Getting Started

[Cmitchell]

Hi Folks, We have the Behringer XENYX 502 Podcast kit set up correctly, (as far as I know) with single microphone, and the audacity application (Audacity 1.2.6) open. We also have LAME MP3 encoder. We are only wanting to record (& edit & publish etc) voice.

My question is this, where should the knobs on the controls be, for voice recording?

The reason I ask is that as I record my voice and then play it back, the blue display on audacity looks too “thin”[see below] & although I’m hearing my own voice perfectly through the headphones as I’m speaking, when I play it back it’s too quiet.

On the following site the blue line appears very different & wider on the first line of sound (which is the voice one) in the pic called “Editing with Audacity “ about halfway down the page.
http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/diypodcast.html

Or am I doing something else wrong? Please answer in simple terms as I am a complete novice!!

Many thanks in advance.

Mitchell

[Cmitchell]

Am trying to follow these instructions half way down this page

http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/podcastudio.html

and have gone

Start > Control panel > Sound and Audio devices.

Under the audio tab, I am seeing

Sound playback
Default device:
Realtek AC97 Audio

Sound recording
Default device:
Realtek AC97 Audio

MIDI music playback
Default device:
Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth

& under the voice tab, I am seeing

Voice playback
Default device:
Realtek AC97 Audio

Voice recording
Default device:
Realtek AC97 Audio

Are these correct for the tasks I’m trying to do?

Cheers in advance
Mitchell

[The Editor]

Hi Mitchell

Just a thought but have you aimed this question directly at Frequencycast ? They are members here and I'm sure they'd be happy to help. I use a Mac with all the inherited software (Garageband, Peak and Pro Tools) so I am not as familiar with Audacity as some of our podcasters.

Mark

[Gabor Kovacs]

Hi Mitchell

This is what I do. This is in Audacity. You have a piece of audio with a "thin" blue line. On the tool s menu go to Edit then Select All. Then on the tools menu click Effect then Amplify. This will suggest an amplification level. Click ok.

That should bring your sound level up to match the rest.

I do that with audio that looks low, whether spoken or music files.

I hope this helps.

[Cmitchell]

Hi Gabor! Many thanks for taking the time to reply to my message and trying to help! I'm sorry I haven't got back to you till tonight, i've been really busy. I will be trying to get to grips with the podcasting kit this Friday, so I may be in touch then if I get stuck again.

I'm looking forward to getting to grips with all the software, and maybe, like yourself, even exploring the other softwares mentioned by our friends here on podcastnation!!! It's gr8 being able to read real people's recommendations.

Till Friday
Bye : )

Mitchell

[Cmitchell]

Hi Gabor, That worked!

the only trouble now is that i am getting silly amounts of background noise, not through the ear phones as i am speaking (that is crystal clear and loud), but when I playback through the PC. Any suggestions as to where the knobs on the controls should be, for voice recording with the XENYX 502 Podcast kit?

Cheers Mitchell

[paul nicholls]

Mitchell - don't use the Lame encoder, it's rubbish and very slow.

Save your audacity file as a WAV and then drop it into Itunes, right click, and converty the file to MP3. It's incredibly quick and the quality is exceptional.

Paul

[Gabor Kovacs]

That's interesting Paul - I always save my podcasts using Audacity and Lame - 30 mins at 160 kbps does take a long time. I'll try this.

GABOR

[paul nicholls]

You'll be an instant convert Gab. You may have to adjust the quality settings, but the time and quality difference makes it a no brainer.

[Rowland Cutler]

There is another alternative to Audacity - if you want to go the "Live" way - and that is pod producer.
Try

http://www.podproducer.net

It does ite trick on windows machines as it encodes as mp3 on the fly and is quicker.

Certainly for post editting, then audacity for the pc, and garageband for te mac is the way to go.

Rowley DarkCompass

[Tim from Radio Clash]

LAME is fine, you just need to set it up right - the defaults are crap -but you can get lossless results with it using VBR and the --vbrnew presets which are lightning fast. I've done site-by-side comparisons with the fHg codec and iTunes (I think they are similar) and at rates higher than 96kbs LAME is better - lower rates fHG is best.

For the LAME 'lossless' presets? Check out this site http://jthz.com/mp3/ it's the secret of my success...;-) And RazorLAME frontend, easier than using LAME direct or in command line.

One thing with VBR is you do need to runt he results via a program called VBRFix; not a fault of LAME a fault of the way some programs, iTunes included, play VBR files. This fixes it so you don't lose any of the podcast at the end - it's a bug int he playback which misreports the time http://www.willwap.co.uk/Programs/vbrfix.php

Don't believe me? Well all Radio Clashes for the last 2 years have been encoded via LAME and using some very good presets. I'd rather it wasn't a 2-step process but the results are worth it - believe me I'm essential lazy when it comes to stuff like this, but the results outshine CBR and VBR via other codecs (they tend to narrow the stereo image for instance) so much I had to do it - it's the only way of packing in a lot of info into a small hi-quality space, really.

[Cmitchell]

Hi Paul!

Many thanks for your time and suggestion, I'll get to grips with the Lame encoder (me thinks the name might be appropriate now you've said that!!!), and then I'll try your suggestions. Please remember I'm a COMPLETE novice! i.e. haven't published any of my recordings yet. The instructions alone are giving me the wobbles, so I'm trying one thing at a time.
I'll keep you posted : )
Mitchell