Not Sure Where the Problem Lies...

[Misery's Fence]

I've used Winamp/Shoutcast with the DSP plugin to broadcast both streaming music and live broadcasts over my radio station. Lately, the sound through my station has been fading in and out (i.e., the treble will go out for a few seconds, then pop back in). It *seems*, at this point, that the problem is with the radio and not with Winamp/Shoutcast, because when I turn off the radio and just listen to the music through Winamp on my computer, it sounds OK.

However, my live broadcasts (of a local band) have had some serious sound quality problems suddenly, which seem to be input (mic) related. This band used to broadcast just fine, but now the sound is all distorted, I get horrible squealing noises, etc. It sounded like the band was coming in too loud through the mic--so I've tried new mics, adjusting the mic settings, input settings, but to no avail. The fact that this came out of nowhere--I hadn't changed any of my previous settings--makes me think something has suddenly stopped working or has gone out of whack, and I don't know where to start to look.

Has anyone had a similar problem with their radio broadcast suddenly sounding cr*ppy? Is it completely the radio/server, or is there some sort of compatibility problem? I've downloaded Winamp and the DSP plugin again, changed radio servers several times, and nothing seems to work.


Thanks!
Miz

[Nick@ss]

Sound quality will only be down to the source,

Im assuming you only have one input to the pc via souncard mode?

[Misery's Fence]

Thanks!

I use a laptop, which has an internal mic, but I've also tried a brand new, highly recommended USB port external mic. There is no difference in the sound quality either way (in the past, when the broadcast sounded good, there was a slight difference in volume using an external mic vs. the internal, but no noticeable difference in quality).


Miz

[Jkey]

if you are broadcasting a live band you need to invest in quality mics and an exernal mixing desk then pipe the output
in your usb soundcards "Line-input".

[Misery's Fence]

Thanks so much!

Can you (or anyone else) recommend a good mixing desk?

The external mic I have is supposedly pretty good (and for voice, I'm pleased with it); is there a certain type/brand that I should be using specifically for this type of broadcast?


Miz

[Greg_E]

How deep are your pockets?

I'll assume they are not that deep and suggest Behringer equipment. There are a couple of threads with recommendations that you should be able to find with a search. These threads should have working links to products that will do what you need depending on how many sources you are dealing with.

To get in and out of a laptop, you may need some level converters too, I think a couple of the mixers will have the -10db output that you will probably need, but I can't remember right now. Dig up the posts and ask questions in those when you have questions, it will be easier to remember what I said before with the old posts in front of me.