Audacity, recording internet radio an idiot's guide

[auntiej]

right, I took the plunge and bought a griffin i-mic usb sound card and portable speakers (for the laptop). Plugged speaker into soundcard "out" jack. (Both work). I downloaded Audacity. ( made sure the sound card is recognised). I don't know how to make the program record the radio . . . is there a kind soul that can give me an idiot's guide on how to use the program, I have searched the net to no avail. I tried to join the Audacity forum but - no go. After download I searched for a .exe file to click on to "start" the program but could not find one - should there be one.
I opened the program, clicked record, started the audio source (a bbc radio show) and nothing.
I really would be grateful for some input as I am trying to record a show for an elderly parent who seems to think I should know what I am doing - she should know better!

[8210GUY]

I have no idea over the software, but to get you started most problems to do with recording are down to the input levels either being muted or turned right down, are you seeing any kind of graphical interface that suggests it's recording ?
If you do this may well be the missing link for you, if not then hopefully someone who knows the software can say more for you, but to get you started double click on the volume button icon by your clock to launch the volume control panel, simply make sure none of the check boxes for mute are checked and move all sliders to around half way or so, then click on x in the top right hand corner of it and see if thats helped, if not as I say hopefully someone used to that software can say more for you, hope it helps though.

[auntiej]

hi, thanks for your reply.
No the sound wasn't muted. I discovered the problem was the external usb 2.0 device, the computer did not like it. When I disconnected it and tried to record using the integrated soundcard (chip on mobo) I was able to record! I'd been told I wouldn't be able to record the radio using the integrated. Some people. Before I posted here I was not getting the graphical interface to show the program was recording but using the integrated chip - it worked. I'm now looking forward to getting to grips with the software, what I want to do is edit the recordings (I've made two so far so I can practice on them).
Again, thanks for taking the trouble to post with your suggestions, I hope all this is able to help someone else - eg first try with what you got!

[ecc83]

Hello Auntiej, Nero(6) allows you to do some basic editing (it comes bundled with almost every burner you buy) there are others I am sure. If you can find a copy of Magix6 (£10.00 UK) this gives some pretty powerful sound management tools but the learning curve is a bit steep. It also give you 20 free MP3 code tries.
Rock it auntie ROCK IT!
Dave

[auntiej]

hey ecc83,
Thanks for the suggestion of nero 6. I'd already been thinking about nero but wasn't sure if it can be bought without a burner, also I think it's quite expensive. I'll see if I can find Magix6 anywhere. The music's been humming here!
auntiej

[ecc83]

Glad to be of service. Let me know if I can help with your search, you can email me if you wish.

Dave.

[koala]

If you're going to be using Audacity to edit your recordings, it should be good enough for basic cut & paste editing and cleaning up the sound using the equalizer. I've been using the program for a while now, as well as Sound Forge, Cool Edit, etc, so I can try and help with any specific problems you're having if you can give us some more details about what you're trying to do.

[auntiej]

hi,
thanks to all for your help. What I would like to try and do is this - when I record a radio show, obviously the presenter's voice appears between records. Now I'm sure they all have lovely voices but I would like to cut out the voices and I'm not too sure how I go about this. You'll know what I mean by the "red line" that moves from left to right, do I click on this in order to move it back to the end of a track or, if I use cut and paste where do I paste the voice? Can I just highlight that part as I would highlight a word? And more info on cleaning up the sound using the equaliser would be a bonus, I'm not sure I have found that yet!
auntiej

[koala]

Zoom in on the area of the waveform where the presenter's voice is, then drag from the beginning of this area to the end to highlight it, and click delete. Repeat this for any other unwanted passages and then save the final result to MP3.

[auntiej]

Koala, thanks for this advice - will give it a go asap.