Subject:Adjusting recording levels

Posted by: pudgepops

Date:3/22/2010 12:22:09 PM

Is there any way to adjust each side of a two-channel recording individually while recording? I'm recording phone interviews with a device that separates the two sides, and my side is always much louder than the remote voice. I've been advised to get a mixer, but is there any way to adjust the levels within Sound Forge (9), or in Windows (7) itself? (In Windows you can adjust the speaker levels, but that doesn't seem to be the same thing.) Thanks.

Subject:RE: Adjusting recording levels

Reply by: Geoff_Wood

Date:3/22/2010 2:15:22 PM

Can't give you specific info, but the device would need a 'hybrid', a circuit that separates out the incoming and outgoing speech into separate channels. Try googling 'telephone hybrid' - I'm sure products will exist for this exact application.


geoff

Subject:RE: Adjusting recording levels

Reply by: pudgepops

Date:3/22/2010 2:46:12 PM

In fact, that's exactly what I have -- an Innkeeper PBX Digital Hybrid. But for various reasons it's still difficult to balance the two sides when they come out of that and into the computer. Their own customer service people say you need a separate mixer to get it right. So if there's nothing in Windows or Soundforge to do that, I guess i just need to get a mixer!

Subject:RE: Adjusting recording levels

Reply by: Chienworks

Date:3/22/2010 3:15:47 PM

Sound Forge 9 & 10: click on the track header, all the way at the left edge of the screen.

Sound Forge 8 or earlier, click above the center line of the top channel or below the center line of the lower channel.

This will select one channel only. You can now use any of the adjustments such as volume, fade, compression, wave hammer, etc. on just that one channel.

To deselect and return to stereo editing, in 9 & 10 click on the track header again, in 8 or earlier click between the center lines.

Note that this adjustment comes after recording. Seems like that should be fine for your needs since you'll be editing & saving the file before you do anything else with it anyway.

Subject:RE: Adjusting recording levels

Reply by: pudgepops

Date:3/22/2010 5:41:10 PM

I see it. Yes, that shd help if i can't adjust volume going in. Thanks, all.

Subject:RE: Adjusting recording levels

Reply by: Geoff_Wood

Date:3/23/2010 2:21:37 AM

You can of course adjust the levels in each channel in Sound Forge AFTER recording, but not the actual recording level if none is provided on the hardware box, unless your soundcard has an input level control.

Else a mixer or other preamp.

geoff

Subject:RE: Adjusting recording levels

Reply by: jbolley

Date:3/23/2010 12:39:48 PM

I thought telephone was 1 wire and both sides of the conversation were inseparable.

Jesse

Subject:RE: Adjusting recording levels

Reply by: Geoff_Wood

Date:3/23/2010 12:58:43 PM

Telephone lines are '2-wire" ( one PAIR). They are seperable from either end where a signal is being added - it is simply added in antiphase to one output, to cancel that signal. The function is called a 'hydrid' and used to be achieved with a clever multi-winding transformer, but is now trivial to acheive electronically.

Telephone signals need to be made into "4-wire" (separate send and receive signals) for any form of transmission other than a pair of wires.

geoff

Subject:RE: Adjusting recording levels

Reply by: pudgepops

Date:3/24/2010 2:52:18 PM

Understood. Am getting a small mixer. Thx all.

Subject:RE: Adjusting recording levels

Reply by: jbolley

Date:3/25/2010 10:56:30 AM

Thanks Geoff,
I had always thought hybrid referred to the ability to use (traditional) analog phone lines as well as modern digital lines.
Happy to pick up some new information!
Jesse

Subject:RE: Adjusting recording levels

Reply by: jackn2mpu

Date:3/26/2010 4:38:29 AM

Actually there is a way to do it inside SF if you compress the living daylights out of it with a compressor set to it's max ratio - anything higher than a 10:1 ratio would be good and is generally considered a limiter. Also a limiter plugin would work as well. The only problem with this is it would bring up any noise in the lower of the two voices.

Jack