5. Recording

If an interview is worth recording, it is worth recording well. A poorly recorded interview can be transcribed but it can be used for little else. Radio, television and commercial records have accustomed present generations to a fairly high standard of recorded sound. This has also set a standard for any oral historians who wish to use their tapes for the various audio applications which are described in Chapter 12. Even if these uses are not of primary concern, interviewers should take the trouble to use their tools efficiently. Given that recording techniques for the usual interview situation are perfectly straightforward, if becomes almost as easy to make a good recording as a bad one!