See thepodcastersstudio.com/mixminus for a complete walkthrough guide for setting up this mix-minus.
Want to record Skype calls for your podcast interviews? This is how you do it.
Recording a Skype conversation or any other VOIP program on your computer using professional (XLR) microphones with the ability to mix in other sounds all without having the person on Skype get a feedback loop of their own voice, requires you to setup a mix minus with your audio mixer.
The basic concept is you want to mix all your audio inside your mixer which includes you Skype caller then send that audio back out to Skype minus (without) the Skype callers voice.
To do this you need a mixer with Aux sends. This is a specialized output on your mixer that allows you to select which audio sources coming into the mixer get sent back out.
In this video the setup is as follows:
- My microphone (Heil PR40) is plugged into channel 1 via XLR cable.
- My iPhone is plugged into channel 5/6 via a stereo 3.5mm to Y cable (1/4" left and right) for sending sound FX into the mixer.
- My computer (Skype) is plugged into channel 7/8 coming from my computer's headphone output using another stereo 3.5mm to Y cable.
- The mixer is sending audio to the computer (Skype) via Aux B using a 1/4" to 3.5mm stereo cable.
To achieve the mix-minus setup, the Aux B fader on my microphone's channel as well as my iPhone's channel is turn up (set your fader at whatever level is good for Skype. I like my Skype audio meter to hit about 70 to 75%).
The Aux B fader on my computers channel (7/8) is left in the off position or turned all the way down so that no audio is going out of the aux send. This is the minus part of your mix-minus. All the audio in the mix is going out to Skype through the Aux sends, minus the Skype caller's audio on 7/8. If we had this Aux send turned up then the person on Skype would hear their own voice back because we would be sending it back to them after it came into the mixer.
In this video's setup, each channel that we are sending audio out of the Aux B must also have its main channel fader turned up as well or else the audio won't leave through the Aux because we are using a post-fader.
It's much more complex sounding that it really is. Take your time and walk through each step. Skype has a test calling service in your contact list that will allow you to make a call and receive audio back so that you can test your setup.
Music provided by premiumbeat.com
*Gear used to make this video:
Canon 60D podhelp.me/60dkit
Canon Normal EF 50mm f/1.4 USM podhelp.me/canon501point4
Transcend SD card 16 and 32GB UHS1 Class 10 podhelp.me/tr16gb10
Manfrotto 701 HDV Tripod podhelp.me/701hdv055xbkit
Rode VideoMic Pro podhelp.me/RbPLrq
F&V LED Ring Light: podhelp.me/fvring300day
Sigma 30mm 1.4 podhelp.me/30mmsigma
Heil PR40 microphone podhelp.me/BHpr40
Hosa Technology Neutrik XLR Elite Microphone Cable - 10' podhelp.me/NEUj88
Alesis USB 2.0 mixer (replaced the Firewire version I was using) podhelp.me/alesisusb20bh
Bossjock App for iOS (it's NOW Backpack) (recording and soundboard app) backpackstudioapp.com/
(2) 3.5mm TRS to Dual 1/4" TS Pro Stereo Breakout Cable - 6' podhelp.me/1ldxAyS (1 each for input of computer and iPhone)
3.5mm TRS to Dual RCA Pro Stereo Breakout Cable-3' (for output to audio recorder) podhelp.me/OMt6Br
Griffin Technology iMic USB Audio Interface (for use if you don't have a 3.5mm input into your computer) podhelp.me/imicbandh
Stereo Mini Male to Stereo 1/4" Male Cable - 5' (for outputting Aux send audio from mixer to computer) podhelp.me/1iql8IG
The stand holding the mixer is actually for laptops but works well with this form factor podhelp.me/mstandbh
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