Hello,
I am new in radio and trying to set up my Audacity correctly to record intros for songs. I have tried to change my settings but I still sound far away in my recording. I’ve had my station manager recommend settings on my Behringer Xenyx 502 mixer and in Audacity I’m recording 16 bit format with 44100 Hz. I’ve adjusted my gain and that has helped but i’m trying to not sound distorted. I just sound like I’m standing 15 feet away from the microphone when I record and I’m speaking loudly! I’m using a Windows 10 laptop and have the microphone plugged into the mixer, which has a USB plugged into my laptop…
I’m hoping this is an easy fix. I’m just new and learning!
Any help is appreciated.
Thank you.
Nicole
We should fill in a few holes.
The microphone is:
The 502 is not a USB mixer. Where did you get the computer USB connection from?
Look at the Audacity device toolbar paying attention to the recording side (little microphone). Odds are terrific you’re recording from the laptop built-in microphone, not the ________ microphone.
You should know Audacity checks for new connections and devices when it starts, so if you had Audacity running and then plugged in your USB cable, Audacity won’t see it. Restart Audacity and check the devices available to you.
http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/device_toolbar.html
Meanwhile back at the mixer, can you get loud enough to light up the “0” lights on the right hand side? I would start with these settings:
GAIN (on the left) at 3 o’clock
Hi, Low and PAN in the middle
LEVEL (on the left) at 3 o’clock
2/3 LEVEL and 4/5 LEVEL off.
Both 2-TRACK buttons popped out.
MAIN MIX at noon.
PHONES wherever is comfortable.
Where do you lose it?
You can use the scratch test to tell which microphone is alive. Make a recording, announce and scratch each microphone. Never Blow into a Microphone. You may need your instructions to tell where the laptop microphone is. Mine is to the left of the left-hand SHIFT key.
http://kozco.com/tech/audacity/clips/ScratchTest2.wav
Koz