I’m using Audacity 2.1.3 running Windows 10 version 1909 OS Build 18363.900
I’m trying to setup my condenser microphone properly to record Hip Hop music in stereo with an external 4 track mixer that connects to the computer via USB audio interface.
I read the FAQ- Recording How To’s and when I followed the steps to set the required sample rate and bit rate from the Default Format drop down to 2 channel, 16 bit, 44100Hz (it was previously set to 1 channel, 16 bit, 44100Hz) in the microphone settings properties under the Advanced tab in Windows 10 then click Apply I get a Warning dialogue box pop up saying: “The Device is being used by another application. If you continue, that application may stop working. Do you want to continue? Yes or No”
I closed Audacity and all other Applications but still got the Warning message. The mixer is still powered on and connected to the computer.
What do I do?
What led me to this is that I mixed down an Audacity project and the final .mp3 volume was very low even when two different devices played the file at maximum volume.
Did your USB audio interface come with its own drivers or software? If so this might be what is running and hence referred to by the message. Look for an application in the start menu or in the task bar icons which refers to the USB interface by make or model name and see if this has options to choose the recording channels ( it could just be Realtek for example). If there are no such options then go ahead and choose your preferred format using mmsys.cpl ( the sound control panel) ignoring the message. Test the microphone input independently by choosing the “listen to this device” option but keep the playback volume very low to avoid feedback.
That, right there, rings bells. What is there to set up? Just plug it into your mixer and go. Many condenser microphones need 48v phantom power, so be sure to turn that on.
On the other hand, if it’s a USB microphone, then you got troubles because Audacity will only record from one “thing” at a time. So you’re going to either get your microphone or your mixer. Not both.
I’m using a Behringer Xenyx Q502USB Mixer. I read the manual and it didn’t mention any drivers or driver set up. And there was no software in the box. There’s also not any icon identifying the audio interface in the task bar. But it is recognized in microphone settings in Windows 10.
When I was recording it sounded fine in playback in Audacity. But when I exported and mixed down the volume of the song was extremely low. That was I think because the recording default setting was set to 1 channel - mono instead of 2 channels - stereo.
I’d like to identify exactly what other application is being used before I ignore the Warning.
When I was recording it sounded fine in playback in Audacity. But when I exported and mixed down the volume of the song was extremely low. That was I think because the recording default setting was set to 1 channel - mono instead of 2 channels - stereo.
That will happen if you have one silent (or one quiet) channel. The left & right levels are cut in half before mixing to mono to prevent clipping when they are combined.
You can Amplify or Normalize to bring-up the volume after recording.
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Note that most modern commercial recordings are highly compressed* & limited to [u]maximize the loudness[/u]. Your home recordings probably won’t be as loud unless you also use (dynamic) compression & limiting. Compression and limiting will reduce the dynamic range and they can damage the sound. You’ll probably get excessive damage if you try to match what the pros do.
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Dynamic compression is NOT related to MP3 file compression. Dynamic compression makes the loud parts quieter and/or the quiet parts louder. In practice, it normally “pushes down” the loud parts and then “make-up gain” is used to bring-up the overall loudness. (Limiting is a kind-of fast-compression, and it’s also used with make-up gain to make everything louder.)
The most likely culprit would be standard Realtek drivers which are the default for most chipsets with built in audio. In the task bar icons the standard audio settings are under the two dimensional loudspeaker icon but the Realtek ones are under a three dimensional speaker icon. If this is also present then the Realtek settings probably have a hook into the USB audio interface.