Subject:Record level

Posted by: PhilipPeake

Date:2/23/2004 6:02:01 PM

I have SoundForge 7 running on Win XP with a Creative Soundblaster Audigy LS sound card.

My problem is getting adequate record levels for sound played through the sound card.

As an example, if I play music with Winamp, I have to increase the gain on volume, wave and record sliders to full to get barely adequate re.ord levels. This just about works, but it means running with gain controls (including output to the speakers) flat out.

Is there any other gain adjustment I have missed? Either within SoundForge or XP ?

Subject:RE: Record level

Reply by: Geoff_Wood

Date:2/23/2004 7:12:03 PM

Nothing in SF. It's all in your soundcard's mixer applet on the systray (or run independantly).

geoff

Subject:RE: Record level

Reply by: PhilipPeake

Date:2/23/2004 7:16:27 PM

Yes ... those are the gain controls which run maxed-out to get an acceptable record level.

Subject:RE: Record level

Reply by: Rob_D

Date:2/24/2004 3:34:25 AM

On your Volume Controls have you gone into Options/Properties/Recording and selected your input channel?

Rob

Subject:RE: Record level

Reply by: BobMarvin

Date:2/24/2004 4:08:12 AM

Questions before answers;

What does the level "look" like within SF?
When you play audio back in SF what is the level like?
Have you adjusted the wav output within the audigy software?
when you play a wav file produced elsewhere, what is the level like?
I have a machine which runs XP Pro and an audigy 2 sound card and have no problem with audio level. My only comment about audigy is that even with the +20 db mic boost in line, the gain at the mic input using dynamic mics (Ev RE 15 and an AKG) is limited. I have to have the pot on the software mic control wide open to sometimes peak 0 DB. Using a external mic preamp and the line input would resolve those issues.

Subject:RE: Record level

Reply by: PhilipPeake

Date:2/24/2004 11:50:55 AM

What I am trying to acheive is to record sound generated by other apps running on the system, not recording from any external input. The Audigy tools don't help much, the channels available to record from are: Microphone, Line-In, S/PDIF-In, TAD-In and "What U Hear". For internally generated sound - for example playing a WAV file with just about any app that will play it, I have to move the sliders for Master volume, Wav and Record to max - this is REALLY LOUD, of course, so I have to back off the volume control on the speaker amp to compensate.

At these settings I can just get SF to clip, so I have the option of backing one control off just a bit to get something to peak at ~ -1dB.

With a previous SF version (5??) on a differnt platform (Win2k) I could adjust levels such that I had a normal, comfortable listening level and play with the record level slider to get just about whatever recording level I wanted.

Subject:RE: Record level

Reply by: Chienworks

Date:2/24/2004 12:57:29 PM

Of course, if your source is a WAV file playing in another application, it might be easier to simply open that WAV file directly in SoundForge rather than trying to re-record it. This would only apply if your sources are files that SoundForge can open though.

Subject:RE: Record level

Reply by: BobMarvin

Date:2/24/2004 5:21:21 PM

I agree with Chienworks, If you want to work with a file which SF can handle, like a MP3 or a WAV file, why not open it in SF directly and make the level adjustmenst in software. If it's something which can't be opened, say a RA file, you might try either using a different player instead of Winamp and be sure that you are looking at the record levels in your audigy software. My Adigy software has a single record level pot, which can be assigned to any number of inputs, be they mic, line, wave whatever and a output pot for each output type. Those you adjustso that you can listen on your speakers, the input pot will effect the level going into sf. The old Creative software had a pot for each input. Not so Audigy. Also check out your settings in Advanced. Make sure that all your sound card settings are correct. As I've said, I use SF 6 with an Audigy 2 card and it works perfectly well. Your issues sound like there's a setting which needs to be adjusted.

Subject:RE: Record level

Reply by: PhilipPeake

Date:2/25/2004 5:01:35 PM

Yes - exactly, thats what I am looking for, the setting I missed....

I gave the example of a WAV file, but it could be any sound generated on the PC, not necessarily a file of a type that SF can read -- if it were, ther would be little point in recording it, would there :-)