I am starting a podcast and need to be able to record with microphones. There’s got o be a way to set that up.
Use an [u]interface[/u] with two or more mic inputs, and a pair of “good” microphones (with XLR connectors).
Another option is a mixer with two or more mic inputs. You can connect the line-output from the mixer to line-in on a regular soundcard, or there are mixers with USB outputs. (Most laptops don’t have line-inputs.)
In general, you can only record from one “device” at a time, so you can’t generally record from 2 or more USB microphones. (There may be software or work-arounds but it’s not “easy”.)
Note that mixers & USB audio interfaces are designed to work with performance/studio mics (low impedance balanced with XLR connectors). They don’t work with analog or USB “computer microphones”.
You totally can…but. There’s a split between one and two microphones. Many computers come with one microphone or the ability to manage one. Open your laptop, start Skype and go. Creating a podcast with one of these is dead simple with Audacity or any other audio program. Increase the quality of your podcast with any one of the fine USB microphones out there.
Computers have no natural ability to handle two or more microphones. For that you need a small mixer. Suddenly, you’re not doing your mum’s Skype any more, now you’re doing a tiny concert or broadcast. Even worse if you want to include Skype interviews with your show. Unless you get insanely lucky, that means a second computer.
Also please note that you can’t use your USB microphone with a mixer. They’re really different.
Just to scare you as much as possible, this is how I did it last time I tried a “simple” multi-microphone podcast.
http://kozco.com/tech/audacity/pix/PodCast_Studio_WS.jpg
Skype connection on the right and show recording plus music playback on the left. The mixer in the middle will cheerfully handle four “broadcast” microphones at once, with music and sound effects at the same time.
Someone posted a web site that covers all these variations in detail and I’m looking for it.
Do you want to hide under the bed yet ?
Koz
Can’t find it immediately.
How did you want to do this? Did you see someone doing it and want to duplicate their setup?
Remember with two or more guests you need headphones, too, not just microphones, and everybody likes their headphones a little different.
If you never, ever need more than two, you can use one bi-directional or omni-directional USB microphone and put it in the middle between you. If you do that, you can never change the sound of one person in Audacity without changing both.
Koz
So I found a way too work it, I am using the recording software Alis Recording Tool and its recording the 2 audios separately and I am importing Them to Audacity. I am using two Guitar Hero Mics, the quality is great for a grand total of $17. Thanks for the advise people, but if you know how I can add a 2nd mic on audacity let me know.
How did you want to do this? Did you see someone doing it and want to duplicate their setup?
No The set up is made up in my head, got 2 mics, got a laptop, and got a bottomless barrel of funny people.
Its going to be mostly comedians so I wont need headphones (we use mics all the time) plus audacity makes it easy to lowers someones overall volume.
I am thinking of a format somewhere between The Bone Zone and The JRE.
Thanks People
So I found a way too work it – its recording the 2 audios separately – if you know how I can add a 2nd mic on audacity let me know.
Let me read that back to you: “I found a way to record both microphones but if you find a way to record two microphones let me know.”
??
Did I get that? If you did find a way to record two analog microphones separately, let us in on the secret. Just the software package won’t do it.
Remember, this is a forum, not a help desk.
Koz
He found a way to record with two USB microphones using other software (not Audacity).
On both Linux and Mac OS X it is possible (not easy) to configure the sound system so that Audacity can record from two USB devices at the same time. The Windows sound system does not have this functionality but it should still be possible with the aid of third party software such as “virtual audio cable” (commercial, non-free software: Virtual Audio Cable (VAC) - connect audio applications, route and mix sounds) or perhaps with “VB-Audio Virtual Cable” (I think this is “donation-ware” but please check: Orange)
I wish he would have said more English words. Those microphones came in two different versions. If he is using the USB version, he’ll be back with sync issues.
Koz
you can record 2 MIC with Voicemeeter (http://www.voicemeeter.com) and Audacity !
see tutorial there for example
http://youtu.be/atobXq-iA-k
Thanks - note we do have a FAQ for this: Audacity Manual .
I added Voice Meeter and Alis to the FAQ (the update will appear in the Manual for the next release of Audacity).
Thanks, Vincent.
So Voice Meeter would be a good solution for recording Skype with game audio? We quite often get asked that, but Skype can obstinately cause recording volume fluctuations or dropouts (so we’re told).
Gale
Yes it can be used for that, by recording Voicemeeter virtual output (called BUS B on the GUI).
- complete documentation available on voicemeeter webpage -
That seems to solve a lot of the recording and routing issues — on Windows.
I wonder how they got around the sync issue. You can’t resample the microphones without headphone monitoring delay issues and if you don’t do something, the two (or more) sources will slowly drift out of time, such as in this post:
https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/samson-c01u-commentary-becomes-desynced-slowly-over-time/34643/1
Can we assume those are all USB microphones and headphones? There are little holes in the YouTube where he mentions product numbers.
Koz