I record on a crappy webcam. lol After throwing a few effects on it doesn't sound so bad though!

What eBay do you go to? The cheapest Buy It Now for me is $147.59 . Cheaper than the $200 I previously complained about though. I'll own one soon I swears *shakes fist*

You can get one new on amazon for just over 140 bucks

http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-H2-Portable- … B000VBH2IG

And there are half a dozen on ebay with buy it nows around 100 bucks.

I ended up getting this thing called a Yamaha Pocketrak a few years back and it's been a godsend.  Such a rad little unit - and way smaller than H2.  I just leave it in my pocket for entire nights out and it has a little USB plug that flips out - no cables required.  Don't know how the sound compares to the zoom but it fares well with high SPL, you can just face it one way and do a mono recording fine.  I've also had it on a table between two glossy books angled forwards and managed to get an almost binaural recording out of it :-)

Lazerbeat: I've never understood why countries allowed earthing to slip by - esp Japan of all places.  UK and Australia are hardcore as you'd know.  I have to get all my PA / AV gear tested and tagged for correct earthing once a year.  Some venues won't allow it though the door without! 

What kind of mic are you using?  I find that you can just experiment in a room - there are no rules.  My recording this week was just in the lounge room with my mic stacked on some books.  I had a couple of dunas stacked behind the mic - and just got the mic placed right. Moved around a few times.  It was only a cheap USB Podcast mic too - needed eq'ing though.

And take pictures, haha

yay panty hose.. make sure it's the crotch section

Take a comforter and hang it in the corner of your room.  Put the microphone between you and the comforter and sing into it with your mouth 3-6 inches from the mic.  If you have a pop filter, it's a good idea to use it.  To cut down on the fan noise, I suggest either recording a low volume or covering your computer during the recording with another blanket or towels. 

By the way, you can make a pretty nifty pop filter by stretching some panty hose over a wire coat hanger.

I know nothing about vocals, but I wanna start recording them sometime soon. Is a bathroom a good place to record them? Would a closet be better?

My field recordings were done with the Zoom H2. Unfortunately I've been unable to find one to call my own for less than $200

Make sure you get the little wind cover thing, its a life saver.

I've thought about getting a small recording device for quite some time, just to take with me in case I hear a cool sound or whatever, you never know. Had no idea of what to look for though, thanks a lot.

I have immense sympathy with you, I live on the second floor of an old (for where I am) apartment building and none of the plug sockets except the one in the kitchen are grounded. My set up buzzes constantly and my wife vetoed my plan of driving a 12 foot copper spike into the ground and pouring 50 gallons of salt water over it and running an earthwire to my gear.

Have yhough thought about getting one of these

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoom_H2_Handy_Recorder

They are awesome little recorders and probably available used for well under 100 bucks.

this seems to work really well, a large amount of room noise is gone and i don't sound like im in a bathtub recording this shit anymore. didn't have a stand small enough for the mic so i just cut a small hole in a packing foam block to mount the mic in

some foley stuff, some claps and a bit of vocals as well. trying something like this for now with some old mattress foam egg crates http://www.radiosalescafe.com/profiles/ … e=activity

What sort of things are you recording? If you're doing vocals and you've got a few thick blankets you can drape them up around your recording space and it should provide extra sound insulation.