Voice FX

From SpacialAudio

The Voice FX window provides an easy way for DJs to fade the currently playing broadcast sound and talk over it. It is found in SAM Broadcaster and SAM Party DJ.

Contents [hide] 1 Voice FX Display 2 Configuration 3 Using Voice FX 4 Shortcut Keys

Voice FX Display

1. Config: (See Configuration Below)
2. EQ: Brings up Audio settings dialog
3. Mic off/on: Turns the Voice FX control on/off
4. Press to Talk: Hold it to momentarily talk, let go to stop talking
5. Lock Talk: Keeps Press to Talk button pressed in for an extended amount of time, Press again to stop talking.
6. Music volume slider: Lets you set the dB level for the music, used in conjunction with [Auto]
7. [Auto] fade music: Pressing this button will allow your music to automatically fade when you press to talk your microphone.
8. Mic volume/speed slider: Lets you set the dB of the mic's volume or speed of your voice
   • [S] = Speed, is actually exactly the same as tempo. Tempo changes the speed of the audio without effecting the audio. This is the only mode that will work with VoiceFX since unlike songs, VoiceFX data is in real-time.
   • [V] = Volume
     • In "Soundcard" mode, the volume control changes the actual volume of the PLAYBACK line. i.e. it changes the volume as you will hear it over your soundcard. To demonstrate this, open up your mixer control on the playback controls interface, and change the volume in SAM. Notice how the volume changes in the mixer control.
     • In "Record to pipeline" modes, this controls the volume of the VoiceFX channel. This has no effect on the actual recording control line's volume.
9. VU meter: Tells you what dB level you are talking at
   • Note: A rule of thumb is to talk at least a fist-lengths away from your microphone, this will help with over-modulation as well as lisping into the mic.

Configuration

Recording Modes: These are best viewed under Config -> Audio Mixer Pipeline.

1. None: When talk button is pressed, SAM will simply automatically fade out the music. (If auto fade is enabled). No other action is taken.
2. Mixer (Record to pipeline): Audio data is recorded from the soundcard, and fed as input audio to the voiceFx channel. This mode allows you to perform audio processing on the audio, exactly like for example Deck A.
   • This also means that you will be able to hear yourself speak - if your latency in both the output and recorder is low enough, the "echo" should be tolerable/instant. Otherwise, see mode 4 below.
3. SoundCard: SAM will play back the audio over the soundcard. Although this has the "echo" effect as well, the "echo" is instant. This mode is usually used in conjunctions with the "red" button on the encoders. That way you always encode exactly what you hear.
4. Encoders (Record to pipeline, skip output): Exactly like mode 2, except that the audio is only mixed into the audio right before the encoders. This means that this mode skips the main Mixer and Output - which of course means that it totally bypasses the mixer EQ, AGC and DSP plugins and also the Output - thus no echo.

Things to keep in mind:

• VU meters are only available for modes 2 and 4
• In modes 2 and 4 you can specify the latency of the recorder. If you hear skipping in your voice, you might need to increase the latency of both your output and recorder. Also, in these modes the [Mixer] button allows you to quickly jump to your soundcard audio mixer recording setup - which needs to be configured properly before using VoiceFX.
• In mode 3, SAM can automatically "mute" or "unmute" the correct output volume control on your mixer. On some cheaper soundcards this might cause ALL the output controls to be muted. Automated "mute" should be disabled on these kinds of soundcards.
• Mode 4 is only available in SAM Broadcaster.

Notes on AGC use with Voice FX: The AGC can have a huge influence on how good your Voice FX sounds. This will be discussed more on the AGC configuration itself.

The Microphone volume slider adjusts the volume of the microphone.

• IMPORTANT: This slider does not change the actual volume of the microphone in your sound mixer/soundcard. Make sure you set your microphone volume of your soundcard to the desired level before using Voice FX.

Also, Voice FX takes the audio input from the currently selected recording device line input. Thus, make sure you have the correct line input selected for your purposes.

The Music volume slider fades the volume of the music when the Talk button is pressed. Set it low enough so that your voice can easily be heard above the audio.

The Fade Time sliders specify how long it will take for the sound to fade when the Talk button is pressed and how long it takes for the sound to fade-in after it is released.

Using Voice FX

After configuration, follow these steps to use Voice FX:

Step 1: Turn the microphone on by pressing the Microphone power button. The green LED light on the button will turn on. You will also notice that the Press to Talk and Lock talk buttons are no longer disabled.

Step 2: Press the Press to Talk button. The sound will fade. You are now ready to start talking into the microphone. You should see the VU Meter display the sound levels of the recorded sound. If not, please refer to the troubleshooting section.

• Note: VU meter is only supported in Mixer and Encoders modes.

Step 3: Release the Press to Talk button. Notice how the music fades back to its normal volume level.

Step 4: Turn the microphone off again by pressing the Microphone power button. The green LED light on the button should indicate it is off and the talk buttons will become disabled.

At steps two and three you can alternatively press the the Lock talk button. This will lock the Press To Talk button in the talk position until you click it again, freeing your mouse for other tasks.

Note: While the Lock talk button is activated you can, at any time, press the Press to Talk button, and once you release it the button it will unlock the Lock talk button.

We recommend turning the microphone off after each talk session to a) avoid wasting the processing power of your computer, and b) to avoid accidently pressing the Talk button causing the music to fade and only static being played. This will also help you avoid the embarrassment of leaving the lock button on and saying something over the air that you did not want everybody to hear.

Shortcut Keys

[Shift] + [F11]: Locks the Voice FX down for talking. Pressing [F11] (with or without [shift]) will unlock Voice FX again.
[F11]: Press to talk button. Turns on Mic power if needed