Reply To: high pitch cancellation in microphone
Dear Dale,
Thank you for your replies and questions.
“No Audio” when starting a FarPlay session
Yes, as you found, please plug in your audio equipment before opening FarPlay.
Level meter sensitive to soft sounds
It’s OK to have a little bit of flickering of the level meter (and the small yellow lines) with breathing, etc. Turning off Windows signal enhancements lets all the little noises through. This is provides more accurate audio, which is better for voice lessons.
Microphone input level is too low
It’s easy to raise the input level of your microphone array in Windows sound settings. Open a FarPlay session (with just yourself is fine). Click Start > Settings > System > Sound and then click More Sound Settings. In the Recording tab of the Sound Control Panel, double-click on your microphone (the screenshot shows “Headset Microphone,” but in your case, choose “Microphone Array”).
Click on the Levels tab and adjust the mic-level slider to adjust your mic volume while looking at the level meter under You (…) in FarPlay. Adjust your mic level so that when you sing loudly, the green/orange illuminated bars extend across a majority of the level meter. Avoid raising the mic level so high that the level meters extend all the way to the right (and turn red). Click OK in the Windows mic settings panel.
Shopping for audio equipment
For your uses, I recommend getting at least this bare-bones kit:
- $80 iRig Stream Mic USB https://a.co/d/0wHZp0y
- $15 Y-splitter to connect your Korg to your mic’s AUX IN jack https://a.co/d/i6DSnl0
- $6 1/4″ adapter to mute your Korg’s speakers https://a.co/d/8VRYIfo
The iRig is one of two USB mics we know of that have manufacturer-supplied ASIO drivers. Low-price mics like these can have quite audible noise. When I tested the iRig with a Surface PC, I had to connect the mic through a USB hub to get rid of the noise that reminded me of tuning an old-fashioned radio.
If you can spend a little more, I’d recommend the kit below, which is still very entry-level, but has better audio quality (no need to use a USB hub to get rid of radio-tuning noises).
- $120 Focusrite Scarlett Solo 4th gen bundled with XLR cable https://a.co/d/9VVcvtl
- $35 Behringer ECM8000 mic https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=0506-AAA
- $15 Desktop mic stand https://a.co/d/icoc3ob
- $15 1/4″ instrument cable to connect your Korg to your Scarlett https://a.co/d/8CHWuNB
- $6 2-pack of 1/4″ adapters: one to plug your current headphones into your Scarlett, and the other to mute your Korg’s speakers https://a.co/d/8VRYIfo
Note: Your students who use Macs will be able to get started with just an Ethernet connection and a $19 wired set of Apple EarPods https://a.co/d/6Aiemyk. They won’t need to get a USB mic/audio interface with manufacturer-supplied ASIO drivers. Macs handle built-in audio with low latency and high quality.
Thank you,
David Liao
