Hey guys,
Just started using Audacity, it’s awesome. I’m wondering why it keeps crackling when I sing or play louder. Is it just my crappy mic or is there some setting I can change to stop that from happening? I found the spots in the file and can delete them all but that’s very time consuming and some spots I’ll get a little skip if there are too many to delete.
Thanks!!
I’m using Windows 10 and Audacity 2.1.2
I appreciate any input!!
Beau
Tuesdays Dead.aup (11.5 KB)
An AUP file is not music, only text. Please see How to post an audio sample.
Audio will distort if your recorded signal goes over 0 dB. Please give us the make and model number of the mic and describe how it connects to your computer. Also tell us exactly what instrument you are playing and how that connects to your computer. If you are connecting to the mic input of a laptop and that is the only audio input, it is the wrong input except for a computer mic and you will expect distortion or poor sound.
Here are some USB interfaces you could use for stuio mics or instruments: http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Sound_Devices_and_Interfaces#USB_Interfaces. An electric guitar might be OK to connect to a mic input, if the guitar cable is designed for a mic input.
Gale
Thank you for the response Gale!
I’m sorry I realized after my post that file wouldn’t work without the data folder 
So I looked at the "how to post an audio sample’ link. Most of the pictures there don’t show up but I think I figured it out.
The distortion only appears in a few sections of the entire song. Hopefully this will give you a good enough example.
I know wav files are huge so didn’t want to record too much. If you need more let me know.
I’m just using the built in mic on my Microsoft LifeCam, just a regular webcam mic with a USB connection I’m playing acoustic guitar and singing.
I hope this helps!
Thanks again!
Beau
You seem to be getting noise not because of recording too loud because the lower (negative) recorded samples keep getting flattened to zero instead of continuing a smooth waveform:
You can fix those glitches (visually) with the Repair affect, but only by zooming in and repairing one or two glitches at a time. It makes it sound much less bad, but not perfect.
I assume that is a hardware problem. Perhaps get a proper studio mic and USB interface.
Gale
I think you need to reduce the (acoustic) volume or move the microphone further away.
Or, upgrade to a [u]Studio-style USB mic[/u] or get a stage/studio mic and an [u]audio interface[/u]. (An audio interface won’t work with a “computer mic”.)
You’ve got two problems -
The normal [u]clipping[/u] (distortion) on the top-half of the waveform looks a soundcard problem. A good soundcard shouldn’t clip until you hit the digital limit of 0dBFS (=1.0 = 100%). But, the kind of results you are getting are not unusual with the microphone input on a consumer soundcard.
The gaps on the negative peaks are just weird and it’s going to sound a lot worse than regular clipping. I assume that’s also a soundcard problem because it’s happening at about the same amplitude (volume) only on the negative side.
With your USB mic, it’s the “soundcard” built-into the mic.
Thank you Both I really appreciate the responses! Sounds like I just need to upgrade it all. Including my computer, I’m by far no professional, but I’d still like to get a nice clean sound. Do you think something like this might do the trick? http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Scarlet2i2SG2
Thanks again!
Beau
Thank you Gale! Do you think this would do the trick? http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Scarlet2i2SG2
If you want to spend that much and need the headphones, that should be OK. A USB mic would be much cheaper.
It really depends whether you ever want to record two inputs at the same time, for example separate mics for your singing and the acoustic guitar, or a mic with some other instrument such as a keyboard.
Gale