Recording only what is coming in through the mic

[jjirschele08]

Hello,

Newbie here. I was wondering what settings I will need in order to have Audacity only record what is being spoken through my microphone. The problem that I am having is that a friend and I are recording a podcast type of thing and we using Skype/Audacity to accomplish this. When we record I use headphones that have a microphone attached to them and his audio comes through on my recordings. This is a problem when we put the tracks together. This is strange because he also has 1.3.x and he does not have this issue. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[kozikowski]

You are doing the trick where you coordinate the show through Skype, but the actual show sound is an edit of the two very high-quality local recordings?

You are getting both voices in your recording? Loud? Is he using the same headset arrangement you are? Same model number?

What's the possibility you have your earpieces up so loud they're leaking into the microphone boom? We have a headset here where the microphone boom is large and hollow -- and it does leak.

History is riddled with rock performers that are so deaf, their headphones leak through their cranial cavities into their mouth.

If both voices are the same volume, then there might be an electronic problem. Skype takes over the computer's sound channels, but sometimes you can force Audacity to "borrow' one of the channels. Audacity > Preferences > Devices. What are you recording from?

There are dedicated software packages that allow you to record Skype. Do you have "Pamela," or "Skype Recorder" or one of those? Is it running by accident?

Koz

[jjirschele08]

Yes, we both record our own audio then we upload the individual sound files online and we then join them together, and my audio files always pick up a small amount of whatever is happening on my computer. I do not think it is the volume of my headphones, as I have turned them down very low and still had the same effect. His voice in my recording is very faint, but when listening with headphones the echo that it creates when we put the sound together is really distracting. I am recording from the high definition option. He is not using the same microphone as I am. Is there maybe a way to disable Skype from taking over my computer's recording options? I have no skype recorders.

[kozikowski]

Is there maybe a way to disable Skype from taking over my computer's recording options?

No.

Skype's insistence on taking over your computer has been described as "brutal" and "vicious." That's why it's so successful. Have you ever heard anybody say, "I had my computer in a wacky state and Skype failed?" Never happens, right? Skype always wins.

There is a flip side to this. If you mess with the sound settings after Skype starts, Skype stops working. One direction of the sound fails or the echo cancellation goes crazy.zy.zy.zy.zy.

my audio files always pick up a small amount of whatever is happening on my computer.

Including Windows effects? Like when your computer Boops that you have new email, that appears as a quiet ghost in the recording, too?

Does the actor on the other end hear himself coming back very quietly in his headphones as a late echo?

Koz