I’m working on recording a song for a friend of mine, we’re very new to doing this but she has an incredible voice.
Only problem is that when she starts belting next to our brand new mic it causes the audio that’s too loud to become distorted and there is a bit of a reverberating sound like she is overloading it.
The mic itself has a -10dB setting that is supposed to help with loud audio and such, but I’m wondering if there is a way to bring down the volume of the mic on audacity as it’s recording so that it doesn’t get this sound to begin with because trying to get a nicely edited copy with her singing properly is becoming very difficult.
We do not have a pop guard for the mic, and I’m not honestly sure if it would help, but would get one if that were something that might.
What mic are you using? Is it a USB or analog mic? If it’s a stage or studio mic, do you have an audio interface with an XLR input or are you trying to use a regular soundcard?
Distortion during recording normally comes from overloading the analog-to-digital converter and an ideal set-up would have a preamp with an analog gain control.
It’s also possible to overload the analog electronics in a condenser mic, and that’s probably what your -10dB switch is for. But, that’s generally for really loud sounds such as a guitar amp.
…that’s too loud to become distorted and there is a bit of a reverberating sound like she is overloading it.
Reverberation is not distortion. It’s the short-indistinct echos you get in a music hall or a tiled bathroom, etc. Reverb, especially in a small room, can degrade the sound or sound unnatural, and reflections can alter the frequency response, but it’s different from overload distortion ([u]clipping[/u])…