If you always have to record something, and then add the step of “turning it up” as a matter of course, it is a lot of wasted effort. But secondly, this will get to be a huge pain. The first reason for this is that you are likely to increase the background noise for that audio. Do not just increase the level of the audio in Audacity after the fact with the Amplify effect or the volume control on the track.You run the danger of overloading it, which would result in distorted audio EVEN WITH a small waveform.
Do not turn up the gain knob on the interface.Some software programs just want to see stereo input if they are hooked up a 2-channel/2-mic input interface. I’ve been having trouble with Camtasia (screen recording software) recording only on the left side for years! But I didn’t realize this was the same problem. And that leads to the small, hard-to-hear waveform in the Audacity track.Īnd BTW, this is NOT just an Audacity thing. But either way, the result is a much-reduced level. But since my result was a one-third reduction (-30 dB vs -20 dB), I’m not sure that is correct. I’ve read that it’s trying to cut it in half. And it thinks it needs to reduce the input level… by a LOT. But since it is getting a stereo signal from the Scarlett interface, it sees a discrepancy.
Since you have chosen “1 (Mono)” in the Audacity toolbar, it thinks you are recording a mono signal. That is the first issue.īut then Audacity does something odd. That means Audacity sees a stereo signal, even when you THINK you’re sending it a mono signal. It turns out that most 2-input interface units send all audio to the computer as stereo signals by default – regardless of how many mics you have plugged in. First of all, this isn’t ALL Audacity’s fault. If you thought that – like I did – you’d be wrong. It makes total sense that if you are recording a single voice into a single microphone plugged into a single microphone input on a recording interface, you’d choose “Mono.” Because, well, you’re recording a mono thing! There is a dropdown in Audacity’s toolbar where you choose between “1 (Mono) Recording Channel,” and “2 (Stereo) Recording Channels. Audacity has a weird conversion thing it does when it sees a stereo signal coming in, AND you choose the option (in Audacity) to record in mono. So Why Is This Happening?Īfter many days of searching for causes, I found the cause. The solutions and workarounds in this post work for both programs (and, I’m sure, any other program with this issue). [UPDATE: A very similar problem has been happening in Camtasia software for years and I only now realized it as the same basic cause.
I’ve heard similar stories from others who are using interfaces with 2 mic inputs. This was a mystery to me, and only started happening when I updated Audacity to version 3.1. So this is a 10 dB difference! That means Audacity is lowering the level of the incoming signal by 10 dB. and the closer to zero you get, the louder it is. Remember in digital audio, things are measured in negative numbers. The Adobe Audition version’s average level was -20.47 LUFS. If you want the stats to compare, the Audacity version had an average level of -30.33 LUFS ( Loudness Unit Full Scale).