Members Dolf Posted November 17, 2009 Members Share Posted November 17, 2009 Basically the issue is this: A friend of mine runs a very popular podcast and he has consistent issues with volume level. Callers are a much higher volume than the hosts, sometimes he has a very hard time getting the guest's mic volume to match the hosts, pre-recorded bits are WAY louder than the hosts' mics, etc. What I'm trying to figure out for him is if there is some kind of master compressor/limiter hardware that will take the output signals from all of his mics and "normalize" them to a specified output level in real time? Suggestions that I've seen have been a "summing amp" which I don't really understand as well as various software-based compressors and limiters which I don't really think will be a good fit. I don't really understand how this would be accomplished, so any help (and explanation) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted November 17, 2009 Moderators Share Posted November 17, 2009 Is the caller volume consistently louder that the host volume? How are you tapping the phone signal? Something like this? http://www.bswusa.com/proditem.asp?item=THAT1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dolf Posted November 17, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 17, 2009 Is the caller volume consistently louder that the host volume? Generally. The biggest problem is that there are changes in volume as a call goes on. If the caller moves the phone even slightly it can get much louder or much softer, it's very difficult for listeners to set a volume and be able to hear everything at a comfortable level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scarecrowbob Posted November 17, 2009 Members Share Posted November 17, 2009 Your best bet would be having teh various mics and sources coming to a mixer that the host or engineer can ride during the show. A compressor is just going to introduce problems. Is there a reason why this stuff can't be mixed post? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dolf Posted November 17, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 17, 2009 Your best bet would be having teh various mics and sources coming to a mixer that the host or engineer can ride during the show.A compressor is just going to introduce problems.Is there a reason why this stuff can't be mixed post? It's a live podcast. It could be mixed post for the download side of things, I suppose, but that's not really the biggest issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scarecrowbob Posted November 17, 2009 Members Share Posted November 17, 2009 If it needs to be real time, then a small-format mixer with the host or an engineer is the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted November 17, 2009 Moderators Share Posted November 17, 2009 The thing is, though the telephone line is compressed, they do get very peaky. I suggest starting with a good signal using a box like I linked earlier, then using a limiter. I make telephone recordings for a living and the limiter seems to do the trick. I'm going post though and use plugins. An L2 or the Sound Forge mastering limiter. For cheap hardware, look for an Alesis Micro Limiter on eBay. Probably 50 bucks or less. They're great and the freq. response etc. is plenty fine for a POTS line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dolf Posted November 17, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 17, 2009 I'll find out what kind of box he's using for the phone calls and then I'll suggest that limiter. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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