I just realised that my explanation of a tape sync was very poor. You
need *two* separate people to record (with good mics, etc) the
interviewer and interviewee separately, but simultaneously, so that one
person is recording the questions and another, in a different location,
the answers. Then you edit these together into a seamless interview.

I hope this makes sense.

Cheers,

Marcos

Marcos Sueiro wrote:
> Hi Barbara,
>
> If you want to do telephone interviews, you will get much better
> quality by using a high-quality microphone on the interviewer's side
> (Shure SM7, ElectroVoice RE-20 are classics; Rode
> http://www.rodemic.com. makes some very nice ones at good prices) and
> an interface like this one: http://www.jkaudio.com/broadcast-host.htm.
>
> Even better quality is achieved (but with far more work) by doing a
> tape sync: You hire someone to record the interviewee and interviewer
> separately at their locations, and later edit it all into one
> seamless interview. This is how radio interviews are often done.
>
> To record in person, it depends a lot on the setup and how noisy the
> environment is. Tabletop PZM mics often work well because they are
> less physically intrusive and distracting for the interviewee:
> http://www.crownaudio.com/mic_web/pzm.htm (tip: place them on a mouse
> pad to dampen tabletop rumble).
>
> Finally, although expensive, I have only heard good things from the
> Sound Devices family of audio recorders:
> http://www.sounddevices.com/products/702.htm. Marantz also makes
> well-respected machines such as the PMD-660 http://tinyurl.com/goyv7.
>
> Make sure you record your oral histories as good-quality wav files,
> and only generate the lower-quality file when you are ready to podcast.
>
> As for archiving, I would use hard drives with redundancy, be it tape
> , RAID, or all of the above.
>
> Good luck!
>
> Marcos
>
>> 1. We have just conducted our first podcasts to be available online
>> in the near future. These were done over the phone through a
>> contracted conference-call company. The sound quality is good for the
>> interviewee but the interviewer's in-phone mike is causeing some
>> 'slurring' sounds. Could you recommend an external mike for a phone?
>> Is there something more low-tech which might be used to reduce this
>> problem (I've heard that covering the mike holes with something like
>> cotton or foam works)? Is there a particular model of podcast
>> quality phone that you can recommend?
>
>> 2. For non-podcast oral histories done by phone what equipment would
>> you recommend? Phone make and model? Mike to attach to phone?
>> 3. For oral histories done in person what equipment would you
>> recommend?
>>
>> 4. What is the best way to archive these until they find a permanent
>> home and which would be acceptable to a library? On what media: cd,
>> dvd, dv or magnetic tape? Is it okay to house them in a standard
>> climate controlled self-storage unit?
>>
>> 5. What cataloging system do you recommend? What easy-to-use
>> software might facilitate transfer to a library archive in the
>> foreseeable future?
>> Any help you might lend will be greatly appreciated. We have an
>> impending deadline to use our budget so time is of the essence.
>> Thank you in advance for your responses,
>> Barbara Egan
>>