Tech: Recording in Audacity

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: Joe Offer
Date: 21 Jan 16 - 07:39 PM

OK, you Windows 10 people, if Audacity doesn't work for you, you may need to update your sound card drivers. Here's what you do:
At the bottom-left corner of your screen, next to the Windows/Start Menu icon, you should find a box that says Search the Web and Windows. Put device manager in the box, and a list should appear and you should click on (guess what?) device manager. Go down to Sound, video, and game controllers. Right-click on the one that looks like it's a sound card (mine says NVIDIA High Definition Audio, and also Realtek High Definition Audio, so I delete them both), and select "uninstall." Also check the box that says "delete the driver software for this device" (making sure you have a good Internet connection). Once you've clicked "OK" (with some trepidation), reboot your computer. The computer should then reinstall the sound card software, and quite likely it will work with Audacity.

This technique works quite well as a last-resort technique with most Windows driver problems, but I admit it's kinda scary to delete drivers for essential features of your computer. I can't say I'm over being scared, but the technique almost always works for me. If not, I go back to the last restore point on my computer, and try again.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 21 Jan 16 - 07:00 PM

I have these folk to be VERY helpful.

http://wiki.librivox.org/index.php/Newbie_Guide_to_Recording

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Final year for the Betty Ford Hash....one score and ten...Amen.

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: GUEST,Arkie
Date: 21 Jan 16 - 05:45 PM

Joe, thanks for this information. I also appreciate the advice offered by all. I had come to the conclusion that I could not record with Audacity as long as I was using the bluetooth headset. I can record with the old wired headset in use. I will try the upgrade though I am still using Windows 7.

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Jan 16 - 07:12 PM

A new version of Audacity just came out - maybe it was today. It's version 2.1.2, and it's the first version meant to deal with Windows 10 - although it may require a sound card driver update.
So, I installed it - and I can once again record direct from my computer. I haven't been able to do that with Audacity since I had Windows XP. I had a workaround - plugging my Zoom Handy H2 recorder into the headset jack of the computer - but it was awkward. Now it seems to work just the way it should.
Hooray!

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Jan 16 - 06:26 AM

Volume Control >mixer >dbl click Speakers >advanced says on a tick box:
Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device

Does this shed any light? Is there a Bluetooth category with similar tick boxes?

Just a thought

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: Mr Red
Date: 15 Jan 16 - 06:17 AM

Just tried Control Panel and in Sounds > "Manage audio devices" you get a tabbed dialog that should show all devices, however pulling up the volume control > mixer and double clicking on "System Sounds" shows the same dialog.
If I remember, Audacity does know my USB dongle is plugged-in, but I had to try all offerings eg MIME.

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: Mr Red
Date: 15 Jan 16 - 06:08 AM

I presume you have rung the changes in Audacity on the microhone icon as to source. After that I pull up the resident MS volume control app and see what it offers, if I remember it can be less comprehensive in Vista and Win7. It looks as if the volume control offers minimalism (see mixer) try through the control panel. But I suspect you have gone round that loop.

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: GUEST,DaveRo
Date: 15 Jan 16 - 03:20 AM

Knowing nothing about Windows audio (but knowing Audacity and how tricky this can be in Linux) I went looking for a technical explanatiion of audio stream mixing in Windows. I didn't find one - or not an up to date one.

But I did find references to 'vitual cables' software - eg here - some of which are free or free to trial.

I note that there are several competing sound systems within Windows (MME, Direct Sound, etc). It looks like you need MME which is probably the default.

Hope that helps.

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: GUEST,Arkie
Date: 14 Jan 16 - 06:58 PM

Thanks to all who have helped here. I have read through the responses and tried different settings and have also had my son who knows far more about computers and such than I look at the responses. He now lives about 600 miles away so uses the Team Viewer Ap to fix things for us. He worked with us for about 45 minutes and finally got Audacity to record by switching the 'stereo mix' button to 'headset microphon'.   But Audacity recorded the conversation between Ben and I, not the music that was playing. One thing changed for the better and that was the volume level is now at a much higher and more satisfactory level. No satisfactory recording yet. I will keep trying. I am using Windows 7.

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 14 Jan 16 - 04:36 PM

I managed to record the BBC Radio Scotland 320kbps webstream on my work PC to Audacity this afternoon........eventually! I played around with the settings until I saw the waveform appear. I saved about 77 minutes worth as a wav file of just under 800KB.

