Recording into Sound Forge … Help !!

minpud · Joined: 22 May 2005 Posts: 2

Can anyone help me, I have been using sound forge to record some live music through the mic input on my laptop but have been experiancing problems with the recording volume...its always too high. Reading the software help file you should be able to adjust the volume by using the windows volume control, but this doesn't seem to make any difference.

Thanks minpud

garrigus · Joined: 16 Aug 2005 Posts: 4

Hi minpud,

Double-click on the little speaker icon in the Windows tray at the right-hand bottom of your screen. This should bring up a mixing window. This should allow to you adjust your levels. If not, then there may be a problem with your sound card or how it is set up.

Best regards,
Scott

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Brien · Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 1:12 am Post subject:

While the volumne level as interpreted by Windows is important, the MOST important level that you should be monitoring is within the recording application itself, in your case Soundforge.

In the digital domain if the levels are yellow you are good(as a general referance) but if they spike or hit RED then you are too hot and the levels within Soundforge must be lowered at the recording level, not after.

Also your microphone itself has to be scrutinized. If it is cheap, like really cheap, get rid of it.

Go from there.

jon · Joined: 28 Aug 2005 Posts: 8 Location: USA

Hello . The advice the other guys gave you is way off. The Microsoft mixer is the global control for input and output .Forge is a great program I build synthesizers and samplers.Soundforge looks to the second mixer in the hierachy in the task bar function, simply doulble click the speaker icon twice and the 1st mixer comes .... then go back to the same speaker icon on the taskbar and doulble click it again this will cause the second mixer to come up they will be on top of each other so most gus don't see this .Then you slide the mixers apart on the desk top resulting in two separate mixers. They look the same but they are not. They are tier 1 and tier2 Now change the settings of the second mixer to record mode uner the drag down preference dialog box .This is how you record with two microsoft mixers open 1 for record and the other one for playback.Now that youve got that you can also use this same method for recording music off the internet withot downloading anything imagine that. Just click the stereo out selection under your mixers record preference dialog box and you can record off the internet radio withut downloading anything.... vEnjoy J.R. Ps I Have 10,000 new synthesizers email me at hrdlnt@hotmail.com

Brien · Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2005 11:34 pm Post subject:

Minpud,

I wish Jon were 100% correct but, he is in his ripping copyrighted material example. But that was not your goal. It is still my belief that your recording levels within 'SoundForge are too HOT. Hot in digital refers to red and sometimes yellow indicators.

Look into the adjustment of those...but consider Jons' help as it may apply.

the audiophile · Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 11:49 pm Post subject:

1: The better the microphone the better the recorded quality.
Also different mics have different charactistics which can be used for
different recording needs. For example a Shure sm58 is a good all round
vocal mic while an sm57 is more generally used to mic snare drums.
(No I don't have any connection whith Shure but do have experience with
studio recording - I just used them as examples).
Use the best you've got and tweak the sound later if needed.

2:Follow Jon's advice using the microsoft mixers - one for input and the other for output.
From a recording point of view the material should be recorded at the highest possible level without distortion.
Recording live music can be tricky if there are sudden unexpected peaks
in volume level so from this point of view it is perhaps better to record at
a lower level then normalise it later.
A very short peak into the lower level of the red zone now and then
should not (from experience) be a cause for concern.
If there is a large variation in volume levels I've found that the
"envelope" tool in Audacity is excellent for this purpose - you can make the loud bits softer and the soft bits louder. It's a form of manual
compression and the result is like that from a dbx unit.
I know Sound Forge has an envelope tool (I use Sound Forge myself)
but I reckon Audacity beats it hands down.

If I'm not too late I hope this helps.

Brien

minpud wrote:

... you should be able to adjust the volume by using the windows volume control, but this doesn't seem to make any difference.

This is what the user said. Way back in 2005.

Doesn't seem to make any difference.

It's a crappy microphone with a 1/8" plug that is being used.

What this user needs is a pre-amp and a better microphone...NOT more open windows.

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