands, cables, microphones, etc.?

Of course, you get what you pay for and price can vary anywhere from around $250-$300 for a cheap minidisk option up to... well... lots of money, where only a stereo pair of mics can easily run at $4000-$5000. On the other hand, there definitely would be no sense to buy such expensive mics to record an upright in a tiny living room, so ...
What piano you will be recording, how big is the room, and what are its acoustics?

[atticus]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies!  I am looking for something really basic (and relatively inexpensive) since this is just for practicing purposes and I'm not familiar with all of the technology.  I have a nice upright in a tiny living room.  I don't have a laptop or any type of recording device...

Thanks,
atticus

[shingo]

Hey,
is there any good free software to record from a midi input?
Cheers.