I record talk vocals for a radio station. I edit with EQs and macros to try and get a nice studio sound. However, it seems the audio is not loud enough. I am using a Blue Snowball USB mic straight into the computer for Audacity. My thoughts to boost more sound is to get a small mixing board, and then go into the computer. Would you agree with this or is this even possible? I would love to hear your recommended set up if you want to try and get a good FM studio sound with enough volume using Audacity.
If you Normalize, or just run the Amplify effect with the defaults, that will “maximize” the volume. You should do that last after EQ or other effects/processing, although you can also do it before if you want something “louder” to work with.
If you need to go louder, you can’t boost the peaks above 0dB, but you can use the limiter or compressor to push-down the peaks. Use Make-up gain (or Normalize or Amplify again after limiting/compression) to bring-up the overall volume.
…The Snowball, like most USB mics without a recording-level control, is designed intentionally with low sensitivity so you don’t overload it and get clipping/distortion with loud sounds.
And the Snowball won’t work with a mixer. You’d need an analog mic. (And you’d probably want a mixer with USB output.)
Thank you so much for the quick response. So yes, I realize I will have to a mic (or mics for interviews) to go with the board. I already do everything you mentioned, more than once actually to get a fuller effect (including noise reduction, treble & bass eq, limiter, compressor, amplifier, Normalize, etc.
So if I get a small 4 channel board, can that connect to the computer to help me with a boosted sound to Audacity?
Yes… probably… But get a “studio condenser” mic. They put-out around 20dB more signal than a dynamic mic. Some mixers have enough gain for dynamic mics, but some don’t and most audio interfaces don’t, unless you are recording a drum or guitar amp.
And for a mixer or audio interface you will need a stage/studio mic with balanced XLR connectors. “Computer mics” have unbalanced connections and they are not interchangeable.
But in the end, your digital files are still limited to 0dBFS.
…Some formats can go over, 0dB and Audacity can go over 0dB internally. But DACs and almost all ADCs are hard-limited to 0dB, and a radio station won’t be happy if you go over, and they will turn it down and/or limit.
Perfect break down. Thank you. This is what I will do .
Last question, though using an XLR connection for the mics to the mixer, the mixer itself can use USB to the computer? Or would I need another device?
There are mixers with USB.
Note that most of these send the stereo mix out of the USB port, even if the mixer has more inputs.
There are higher-end USB mixers (or multi-channel USB interfaces) that can record all of the inputs to separate tracks (for mixing later in software) but in most cases you’ll also need a full DAW application. Audacity tends to “have trouble” with multi-track recording.
There’s a free multi-band compressor plugin which has an FM preset