Audacity Forum

I'm recording photoshop tutorial but the quality is very bad also if I try to make it better by using audacity for compression, noise removal, etc.

At this time I'm using this microphone connetted directly to my computer without an usb sound card: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hama-00046020-D ... B00006JDJU but the quality is bad: the volume is really low and the noise high.
Should this microphone be used with a usb sound card or not?

But what I want to get is a quality like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjRqZiAgoHo
or this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfGupxCdIVQ
or this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ2_kkwX8Vc

The last one is my favourite because of the "plastic" sound...really '90, professional souding and really cool.

What is the cheapest requirement in your opinion to get a quality like that (considering I will use also audacity to reduce noise)?
Can you tell me some combinations of cheap microphones (and usb audio cards) to get something like that?

Thank you very much!!

Missing one item. Post what you have now. Use high quality MP3 rather than WAV. We don't have to analyze your waveforms as much as hear how you sound. MP3 will let you include more work.

http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... 49&t=72887

Jumping in without that is just running in a vacuum. Hold you breath for about two seconds so we can get an idea of the background noise and then the first few seconds of a performance.

Most soundcards have a "20dB Boost" setting that can be very valuable for weak microphones, so we may be able to solve one problem right away. Not a clue where to find it, but it's pretty common and even my older Windows machines have it.


The main difference between the first two and the third is the intimate proximity to the microphone and the absence of room echo. The first two are obviously speaking in a room with hard walls. I had to listen carefully to the third one to tell what he was doing.

Nothing says newbie faster than recording with echoes.

http://kozco.com/tech/audacity/clips/EchoSample.mp3

Number two is wearing a lavalier microphone. You can see it clipped to the top of his shirt. You can also see a brick room with a nice shiny hard table. Really difficult to record in that room without echoes. Let's go with impossible.

I can't tell what number one is doing, but he's suffering from Hard Room as well. The joke is I can almost tell how big your room is by measuring the echo. Almost true.

The room isn't the performer. You are and I can tell you there are no good tools to get rid of echoes. You have to record a clean track right at the start.

It's true that most built-in soundcards work OK with Skype and not much beyond that. They're noisy and distorted and there usually isn't much you can do about it.

It's been my experience you can do very well with an inexpensive microphone if you cure all the other problems.

The usual recommendation is go with a nice quality USB microphone, but that can have it's own shortcomings. One of our posters is recording audiobook quality work with a Blue Snowball, but he's doing it in the quiet studio he made from a broom closet.

Waiting for your sound clip. You might also include info on your computer, operating system, etc. I'm typing on a 15" MacBook Pro with OS-X 10.9.5.

Koz

Thank you for your very good reply.

I recorded this clip: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B644ch ... sp=sharing
I'm using my Hama mic. When I touch the microphone jack (0:14) you can notice that noise/interfernce...and I notice it with all microphones.
I'm using my microphone directly to PC sound card.

I noticed the echo problem (I didn't know before you mentioned me) and I found this video that explained very well the impact it can have: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daa-Qp7C3qE

What is in your opinion a good quality/price USB microphone?

I read about the Behringer C-1U and it seem good...something equally good and cheaper or some other general advice?

Your help is really appreciated, thank you

I'm using Windows 8 64bit;
CPU: core i7 3630qm
GPU: HD 4000/ AMD Radeon HD 7670 1Gb DDR3
RAM: 1 modulo 4+4 Gb 1600 Mhz
Hard Disk: 500 Gb 5400 Rpm

I'm using my microphone directly to PC sound card.

That's happens when you have a bad or dirty connection in the soundcard. Are you sure you have the microphone plugged all the way in? I had a soundcard and it was difficult to plug the microphone all the way in. If I did not plug it in correctly it would be very noisy, buzz and pop and sound like yours.

If it still doesn't work:
I'm a Mr. Fixit, so my first repair would be to clean the metal end of the plug with a paper towel and unflavored vodka or a good quality, unscented glass cleaner. Plug it into the soundcard with the plug damp and rotate it several times. Then clean the end of the plug again with a fresh paper towel and more vodka. Rub it dry.

My joke is I can get a band out of trouble many times by cleaning the food from their sound cables.

But if that fails, I don't think there is anything wrong with the Behringer C-1U. You should provide a "home run" USB connection for the microphone. It has to go to the computer, not a hub or an extension. One of the problems with a USB microphone is you can't record further than 2M away from a noisy computer.

Directly works with your Mac/PC; low-latency ASIO and WDM drivers for PC audio optimization included

Audacity doesn't support ASIO, so WDM it is.

You can get close to the microphone and help with noise problems, but if you get too close, you could have voice popping problems like this.

http://kozco.com/tech/audacity/clips/PPopping.mp3

You can use a pop and blast filter. That's the round thing between the performer and the microphone.

http://kozco.com/tech/audacity/wynonna2.jpg

You can make one of those. You don't have to buy it.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to- ... op-filter/

The one I use has a clamp and a flexible arm like this one.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PopFilter6DS

You can just barely see it in front of the golden microphone in the center.
http://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/pix/ ... dShoot.jpg

Koz

Before you spend money for a new microphone, Google complaints. If you find one or two people with microphone problems, it's probably OK, but if you find many people with the same problem, that's a danger sign.

Koz

Perfect reply man!
It's really appreciated.
One last question: should these microphones be used right near your mouth or these can be placed also a little more distant?
I will use this microphone to record tutorial with microphone near my mouth, but I also need to register a video where I speak to the viewer. in this last video, the microphone will not be visible...so I'll place it above my head and on white uniform background and I'll remove it with post-production software. It'll be a little distant so from my head (about a meter or more less). is it still ok in your opinion to use the Behringer C-1U for this job? or you reccomend me another microphone model?

thank you very much again for sharing your knowledge!

The further the microphone is from your mouth the more the room acoustics will come into play, both noise sources and echos. If you are recording in a reasonably quiet space there shouldn't be any problem putting the mic over your head just out of frame, but if your room has large reflecting surfaces you may need to do some adjustments. Koz has posted pictures elsewhere of his home-made recording booth made from 2x2s and moving blankets. You'll need a boom stand of some sort to suspend the mic, with an end-firing mic you can sometimes just suspend it by the microphone cable, but a side-firing cardiod like the Behringer will need something to keep it pointed at the subject.

Your P and B "bump" sounds go forward and down, so it's best if the microphone is slightly high and in front of you.

You can't tell in this picture, but the microphone is about even with the performer's nose and he's looking down at the phone.



Please also see there's a little, round wind screen pop filter between the performer and the microphone. That picture looks way too complicated because it's two shoots. It was Reeeely Important, so we double recorded it.

Koz

This is how to shoot voice tracks if you don't have a studio and you need one.

I made it into a kit of parts Each wall is double blanket.




That got used several times when people who have no idea of sound problems contracted for a voice actor in an impossible room.

"It's lovely you got the conference room for this, but it has more echoes than a train station."

Koz