Recording Tips - FAQ

  1. First, invest in the highest quality recording equipment you can afford.
  1. Frequently check your recorder for hums, faulty microphones, bad connections or a loose head wire.
  1. Use high quality tapes.  In addition to providing better quality sound, high quality tapes are much less likely to break, jam or cause voice distortion.
  1. Use an adapter to plug your recording equipment into an electrical outlet instead of using batteries.  If you must use batteries, use fresh batteries to minimize fluctuations in recording speed and volume.  It is also a good idea to have spare batteries on hand.
  1. When possible, always use an external microphone.  If several people are included in the recording, try to have a separate microphone for each person or centrally locate the microphone between all speakers.
  1. Place the microphone closer to the interviewee(s) to ensure clear-recorded responses.
  2. Remember, 60-minute tapes are more economical than 120-minute tapes.  Only one person can work on a 120-minute cassette whereas two people can work on two 60-minute cassettes at the same time.  Distortion is also greater on 120-minute cassettes.
  1. Be aware of external noise (traffic, sirens, fans, air conditioners, etc.).  Position the interviewee(s) as far away from the noise source as possible, as microphones are able to pick up noises absent to the naked ear.
  1. Remind the interviewee(s) to speak up and to speak slowly, especially if they have a heavy accent or tend to speak softly.  You may need to remind them more than once during the recording.
  1. At the beginning, especially with groups, ask everyone to speak one at a time and remind them during the recording if necessary.  Try to eliminate side conversations.
  1. If someone has a persistent cough, ask him/her to turn away from the microphone when coughing to avoid overshadowing the other people’s words.
  1. Please do not “rewind” your tapes before submitting them.  This will help us to determine the amount of dictation there is on the tape.
  1. If your recording consists of unusual or highly technical topics, provide a written list of associated terms that are included in your recording to ensure proper use and spelling.  Also, be sure to include any specifications you would like the typists to abide by when transcribing; i.e., margins, spellings, justifications, formatting, etc.
  1. Either mention by name, with the correct spelling, or obtain and provide a list of correctly spelled names of the participants and the originators who will be mentioned in the dictation.  This is especially important with names like Cathy or Kathy, Glen or Glenn, Brian or Bryan, Geoffrey or Jeffrey, Smith or Smythe, etc.  No one likes to see his or her name misspelled!
  1. Avoid recording in ½ speeds.  Not only will it take the typist twice as long to transcribe, but the sound quality will also be greatly reduced.
  1. To ensure better quality, provide the original tapes for transcribing.  NOTE:  It is always a good idea to make duplicate tapes for safe keeping even when the original tapes will be returned to you.