We all know that guy — the one who jumps on team chat spewing more static than an electrical storm. Your friends may be attempting an enjoyable game of Team Fortress 2, but LickitungNorm92's awful mic is making the whole experience a futile one. You could mute him and move on, but there will be more — some with even worse audio than the last.
Getting decent audio from your headset or mic isn't hard — and not just for gaming, either. Podcasts, annotations, narration and more require good sounding audio too, but there's a few simple ways you can improve the quality of your own recorded audio. Here's how.
Audio Levels
Perhaps a no-brainer, but knowing how to set your levels is key. Too high, and clipping can occur — the point at which your voice exceeds the microphone's threshold for sound, and things sound fuzzy. Too low, and listeners may have a hard time hearing you at all.
The problem is, just because the levels on your mixer or input look fine, doesn't mean things will sound good on the other end. Audio must still pass through the built-in Windows/OS X mixer, and sometimes one more mixer inside the game itself. Failing to set each of these at a consistent level could make for trouble.
What sort of levels are we talking?
About a 3/4 value on your knob or slider is a good place to start, and should give a good mix between volume and quality. From there, you can tweak — lower if clipping occurs, and higher if your voice is still too low.
Mic Position
Oftentimes, the biggest problem with poor mic input is position — or, more specifically, a lack thereof. Headsets by design are supposed to be positioned close to one's mouth, but not inside. Keeping a few centimeters distance between you and the headset is best, though this obviously depends on the quality of the mic and range.
Via Shure.co.uk
In fact, if you're using a more traditional mic, knowing the range or polar pattern of your microphone is very important for proper positioning.
Cardioid mics are particularly common, and pick up audio in a heart-shaped pattern — lots from the front, but very little from the back.
Omnidirectional mics pick up audio equally from any angle around the device. Finally,
bidirectional models do exactly as the name implies, picking up audio equally in two opposite directions.
Remember that, no matter the configuration, you should never speak directly into the microphone — you'll get better sound allowing your voice to pass over the top of the pickup instead. As a rule of thumb, you'll want to keep a few inches of clearance between you and the mic, which should allow your voice to sound natural and clear. Too close, and clipping may occur; too far back, and your voice will sound distant and hollow.
Pop Filter
A homemade pop filter.
While online gamers won't be as critical of your audible pops and crackles — hell, Xbox Live is only
just getting an improved audio codec — we can't say the same for podcast listeners or quality-intensive situations. Pops may be sufferable over short periods of time, but anything longer is downright annoying.
However, they're easier to prevent than you'd think. Professional set ups use a special nylon shield to block the fast-moving air that causes pops in the first place, but it's actually quite trivial to
make your own. By stretching a pair of tights over a coat hanger or rounded object, you can produce your own pop filter that's incredibly effective in warding of unwanted vocal noises. Place it in front of your microphone, and see if you can notice a difference!
Connection Type
In some cases, a poor connection or sound card could actually be responsible for all your audio troubles. Analog connections, for example, can be susceptible to interference from all sorts of places — particularly other PC components. Many laptops will introduce
an unwelcome buzz or hiss into line or microphone recordings, while cheap or unshielded wires can even pick up radio signals, which may be added to the mix. When it comes to cabling, make sure you always use good quality connections for your microphone or headset. And if you suspect a shoddy sound card may be at fault, you can always go for a digital USB mic — bypassing your analog troubles all together.
Images via Flickr users ayton and clearf.
