Blue Snowball ICE Changing Pitch Problems!!!

Audacity Help Forum Windows
1

Hi,

I got a Blue Snowball ICE at Christmas Time and since then I had no problems with it, and I use Audacity to record with it.

But recently, during recordings, the pitch of my voice will change to a deep voice then go back to my normal voice, without me changing it.

I don’t know if its my mic or my Audacity?

Can anyone help me?

2

Please read the pink panel at the top of this page and give us the necessary information.

Almost certainly It will be a sample rate mismatch somewhere.

Set Audacity to MME host and mono recording in Device Toolbar.

Choose 44100 Hz project rate bottom left of Audacity.

Assuming you are on Windows Vista or later, open Windows Sound and click the Recording tab. Right-click the Snowball, choose “Properties”, then click the “Advanced” tab. Set Default Format to 1 channel, 16-bit,44100 Hz. Uncheck both Exclusive Mode boxes, OK and OK.

Restart Audacity.

Reboot the computer if the problem persists.


Gale

3

If the sample rate is off, the speed will also change. With a slight pitch shift (if you are singing and you are slightly out of tune) you might not notice the speed change.

But if the pitch of your voice changes a lot, the speed will also change noticeably. (If you’re old enough to remember phonograph records, it’s like playing a record at the wrong speed… When you slow it down, the pitch goes down.)

It’s also rare to get a gross sample rate error. Sometimes the clock in your soundcard is off by a few percent… It’s rare for the software or drivers to get it wrong.

If it’s just the “tone”, try switching the mic to omnidirectional or move further away from the mic. Cardioid (directional) mics boost the bass when you get close to them. (Male radio announcers often take advantage of this for a deeper, more resonant, “announcer voice”.)

4

My diagnosis of sample rate problems assumes the speed changes (the bassy parts will be slower).

If the speed does not change then in addition to what Doug says, see if you have installed some sound effects application that works with external recording or playback devices.


Gale