Good day. I am using an EV Dynamic Hypercardioid microphone (N/D457) plugged into my computer USB Port. After recording some audio, I have to use the Normalize (Ctrl Shift N) option to get the volume up. Is there another way to amplify the input from the microphone? Thank you for any help.
What’s a UNC port?
Stage/studio mics (with XLR connectors) are normally connected witha USB audio interface (with the proper “pro” mic input) or a USB mixer.
And dynamic mics are about 20dB “weaker” than condenser mics.
If you need to normalize or amplify just to see the waveform, try setting the view to logarithmic.
Good day DVDoug. The UNC should have been USB. I don’t know how to access a “pro” mike setting. Thank you for responding.
Good day Wrecks0 and thank you for responding. The mic audio is placed between songs for podcast publication. If I don’t Amplify the mic audio, it won’t be heard. Is there a setting that will amplify the mic audio while it is being input?
If the sound quality is OK after you run the Amplify effect, it should be OK.
I think the root problem is the dynamic microphone. Most audio interfaces are optimized for “studio condenser” mics and often they don’t enough gain for a dynamic mic unless it’s directly in front of a drum or loud guitar amplifier, etc.
Computer mics (that plug-into soundcards) are usually electret condensers which also have more output than a dynamic, but they are incompatible with balanced XLR connections. (It’s not just the type of connector.)
But that’s not a USB mic, right? You’ve got some kind of USB audio interface or “adapter”? And both the mic and interface/adapter have XLR connectors? You didn’t add any other adapters?
…There are “adapter cables” that look like simple cables with analog on one end and a USB plug on the other end. But they have chip with an analog-to-digital converter built-into one end. It’s essentially a “USB soundcard”.
Some people using dynamic mics for podcasts use a Cloudlifter to boost the signal. These things need 48 phantom power which is normally supplied by the audio interface (or mixer or preamp) because studio condenser mics also need phantom power.
P.S.
Some USB mics intentionally have low sensitivity so they don’t overload with loud sounds. But the better ones usually have a recording-level adjustment knob.
Good day again DVDdoug and thank you for staying with this one. I can see now that the this is not going to end well and that is not your fault, it is mine. Up until today I was using Version 3.2.4. That was an upgrade from 3.2.0 and it caused a lot of issues for me. Today I upgraded to 3.5.1 and I am not pleased. I can see several things that make me want to go back to 3.2.4. After all the grief of the upgrade to 3.2.4, I was able to make things work easily. this newer version already has 2 MAJOR issues that I don’t like.
I create a weekly Podcast that contains audio created by me between songs from my music library. That created a black line separator between each element in the podcast. In the earlier version I was able to remove those barriers by clicking on them. I have not yet found a way to remove the barriers that were created today. I realize that the barrier makes it easier to find a particular song or audio, but I don’t want them there. The second issue is trying to store (or export) the finished product to a file that can then be uploaded to my Podcast Broadcaster. I have no idea what an AUP3 file is and I don’t think that file type is accepted by my Podcast Broadcaster. After a lot of experimentation, I was able to create a final product in MP3 format. Still, the folder that I direct the storage to does not show all of the existing files already there. At this point I think the best thing to do is to revert back to Version 3.2.4 if that is possible. Thank you again for your help, but I do not like the way things are changing with Audacity.
AUP3 is an Audacity-only project file. It can be good if you are working with multiple audio files, etc.
You save AUP3 files and you export audio files (MP3, WAV, etc.)
Personally, I’m mostly editing music files or occasionally digitizing vinyl and I don’t make a project. I usually just save any immediate or temporary files as WAV, and then if I want an MP3 I’ll do that last.
It won’t help with your weak signal problem but if you are unhappy with Audacity you might want to try GoldWave ($60 USD for a lifetime license after the free trial). It’s “similar” to Audacity but with different strengths & weaknesses. I’ve had it for something like 20 years, so it’s essentially been free…
And if you are going to spend money, you might want to consider upgrading to a condenser mic and audio interface (if you don’t already have one), or a USB mixer.
Or a USB “podcast mic” is handy and economical. Many USB mics have a recording level control and a headphone jack for direct monitoring (no latency/delay through the computer). The potential downsides are that you can generally only record from one device at a time (so you can only use one mic) and you can’t use it “live” with PA systems. (Except there are a few mics with both USB and XLR connections.)
This is not Audacity’s problem, but your mind.
black line separator do not affect the sound in any way
As they say in Odessa, store and export are two big differences. Use Export, and you will be happy
Probably not. The EV mic is a simple moving coil “Dynamic” microphone with a 3-pin XLR connection on the bottom.
So there has to be some kind of adapter or special cable to plug that into a computer.
“Dynamic” microphones are just a coil of wire vibrating next to a magnet as you talk. That’s it. They are normally low in volume, but have one advantage that they are almost impossible to overload by talking too loud.
What are you recording? You never quite hit that. Your voice announcing the music?
So fill in the holes. It’s important that you’re not trying to record live music. Some computers don’t like that very much and will reduce the volume.
Koz
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