Problem recording Microphone in Stereo

Help for Audacity on Windows.
Forum rules
ImageThis forum is for Audacity on Windows.
Please state which version of Windows you are using,
and the exact three-section version number of Audacity from "Help menu > About Audacity".


Audacity 1.2.x and 1.3.x are obsolete and no longer supported. If you still have those versions, please upgrade at https://www.audacityteam.org/download/.
The old forums for those versions are now closed, but you can still read the archives of the 1.2.x and 1.3.x forums.
Post Reply
Hominghead
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2012 7:13 pm
Operating System: Please select

Problem recording Microphone in Stereo

Post by Hominghead » Thu Jun 07, 2012 7:34 pm

Hello!

I was originally trying to record a game's footage with FRAPS and include my microphone commentary with that, but FRAPS recorded either the in-game Sound or the Microphone, so i thought i could record my Microphone with Audacity while FRAPS is recording Game Footage and Ingame Sounds.
When i tried to test-record my Voice in Audacity, this resulted:

Image

I don't know how to have both Lines recorded properly.

I am certain this is not Microphone being bad and only having Mono Line, since my friends hear me on Skype and Teamspeak in Stereo, also when i tried to record with the Windows Soundrecorder, it did record my voice in Stereo. I would use the Windows Soundrecorder, but it doesn't record me anything past 60 Seconds.

I am using Audigy 2 ZS Soundcard if that helps.

kozikowski
Forum Staff
Posts: 68938
Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2007 5:57 pm
Operating System: macOS 10.13 High Sierra

Re: Problem recording Microphone in Stereo

Post by kozikowski » Thu Jun 07, 2012 7:42 pm

What's suppose to happen is you get only one sound channel from your mono microphone. If you need both channels, Edit > Duplicate and Make Stereo with the drop-down on the left.

What's happening to you is you have Concert Hall Effects running somewhere in the Windows Control Panels. It's creating an artificial deep, roomy echo on the "dead" channel.

Koz

Hominghead
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2012 7:13 pm
Operating System: Please select

Re: Problem recording Microphone in Stereo

Post by Hominghead » Thu Jun 07, 2012 7:56 pm

So that means i am supposed to record in mono and duplicate the channel afterwards, is that correct?

Gale Andrews
Quality Assurance
Posts: 41761
Joined: Fri Jul 27, 2007 12:02 am
Operating System: Windows 10

Re: Problem recording Microphone in Stereo

Post by Gale Andrews » Fri Jun 08, 2012 1:52 am

Hominghead wrote:I was originally trying to record a game's footage with FRAPS and include my microphone commentary with that, but FRAPS recorded either the in-game Sound or the Microphone, so i thought i could record my Microphone with Audacity while FRAPS is recording Game Footage and Ingame Sounds.
When i tried to test-record my Voice in Audacity, this resulted:

Image

I don't know how to have both Lines recorded properly.

I am certain this is not Microphone being bad and only having Mono Line, since my friends hear me on Skype and Teamspeak in Stereo, also when i tried to record with the Windows Soundrecorder, it did record my voice in Stereo. I would use the Windows Soundrecorder, but it doesn't record me anything past 60 Seconds.

I am using Audigy 2 ZS Soundcard if that helps.
The microphone is not really stereo, but you are asking to record it in stereo. Yes you can set Audacity to record in mono (right-hand edge of Device Toolbar). You can still duplicate your voice track and make a fake stereo effect on it if you want to. If you leave it as mono it will play equally out of left and right.

To record more than 60 seconds in the XP sound recorder, open a file of whatever length you want and record over it (note that this uses computer memory, so could crash if you record for too long - this is the reason for the 60 seconds restriction).

If you can unmute your microphone on the Playback side of Sounds and Audio Devices in the Windows Control Panel, you can record the game and your commentary together using "stereo mix" or "what U hear" (if Audigy supports that). Of course you can't then edit your commentary without editing the recorded game sound as well, whereas you can if you record them separately.


Gale
________________________________________FOR INSTANT HELP: (Click on Link below)
* * * * * Tips * * * * * Tutorials * * * * * Quick Start Guide * * * * * Audacity Manual

Post Reply