Source
r/audio•
DWillows

Can anyone explain to a monkey (me) how to set up a decent recording setup?*

*I will settle for being pointed in the direction of a good guide. Most guides I've seen though seem to have the assumption that i'm starting at a higher level of competency than I actually am and use jargon they assume i'm familiar with but i'm not. Please consider me a complete noob who's never heard of basically anything to do with audio recording but still wants to learn.

I'm currently using a blue yeti usb microphone because I heard that was a good reasonable quality mic that other streamers use and I still just sound the worst. I know to some extent people generally don't like how their own voice sounds, but I've even had friends comment on how awful I sound when using a microphone compared to real life. I've wanting to get into things like livestreaming for years now, but my confidence in audio/voice quality has been the biggest thing holding me back, the last thing anyone needs is more trash being sent out into the world. I have one friend who's a vocal coach who says that when I put the effort into sounding good, I sound as good as anyone who's ever finished her class, so while I am going to work on that aspect as well, I feel like the bigger deficit is with my settings.

I literally do not even know what I won't know, the extent of what I know about microphones is that you plug them into your computer. I have never changed an audio setting (beyond my pc output volume) nor do I know how to. I would take a class on this stuff, but honestly all of the audio-related classes around me are focused around big budget film setups, not home setups.

I don't know how else to explain it than "I sound like a 2006 youtuber who gets less than 10 views on his livestreams/vods and says he's just doing it for fun but is really dying inside because they want to be at least mildly popular so it doesn't feel like a waste of time"

Also, how loud do I have to be? I'm trying to strike a balance between enunciating clearly and keeping things low enough to not disturb family/neighbours, but I don't want my quality to sound off because of it. I see youtubers that sound clear despite talking at a relatively normal level of voice, maybe only slightly louder, so it can't be that loud right?

Please explain this like you would explain to your grandma, while I am young myself, my grasp on anything to do with audio is easily boomer level.

Posted Feb 21, 2022, 9:55 PM UTC · edited

611
scriminal•

The two biggest things are mic placement and setting the mic volume (gain). The yeti is a "side address" mic meaning you talk into the side of it not the top. Then make sure it's no more than a few inches from your mouth. The next bit of setting the gain you can do in the Blue app, which I think is called blue Sherpa. You want it high enough that it shows green mostly and yellow on the peaks, but never red. Red means you're over driving/over loading the input. There are of course lots of gear choices but these basics remain the same.

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DWillowsOP•

The yeti is a "side address" mic meaning you talk into the side of it not the top.

By side, do you mean the 'Front-side' or the actual side? I feel like I know the answer but I'm honestly at the point of wanting the clarification anyways.

The next bit of setting the gain you can do in the Blue app, which I think is called blue Sherpa.

You've lost me, what is Gain and what does it do, and what's the Blue/Blue Sherpa app?

You want it high enough that it shows green mostly and yellow on the peaks, but never red. Red means you're over driving/over loading the input. There are of course lots of gear choices but these basics remain the same.

For these 'Peak's, Should I be have settings prepared in mind for reaching this yellow zone when i'm talking at just a slightly above normal voice or when I'm at the loudest I could possibly be without screaming? (Which probably won't be often)

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scriminal•

the front side. It's "side address" with the other choice being "end address" where you talk into the narrow "top" end of the mic. Gain is volume, or "gaining" amplitude. Blue Sherpa is the software that came with your mic (1). Set it for however you think you'll be talking into the mic. If you're an excitable type who gets really loud and emphatic then set it down some, if you talk like a funeral director all the time, set it up some :)

(1) https://www.bluemic.com/en-us/products/sherpa/

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feelsmanbat•

In what way does your sound suck? There can be several things, that affect your sound in a bad way.

It starts with your room. Hard, naked surfaces are bad for your sound. It produces echoes and just sounds bad. Having furniture, curtains, some plants and maybe a little carpet helps here.

I don't own a blue yeti, but I saw that you can change the directivity. Directivity means the form of the space around the microphone, from where it "hears" stuff.
In this Wiki article under the section polar patterns is a list with pictures of different directivities. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microphone

If your are alone cardioid would be fine to ensure the mic primarily records you and not other stuff like your keyboard or PC fan.

Since it is a USB microphone, I guess there is a software to configure it. Look for something called gain. This defines how much the microphone amplifies your voice. Too much gain results in bad sound, too low and you can't hear yourself anymore.
Maybe there are more settings for example compression. Compression equalizes your sound. It makes quiet sounds louder and reduces loud sounds.

There is a audio jack in the microphone. So you can monitor yourself while testing. At least I hope the monitoring will be affected by the settings and is not bypassing the recording settings.

One important thing is to know that Windows changes your audio device, if you connect a new one. It doesn't tell you this and you can't turn off this behavior. This means there is a chance that you aren't using your microphone. Maybe you have a built in mic or a webcam with a mic that is active. You can check that in the sound settings of Windows.

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WikiSummarizerBot•

Microphone

A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a device – a transducer – that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public events, motion picture production, live and recorded audio engineering, sound recording, two-way radios, megaphones, radio and television broadcasting. They are also used in computers for recording voice, speech recognition, VoIP, and for non-acoustic purposes such as ultrasonic sensors or knock sensors.

