Recording multiple mic problems

[DeadMan]

So my friends and I do a bunch of different podcasts. Some of my friends and I moved in together. We figured this would make things easier for recording since we wouldn't have to worry about the internet crapping out and things like that. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

We have constant problems of audio echoing terribly, always just off enough to be noticeable and annoying. We've tried a few different methods to isolate our mics from each other and they've worked a couple of times, but now things are getting worse. We're using two different mics because we don't have a mic that is good enough to capture both of us in the quality we want for our shows so we're using two different mics and running them through virtual audio cables. With something we just recorded, my friend's audio would play and then two seconds later his audio would play again from my mic. Then, my audio would play through his mic and a couple of seconds later through mine. This has never happened and it is incredibly annoying.

Is there a way to isolate our sounds from each, either through positioning or maybe running two separate instances of Audacity on the same computer for each of our mics, that we could do? Is it a problem with the VAC and as such I won't find the help I need here?

[kozikowski]

Is it a problem with the VAC and as such I won't find the help I need here?

Never use abbreviations in a question.

Oh, I got it. Virtual Audio Cables.

Step one we need to find out how you got two microphones into Audacity. That's not easy. Or maybe you didn't and that's the real question.

Do you use the computer to record Internet Audio and do you ever use the machine for Overdubbing/Sound-On-Sound? The settings for those tend to be inappropriate for straight recording.

Do you like to include Skype conversations in the shows?

Koz

[steve]

Ensure that "Software Playthrough" is off (not selected) in the Transport menu.