Isn't "auto gain control" the same thing as setting the camera's recording levels to manual? (I don't see AGC on my camera menus)

Yes it's the same thing. And it is occurring someplace in your workflow.

Could it be the setting under Options/Preferences/Audio Device: "automatically detect and offset for hardware recording latency" ? Or would ANYONE have a clue if somehow the Rode Condenser mic is doing it? (It just has a on/off switch.

No, it is not occurring in Vegas unless you deliberately added or turned on an effect.

Put your audio in a clean project to test.

Check your sound interface recording controls. That is one of the common places for stuff to "occur."

You may have it set on manual but there may also be some type of limiter setting to keep it from going over a certain level that may cause this.

Ok, I am researching my camera and microphone options. I might switch from my Rode shotgun (which has no equilizer or level controls) to my Zoom H4. Thanks MusicVid!

Did you check your sound card's internal recording controls as I suggested? It was a non-trivial suggestion.

Are your recordings too hot as David-tu hinted they might be? Your camera undoubtedly has an internal limiter as he pointed out. If on manual, is your starting level at 50%?

Your Rode does not have agc. It CAN happen in two or three different places in an h4, so I don't suggest ADDING to your potential for additional errors. 😮

Best of luck.

Hi Everyone

I recently upgraded to a Sony FDR AX33 to record violin tutorials involving playing, talking, playing, talking.

I use a Rode condenser shotgun mic plugged into the mic jack, and I use Vegas Movie Studio version 14.

The camera audio seems to be on some sort of AUTOMATIC adjustment....because each time after I play my violin, when I speak, my voice is barely audible, and gradually increases back to normal in about 6-8 seconds.

I have the camera's audio record levels set to MANUAL. "My Voice Cancelling" is off, "Auto Wind NR" is off.

I fixed the problem on my old Sony (HDR-XR260) camera buy setting my audio levels to MANUAL, but I cannot figure it out on the new camera.

Any ideas?

 

I happen to do audio recording for music, besides video, and what you describe is the effect of having a compressor somewhere in your signal chain, set with fast attack and slow release. Can be on the camera, or a plugin somewhere in your chain. In my MS13 and 14 you get a compressor automatically added to audio tracks, but its default settings aren't anywhere as drastic, so I suspect the camera..

Thanks for this tip, Chris. Is there a way to turn off the compressor that is automatically added in MS14? I'd like to run a test.

The compressor and noise gate that appear in each track effects header are switched off by default. Did you turn one on by chance? That's what I referred to in my first post above.

Thanks for this tip, Chris. Is there a way to turn off the compressor that is automatically added in MS14? I'd like to run a test.

You simply click the FX of the audio track and you check if the default effects (Noise gate, EQ, Compressor) are there and if they are active (and you can deactivate them just as any other effect, by clicking the relative checkbox. in the FX or Pan windows).

In my installation they are added and active by default, however they are set to do nothing: the EQ is flat, the compressor has 1:1 ratio and the noise gate threshold is -inf.

Still suspect the camera? Looking at the specs (https://www.sony.com/electronics/handycam-camcorders/fdr-ax33/specifications) there seems to be a feature called "my voice cancelling"... a bit suspicious? :)

Hi MusicVid,

I don't want you to think I am ignoring your suggestions, it just takes time for me to figure out what it means and to try it out.

I checked my sound card, there is no automatic audio levels or noise gate or anything like that going on.

I also tried recording at different levels on the Zoom H4 as well as the manual levels of the Sony camera to avoid the issue of recording too hot or too low.

When I record silence, and I can hear the hiss increasing as the microphone levels increase to search for "sound".

Bottom line is, I'm at an impasse, and I appreciate the time you've taken and the suggestions you have made. I think I need to hire someone to advise me, because I'm chasing my tail.

I have to say: I DO NOT LIKE Vegas 14. I had zero problems with Vegas 9 and 11.

Are you saying this problem is part of Vegas 14?

I am saying I did not experience this problem when using Vegas 9 and 11. It's possibly an issue that I have caused somehow, but it feels better to blame Vegas 14.

You see, Vegas 14 does not introduce gating or compression on its own.

I'm sorry for seeming impatient - - it's frustrating knowing that the problem exists between point A and point D, and not being able to sit with your equipment and find the right button.

You say the audio is increasing gain. Do you hear it if you play it in some other software, like Windows Media Player?

Musicvid, I don't take offense with impatience. I'm grateful for all the input.

David-tu, Ok, I pulled the raw files and did some comparisons. The audio files from the ZOOM do NOT have the problem of auto-level adjustment.

But the video files where I plugged my ZOOM or the RODE directly into the camera DID have the problem.

So. That's a start. Now I need to get into the camera and figure out what the setting is. I have eliminated all the obvious settings: manual audio, voice cancellation.....but at least I know it IS the camera.

Thanks Musicvid, David Tue and Cris

I'll call the place where I bought the camera, and when I figure it out, I'll post it here.

Well everyone, I found out that this problem is a limitation of the expensive camcorder I purchased. Piece of crap Sony FDR-AX33 has a built in "audio limiter" which OVER-RIDES any settings of a plug in device or any manual setting within the camera's own audio settings.

This is SUCH CRAP. So why have manual settings at all if Sony just thinks they know better than what I want do do with my audio? Why not just have a button that says, "Sony Knows Best" and remove all user settings.

My only option is to record externally, and mess with additional audio tracks.

Does anyone know by any chance how to prevent Vegas Movie Studio from compressing my external audio? It always compresses it so severely that it is useless. I can't line up the peaks to sync the camera with the audio, and soft sounds ARE NOT audible. Thoughts? I've always avoided external audio for this very reason.

Vegas Movie Studio does not compress your audio without you telling it to do so.

lora-s, I agree that having the audio/video integrated on the source material makes for easier and quicker editing. However, dedicated audio recording will (nearly) always produce better sound, even if it does make things more fiddly (no pun intended) in post production.

You have invested hundreds of hours - possibly thousands - in learning to produce a beautiful tone on your violin and it may be worth putting in that extra time in post to combine dedicated audio and video.

As for my violin playing, it can do with all the compression and distortion it can get.

Hi Video_flaneur, I do not mind the extra work. I have to sync multiple cameras together anyway.....it's just extraordinarily difficult to sync the external audio track when the audio peaks are non-existent on the time-line. Even clapping my hands barely gives a visible peak. But the audio sounds great when I play it as a RAW wav file. I don't know WHAT Vegas is doing when I import it, but something happens that makes the signal really weak and quiet. (my online violin lessons could help your violin playing!) :-P