Using Countryman E6 Omnidirectional earset mic, through Scarlett 2i2 | Focusrite phantom power, recording speaking voice with earpiece on the ear.
Even though we have the input level in Audacity at its highest setting, and have the phantom power gain up to just under to where it would peak into red the waveform in Audacity is quiet small. We’d like to get the input level to a more reasonable level, at least touching -.5/.5 in the original recording. Any tips would be appreciated! Thanks!
Even though we have the input level in Audacity at its highest setting, and have the phantom power gain up to…
I couldn’t find much information about your mic, but apparently it does NOT use phantom power (48V). I assume it has a battery? I assume turning-off phantom power makes no difference? Does it have an XLR connector?
…just under to where it would peak into red
Are you hitting 0.5 (and clipping) if you go 'hard" into the red? If so, that’s normal when you record in mono from only one mic because the other half of the digital data is reserved for the other input. You can boost the volume after recording with the Amplify effect. There is more information in the [u]Audacity FAQ[/u]).
It’s standard practice to leave at least 3-6dB of headroom anyway and pros record at -15 to -18dB, leaving LOTs of headroom. This isn’t analog tape where you need a “hot” signal to overcome tape noise… With a good ADC there’s no need to record hot.