Towards improving the sound quality of my podcast and other audio and video projects, I recently scored a Korg D1200 Digital Recording Studio. Technology-wise, perhaps it’s a bit old, but I think it may be what I need to take the next step in my audio adventure.
The D1200 was billed as a 12-track “studio in a box,” in that you could input your audio, mix it, apply effects, and record, even onto a final CD if desired, all in one unit. There are more features on it than I need at the moment, but it does have XLR inputs with high-quality mic pre-amps and +48V phantom power for two of the four analog inputs, which was something I was looking for.
See, before I had been using a Rode Podcaster USB dynamic mic, plugging directly into my laptop and recording using Audacity. This solution is actually pretty nice, because the Rode Podcaster is a dynamic mic that includes its own internal popfilter, 48kHz A/D converter, and a cardoid polar pattern. This mic, by plugging directly into the laptop, offers a highly mobile solution, allowing me to easily record while on travel.
However, because it’s a USB mic, it is difficult to record with more than just one input. The Korg D1200 offers the ability to mix together four inputs, records at 24-bit, and allows track export into .WAV format. Unfortunately, the unit does not stream to USB, but it does allow transfer of the final .WAV file via USB.
The problem with the Korg unit was its extremely loud hard drive—the high-pitched whine corrupted any mic work I did. And then, the hard drive started to get confused, giving me errors.
So much for that idea.
However, we figured out how to pull out the hard drive, install a new one, and voila—a Korg D1200, just like new!
So, now I’ve got a new condenser mic, the Samson C01 Large Diaphragm Vocal Condenser Microphone, and I recorded a new podcast episode using my new setup—you can find it here if you want to listen to it. Note: the music intro and outro of the podcast were not recorded on the Korg, just the voice.
I’m still learning how best to set up the Korg for recording and am trying to figure out how best to improve the quality of my recordings. If you have any insights or suggestions, please let me know!