Hi Folks,
Using Audacity 2.1.3 on a Windows 7 (Enterprise), one channel of my mic monitoring is missing; it would be good to get this restored. As well, I have a second channel available in my recording space and I only need the one at the time.
Hence, I would like to just reset everything and hopefully get back the default settings. In this case, I’m trying to avoid doing a complete re-install.
Thank you!
Daniel.
Did everything used to work perfectly?
I have a second channel available in my recording space
You’re hoping this is going to start working but it’s a new setting?
Usually shuffling between stereo and mono causes problems because what the system wants and what you want can be different and in weird ways.
The only method I know of is the Reset Settings and Preferences setting in the Windows installer. Making Audacity forget can be a sore point.
Here’s a note.
The easiest way to reset Audacity on Windows, is to re-run the installer and select the option to “Reset Preferences” during the installation.
The installer is available here if you no longer have a copy: http://www.audacityteam.org/download/
I think it’s more likely to be a sound system setting than an Audacity setting (though you’ve not supplied much information, so that’s just a guess). Check the settings in the Windows Sound Control Panel.
Hi Koz,
Making the change in the audacity.cfg file was what I needed to get the other channel back. As the recording I’m doing is voice-over type work, I had set to record Mono, but Audacity thereafter dropped the Right channel. The “RecordChannels=2” setting in the cfg file brought back the right channel. In the end, when exporting my recorded file, I can force it to mono, which is what matters in the end.
Thank you for the tip.
Best,
d.
I’m leery about recommending stereo interfaces for voice work, and I’m aware there is a stereo adapter in the ACX recommended list. ACX also recommends recording live to an external USB hard drive which is a terrible idea.
Yes, Stereo adapters have good specifications, sometimes even marginally better than companion mono units, but they come with rules.
Many of them can’t simply switch to mono. Some of them vanish when you try to mount them mono, some try to mix Left and Right (and mess with volume settings), some try to mix Left and Right and don’t mess with volume settings creating possible overload conditions and some only record graceful mono with special software drivers.
Way down at the bottom of the list are the stereo units that just assume you want simple Left to appear mono, which correct me, is what most voice people actually want.
And yes, Post is not that hard. Split stereo to mono with the drop-down menu on the left and [X] delete the blank track.
And please note Post doesn’t work if you intend to use the microphone and stereo adapter live as in games, conferencing or musical overdubbing.
Lot to be said for mono adapters.
I can hear my engineering masters whispering my ear, “Use the appropriate equipment…”
Koz