^([ )^(F.A.Q)^( | )^(Opt Out)^( | )^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)^( | )^(GitHub)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)

1
DWillowsOP•

It starts with your room. Hard, naked surfaces are bad for your sound. It produces echoes and just sounds bad. Having furniture, curtains, some plants and maybe a little carpet helps here.

I'm in a small room with lots of naked walls, although also lots of furniture around the lower half of my room. I don't think I have any problems with echoes specifically, but if I were to improve on this area, what would be the best way to do it?

If your are alone cardioid would be fine to ensure the mic primarily records you and not other stuff like your keyboard or PC fan.

I do get a lot of keyboard/mouse clicks on my mic, do you know how to change these directional settings? If not for the blue yeti specifically, maybe for other mics? I'm sure there's some overlap on how to do these things.

Since it is a USB microphone, I guess there is a software to configure it. Look for something called gain. This defines how much the microphone amplifies your voice. Too much gain results in bad sound, too low and you can't hear yourself anymore.

Hmmm, I'm not aware of this software, but I think one of the other people mentioned something about a specific software I can look into, so I'll see if looking into that helps me figure things out more, or at least gets me to a point where I can ask more specific questions.

Maybe there are more settings for example compression. Compression equalizes your sound. It makes quiet sounds louder and reduces loud sounds.

Wouldn't that be bad? My voice would be the loudest thing in the room, so wouldn't that cause other unwanted sounds to become louder, like mouth sounds or typing or shuffling in my seat or something? I get a lot of those already...

You've given me a few things to look into, so thank you, I will report back if I have any further questions for you

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feelsmanbat•

I don't think I have any problems with echoes specifically, but if I were to improve on this area, what would be the best way to do it?

If you think it's fine, you maybe don't need to change anything. There are fancy "diffusors" (I don't know how to translate it) like these here: https://www.thomann.de/de/diffusoren.htmlThey are helpful, but I don't use them. I just have some curtains for my windows, a picture here and there and my guitars on the wall. What's important is that there is some stuff for sound refraction. But maybe it's already enough in your case.

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do you know how to change these directional settings? If not for the blue yeti specifically, maybe for other mics? I'm sure there's some overlap on how to do these things.

Have a look at the manual here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/cd.bluemic.com/pdf/manuals/yeti/Blue_Yeti_QuickStartGuide-EN.pdfThere is an explanation for the different polar patterns. There is also an explanation for other settings like gain. If your keyboard is annoyingly loud you could reduce the gain. It should also help to not have the microphone sitting on the desk. I for example have a microphone arm, which is attached to my desk with a clamp. Like this one: https://www.thomann.de/de/km_23840_microphone_arm.htm

As others said your mic should be near your mouth. Your mic is a condenser mic, what means you don't have to eat it, but you shouldn't exceed a few inches, to avoid recording other things besides your voice. I have a dynamic mic, which won't record anything, but my voice and never gets feedback problems, but I have it directly in my face (like an inch max), what is a bit annoying. Especially annoying if you want to show yourself with a webcam.

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Hmmm, I'm not aware of this software

Now that you said it, I don't see a specific software for your mic, too. But have a look at the manual I mentioned above. There is other software which could be helpful. For example Voicemeeter has features like limiter, Compressor, Noise Gate etc. But you said you have your problems with advanced settings, therefore this might be a bit too much right now. I tinkered one or two days with it before I understood the things I needed and had everything set up.

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My voice would be the loudest thing in the room

Technically you're right, but it can still help you. It reduces the level if you for some reason speak up too much. Or can raise it if you speak a bit too quiet. This effect isn't on or off it has a range, which can be adjusted.To reduce background noise, while you're not speaking you could use a noise gate. This cuts off sounds, that are below a certain treshold.As I said, if there isn't a software for this mic, you can find these features in something like Voicemeeter.

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DWillowsOP•

I would post more questions in r/livestreaming, but that seems mostly to be used for stream advertisements and the like, and get very few comments, so IDK where the best place to ask about this kind of stuff is.

3
The_Kraken_•

It sounds like there are a few things going on, some technical, some not.

For the technical side, I'd repeat what u/scriminal said: make sure the mic is only a few inches from your mouth and adjust your gain accordingly. Don't place the mic across your desk, it should be right next to you. Take a look at radio hosts -- their mics are usually 3-6" away from their mouths at all times. This is why boom stands are great, they allow you the flexibility to put the mic where it needs to be. Proper mic placement and gain adjustment will get you like 85% of the way there.

As for the non-technical side, it sounds like you need to figure out what you're doing this for -- money? popularity? passion? Once you find your motivation, you can start building confidence and "find your voice" so-to-speak. Get more comfortable hearing yourself, and maybe take a few lessons with a (unbiased) vocal coach. The goal is to be natural, not stressing over enunciation / pacing / breathing all the time.

2
DWillowsOP•

Proper mic placement and gain adjustment will get you like 85% of the way there.

I don't keep my mic terribly far, but when it's so close as 3-6 inches, how do you deal with things like mouth sounds?

As for the non-technical side, it sounds like you need to figure out what you're doing this for -- money? popularity? passion?

Friends and community, honestly. I guess you could say popularity in a way. Basically I'm just lonely and want to get to a point where I have a consistent chat going on from people watching. I don't have any ambitions to have millions or anything, just reaching the point of not having a dead chat.

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