Hint: If you're using a mono microphone, switch your MiniDisc player/recorder to mono mode. Instead of 74 minutes of recording, you'll get 148 minutes.

Step Two
Determine where to place the mic. If the mic is on your person, this means figuring out where to stand. We recommend standing somewhat near the front of a concert but not too close to any speakers or security personnel. If you're recording an interview, three to four feet away from everyone's faces should do nicely. Omnidirectional mics don't care which way they're facing, but other types (such as cardioid) need to be pointed at your subject.

Step Three
Once your mic is in place, set the recording level on your MiniDisc (consult your manual to find out how to adjust the recording level). You want the levels as high as they can be without distorting. If the bars go all the way up, the recording is distorting, and digital distortion can be a very ugly sound. Some MiniDisc recorders make it easy by incorporating an automatic record level.

Step Four
If your MiniDisc recorder features synchro recording mode, you may want to disable it if what you're recording has silence interspersed. Synchro recording mode creates a new track whenever it senses silence, so one song or interview might end up chopped into separate tracks. On the other hand, synchro recording can be helpful if the sections of what you're recording are clearly defined with no silence in the middle.

Step Five
Now that you've set up everything, hit Record on your MiniDisc unit whenever you're ready. If you're using a portable unit, try to keep it fairly stable to avoid errors in recording, and press the Hold button to disable all the buttons so that accidental jarring won't have any effect.