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: cnd
Date: 14 Jan 16 - 03:14 PM

I agree with Lester if it's the streaming you're talking about. I also concur with Backwoodsman in the sense that I had no significant changes from moving from Windows 8.1 to 10. When I first got it on 8.1, I had no "Stereo Mix" like you were saying about Joe, but I got it working eventually. I update to Windows 10 and alas! it was gone again. But after reinstalling my sound drivers a couple times, it somehow worked its way in--I still don't understand how.

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: Mr Red
Date: 14 Jan 16 - 01:43 PM

I would have thought it would depend where you sent the audio stream to. If Audacity can't see the Bluetooth stream, it can't record. I find Audacity is pretty finicky over where to get the audio from, but when I plug the USB audio dongle it sees it, in the list of sources. I presume the Bluetooth is built in (to a laptop?).

You might have a setting in the control panel and I would have thought you could have more than one channel carrying the audio but I don't use Bluetooth. I never fail to record (eventually) and listen on the wired headphones.

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 14 Jan 16 - 01:07 PM

I've not used audacity for a while, but would suspect you need to check audio routing options
to ensure PC audio is routed into Audacity and then output from audacity to the USB port... ???

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: GUEST,Lester
Date: 14 Jan 16 - 12:42 PM

My understanding is that you are trying to record an audio steam from your computer. Audacity is capable of recording the stream to the PC's speakers/headphone socket. At a guess when you direct the sound to the Bluetooth output the audio is no longer present on the audio stream that Audacity is listening to.

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 14 Jan 16 - 12:28 PM

After all my problems, I'm inclined to conclude it's best to try a completely fresh install of Win 10
on a brand new, or wiped hard drive,
than persevere with attempting to update from an existing win 8.1 system...???

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 14 Jan 16 - 12:19 PM

None whatsoever, in my experience - upgraded from 8.1 to 10 in August, Audacity works fine (they put out a new version for Win 10 shortly after 10 was released, but the old version worked fine with 10 on my laptop).

However, I'm aware that Joe has had a problem with Audacity, something to do with not recognising his sound-card I believe. No doubt he'l be along to clarify.

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: Weasel
Date: 14 Jan 16 - 07:16 AM

I'm a little concerned by your comment "I had significant changes in Audacity when I switched to Windows 10".

I use Audacity fairly often - what shocks have I in store if I should "upgrade" to Windows 10?

Cheers,

Weasel

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: cnd
Date: 14 Jan 16 - 06:38 AM

Also, if you are recording Youtube through the computer, for some reason when you have headphones in the volume has to be incredibly loud, louder than you can ever imagine having your ears in.

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 14 Jan 16 - 02:20 AM

I am kind of thinking along the same lines as cnd--that the input source may be getting switched around when Bluetooth device is connected. Check to make sure your input sources and output devices are correct, and that they are the same on the computer and in Audacity.

I recently was recording from a MIDI device into a sequencing program. I opened another program for some random reason, and when I went back to the sequencer, I couldn't record from the MIDI device. I went through about an hour of USB plugging and unplugging and punching and un-punching sequencer tracks before I realized the sequencer had selected the random program as the MIDI source. I know to check now.

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Jan 16 - 11:33 PM

Arkie, what operating system do you have on your computer? Have you tried plug-in headphones recently? I had significant changes in Audacity when I switched to Windows 10.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: GUEST,Arkie
Date: 13 Jan 16 - 11:18 PM

cnd, thanks. I have recorded from radio, cassettes, and lps in the past as well as youtube and monitored with a headset that was connected to the computer by cable.   No problems that I was aware of. The only change has been the wireless headset which does have a connection through a USB port.

Subject: RE: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: cnd
Date: 13 Jan 16 - 10:07 PM

Wireless headphones use Bluetooth, given from the phone. I suspect they wouldn't work on an older iPod Shuffle, either. Also, could depend where the headphones plug in. I've seen headphones that plug in through the USB port, and if that's the case it may have moved the recording option from whatever you normally use to those. Do you plug them into your computer or some sort of external converter? Will it not let you record sound, or will it not even start? Is the audio recorded from vinyl/cassettes etc, or internally from your computer? Sorry for so many questions, but just trying to specify your problem.

Subject: Tech: Recording in Audacity
From: GUEST,Arkie
Date: 13 Jan 16 - 09:40 PM

Hopefully, someone here can help with this. For several years now I have been using Audacity to record a radio program that I produce from the computer on Saturday mornings. I was given a set of Sony Bluetooth wireless head phones for Christmas. Love the headphones but discovered last Saturday that Audacity would not record when I was monitoring with the wireless headset. I have since tried to record from the computer with Audacity while using the headset to monitor the sound and the recording has failed each time. I am open to suggestions.