Audacity help

Irish Flute
1

I am a total moron when it comes to trying to record things using Audacity. My main problem is that everything I record comes out too quiet and then when I increase the volume (after I’ve recorded) it comes out very scratchy. I try adjusting the volume on the mic and the main volume before I hit record but it doesn’t seem to make much difference. Can anyone offer any advice on what to do? Also, I don’t understand the whole reverb/echo thing. Anyone care to give that one a stab? I am using the USB mic that came with Rock Band.

Thanks in advance!

2

Hmmm … When you say “main volume”, do you mean, I hope, the recording level volume control in your sound card control panel? The master playback volume control has no effect on the recording level.

A good recording level should average between -6 dB and -3 dB, judging by the Audacity level meters and the final recording. That’s loud enough for a good signal-to-noise ratio, and still allow enough headroom both for recording dynamics and for post-processing.

As for reverb, I’m not sure what your question is. You can apply the effect to the finished recording, adjusting the parameters to taste. For solo recording, a little bit of reverb goes a long way. Usually, you want just enough to compensate for room acoustics, and not sound like a deliberate effect.

Does that help?

3

No idea about Rock Band, but the only USB mic I ever tried wouldn’t respond to anything in the computer sound control. It had a fixed input volume that was nowhere near what was necessary to record a flute. I was able to control the mic input volume through Audacity (or the sound control panel) only after I tried using the built-in mic on my laptop or once I got a (analog) mic.

4

Well, after messing around with a few things I’m thinking the problem is my mic. It’s doing a bit of what you mentioned, Chas. It only seems to record if the volume on the mic is turned all the way up or one or two notches below all the way up. Then when I try to set it lower the volume slider either shoots all the way up or all the way down and won’t go anywhere else.

MTGuru, I don’t know what I mean by the “main volume.” :smiley: It’s the one next to the mic volume in Audacity. I can’t seem to get any sort of decent recording out of the mic and I’m sure it’s mostly me and only a little of what I have to work with. I probably just need someone to sit down with me and try to show me how to use the program.

The reverb . . . . it’s under GVerb, right? I can’t find anything that’s just reverb. I don’t know what to set the levels at to make it sound normal with just a little touch of reverb.

I just don’t understand how to use this program. Is there anything out there that would be easier for a recording imbecile like me to use? This is very frustrating!

5

I use a mp3 recorder and then transfer the data to the PC and always get what you mentioned, a low volume when the file is opened through Audacity. I don’t know if in your case it’s going to be the same, but I just need to select the file and choose the function “normalize”, then the volume gets much higher.

P.S.: your ex-Lehart is lovely :heart:

6

Tiff, I was referring to the level controls in the Windows audio control panel for your sound card and/or USB mike, not in Audacity.

For example, if you want to record using the old Windows Sound Recorder app, or some other program that lacks its own input volume control, how do you set the level? That’s the control I mean.

On my machine, the Audacity record slider and the Windows record slider are linked, so changing the one changes the other anyway.

In Audacity, is the input source (the drop-down next to the record slider) set correctly for your USB mike? Maybe try one of the other choices - Microphone, Line-In, etc.

Do you have a cheap computer microphone and a mike jack on your computer that you can plug it into? If so, and if you can get that to work, you’ll know the problem is your USB mike or the driver interface. If that’s the case, sorry I can’t help more. Like chas, I use an analog setup - mike and mixer to line-in - and the levels work fine.

You’re right … GVerb is pretty confusing.

Here’s a page with some sample settings. The “Quick Fix” setting is a good place to start. Then for a more natural whistle reverb, try setting the Damping and Tail Level sliders to about halfway, so Damping = 0.5 and Tail Level = -35 dB.

http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php?title=GVerb

Aw c’mon, you’re too hard on yourself, everyone goes through it. You’ll do fine once you get your hardware problem solved. Audacity does have a learning curve. But once the light bulb goes on, you’ll wonder why it seemed hard. :slight_smile:

Meanwhile, if you aren’t ready to give up on Audacity yet, check out some good tutorial links from our friend fancypiper:

http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?p=762211#762211

7

MTGuru, thank you for the information on the GVerb settings. I used the “quick fix” settings and the two you had suggested and it came out quite nice. Thank you so much! I haven’t had time enough yet to mess with the volume issue any further but yes, I do have a cheap computer mic. That is what I was using before I tried this USB mic but it sounded so scratchy. I’ll try it again and see what happens.

Thanks again!