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First Post!

by Maarten Goldstein, Aug 12, 2005 7:53am PDT
Related Topics – John Carmack

QuakeCon continues, and today we'll be partying. Ten years..that's a pretty long time! For other QuakeCon people there will be the DOOM movie panel today, as well as the John Carmack talk. Fun times.


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  • #3356
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    By: Zero|DPX x
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    Shack DJs! I have found out some new stuff since my last version of the guide (and even since trying to get my mic working right last night), so I present to you...

    Zero|DPX' Updated Guide To Using A Mic With Shoutcast (i.e. Shack Radio, i.e. KOCK)

    Want to be able to occasionally speak to your listeners out there? Give song intros, tell funny jokes, whatever? If you have a mic, you can! Here's how.

    0. This guide assumes you are using the SHOUTcast DSP source plugin for Winamp and you already generally know how to use it. You should make the changes in this guide in a block of time before your set, not during -- you want everything ready to go when it's your time slot.
    1. IMPORTANT! Make sure Winamp's output plugin is set to "DirectSound output" and NOT "waveOut output"! Using waveOut will cause all sorts of problems getting your levels right, and Winamp will keep resetting the levels on you when tracks change. DirectSound output won't suffer from these problems.
    2. Set Winamp's volume slider to 100%.
    3. Open the SHOUTcast DSP preferences and change to the "input" tab on the far right.
    4. In the "Input Device" pulldown, select "Soundcard Input".
    5. Assuming you're using a microphone plugged into your Mic in, select "Microphone" in the "Mic Input" radio button set. You'll want to select "Line In" if you have some kind of external pro mic or mixing board hooked up as your voiceover source.
    6. Leave the "Levels" sliders where they are for now, specifically the "Music Level" which should default to -1 dB.
    6. Hit the "Open Mixer" button to open your soundcard's playback and recording controls.
    5. In the Recording controls, find an input called "Stereo Mix", "What U Hear", or "Wave Mix" (not "Wave"). Select this input as your record source. The volume slider on this is going to be your "master volume control". If everything (music and mic) is too loud, you'll be dropping this; if everything is too soft, you'll be raising it. Then when the overall level is good you'll be adjusting the balance of music vs. mic individually.
    6. In the Playback controls, unmute your microphone (if necessary) but set its playback volume to 0% (-inf dB). If you're using an external Line In source instead, then you'll need to unmute that channel and drop it to -inf dB instead.
    7. Find some song which is very loud and highly compressed. We're talking modern rock or heavy metal, something which makes all the Spectrum Analyzer bars in Winamp hit the top all the time. The idea is to get your peak levels adjusted properly so the loudest songs you play won't ever be too loud. Start playing this song in Winamp.
    8. While the song is playing, watch the "Input Levels" meters in the SHOUTcast DSP preferences. The ideal is that the levels (a) Do not change very much if you toggle back and forth between "Winamp (recommended)" and "Soundcard Input" as your source, and (b) Get close to 0 dB without hitting it, or at least without staying there long. Ideally, your super-loud song should be hitting -1 dB a lot.
    9. If your input levels sit locked at 0, or spend much time at 0, go back to that input you selected in your sound card's Recording controls (that "master volume control"), and start lowering it until the inputs are bouncing around at -something dB. On my cheap soundcard I actually have to take this down really really low. If you don't get this low enough your stream will sound really loud and distorted and horrible.
    10. If your input levels are way too low (-10 dB or lower), make sure that Winamp's volume is high, your Recording input is up high and your "Wave" output in your Playback controls is up high as well. It should be set to whatever the "Music Level" slider in the SHOUTcast DSP preferences is set to.
    11. Assuming your input levels are fairly close to 0 but not quite reaching it, it's time to get your Mic balance correct. Turn the "BG Music Level" slider down to at least 10 dB, and preferably more, below the "Music Level" slider value. This is how loud the music will play as you talk over it, and if you don't roll this off at least 10 dB the mic will get too drowned out. I have this down at -14 dB; -20 dB is OK too. Now set your "Mic Level" to 0 dB.
    10. Turn your music off and your computer speakers off and hit the "Lock" button on the SHOUTcast DSP preferences. Now your Mic will ramp up. Now start speaking into your Mic (say lots of hard consonants and try just making a continuous sound). Watch the peaks on the "Input Levels" meters. If you're hitting 0 dB, turn that "Mic Level" slider down. If you're at -20 or something, make sure you have your Mic Boost on in your soundcard settings, and try to turn the "Mic Level" slider higher. On my machine, with boost on any my Mic Level at 0 dB, speaking gives me peaks of around -3 dB.
    11. Now turn your computer speakers on, start music playing again and start speaking over it. Again, you want the peaks to stay below 0 dB. If they aren't, you may need to turn the "Mic Level", "BG Music Level", or both, down.
    12. Click "Lock" again to mute your mic, and adjust the "Fade Time" as desired. When you hold "Push To Talk", over a period of "Fade Time", your music will be faded down from "Music Level" to "BG Music Level" while your mic is faded from -inf dB to "Mic Level". You don't want this instantaneous to jar people, but if it takes too long you'll have to wait seconds after hitting "Push To Talk" before the music is quiet enough to speak. I have this set to 1000 ms.
    13. Make any necessary final adjustments to all the different levels. My "Music Level" needs to be at -2 dB instead of -1 dB because that more closely matches the levels from having "Winamp (recommended)" as a source, and prevents loud music from peaking at 0 dB too much.
    14. Now find any other programs which might make noise on your system, such as IM programs, alarms, Windows sound schemes, whatever, and turn the sounds off. Your listeners will hear everything that plays through your soundcard, and hearing IM alerts in the middle of a song is disconcerting.

    You're done! Now when you're playing your music in your set, just hold "Push To Talk" and the music will fade down. After speaking, let go of the button to automatically fade the music back in. This works during a song, across dong transitions, when nothing is playing, etc.

    Have fun!
    Aug 12, 2005 8:39pm PDT

    Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.

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