Issues with music input being garbled

B

boreboor

New Member
Hi I'm facing this very strange issue with OBS. (using M1 Macbook Pro 16", running on Ventura 13.1.1)

I have a mixer as an audio input, which I can connect an external microphone and also Line input for other music sources.

The strange thing is that when I stream or record, speech gets recorded clearly, but any music becomes distorted or garbled.

Even when I use an external mic to pick up a piece of music playing, the end recording/stream will not be able to pick up the music clearly (all ended up garbled).

The strange thing is that when I changed to a different user account on my Macbook, the issue disappears altogether.

So is it a problem with my Mac User settings affecting the OBS audio settings?
 
A

AaronD

Active Member
Do you have a Noise Suppressor? Those often do that. They're designed for voice only (think "conference with lobby music"), so they think that music is noise to be removed.

Does OBS use a different Profile and Scene Collection with a different user account, even if the two profiles and collections have the same names? On Linux that's true, because all of that is stored in the user's home folder. If that's also true for you, then the problem one could have the Noise Suppression filter on it.

It's also possible that the Mac OS itself has a noise suppressor, and it stores that setting in the user account.
 
B

boreboor

New Member
No I don't think I have a noise suppressor, and I'm not sure what that is either.

What's strange is also that while on OBS the music gets all garbled, if I pump the same through Garageband everything sounds okay.
 
A

AaronD

Active Member
Sounds like classic noise suppression, specifically in OBS. You sure you don't have one?
1682565395901.png

Either that, or you're feeding OBS too hot and it's clipping. Is OBS's meter solid red when you have its fader all the way up? If not, then it's not clipping. (for a commercially-distributed soundtrack, or one that's been produced like that, it's normal to have the meter *exactly* full, but no more)
 
B

boreboor

New Member
Nope I've not added any filters to the audio in OBS. I've reset the settings, reinstalled OBS to an earlier version, and the issue still persists:

Filters_for__Audio_Input_Capture__and_OBS_29_0_2__mac__-_Profile__Untitled_-_Scenes__Untitled_...jpg
 
A

AaronD

Active Member
You say that this is a physical console feeding a line input, and that *only* OBS does this? No other app does? Or you've only tried one other app?

It'd be interesting to see what Audacity does. Record some in there, and post a WAV file if it's bad. It might also be good if you could get OBS to feed Audacity (probably through the Monitor and a loopback of some kind), so you can record without OBS's compression. It'll sound the same, but it's more useful to see what the data actually is that OBS ends up with.

Audacity: Free, Open-Source Audio Editing Software

Audacity is a free, easy-to-use, multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems. Edit, mix, and enhance your audio tracks with the power of Audacity. Download now.
www.audacityteam.org www.audacityteam.org
 
B

boreboor

New Member
AaronD said:
You say that this is a physical console feeding a line input, and that *only* OBS does this? No other app does? Or you've only tried one other app?

It'd be interesting to see what Audacity does. Record some in there, and post a WAV file if it's bad. It might also be good if you could get OBS to feed Audacity (probably through the Monitor and a loopback of some kind), so you can record without OBS's compression. It'll sound the same, but it's more useful to see what the data actually is that OBS ends up with.

Audacity: Free, Open-Source Audio Editing Software

Audacity is a free, easy-to-use, multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems. Edit, mix, and enhance your audio tracks with the power of Audacity. Download now.
www.audacityteam.org www.audacityteam.org
Click to expand...
Here's the WAV recording in Audacity:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gKbbKH_TIRg_RndCzx_kRvBifmTOzc6v/view?usp=sharing

Also no issue. It's really on OBS on this particular user profile.
 
B

boreboor

New Member
AaronD said:
That WAV sounded fine to me.


Soo...you're giving up? Or still want a solution, but low priority?
Click to expand...

For now I'll use the other user profile. Just hope to see if anyone can figure out what's wrong with the issue.

Thank you so much for your assistance too!
 
A

AaronD

Active Member
boreboor said:
Just hope to see if anyone can figure out what's wrong with the issue.
Click to expand...
If you want a solution, or understanding of what's happening, then you'll need to keep providing information on it.

For example, you haven't exhausted all possibilities of recording with Audacity. You made "a recording", which I suspect is direct from the line-in and shows that that's okay, but you haven't re-patched it (analog term, from when there were physical wires between standalone boxes) to record from OBS instead.
 
B

boreboor

New Member
AaronD said:
If you want a solution, or understanding of what's happening, then you'll need to keep providing information on it.

For example, you haven't exhausted all possibilities of recording with Audacity. You made "a recording", which I suspect is direct from the line-in and shows that that's okay, but you haven't re-patched it (analog term, from when there were physical wires between standalone boxes) to record from OBS instead.
Click to expand...
Do you mean the audio source from my mixer route to OBS, then from OBS route to Audacity to record?

Here's my set up:

www.maono.com

Maonocaster Lite AM200 Podcast Equipment For Creators

Maonocaster AM200 Tikmic is the top powerful all-in-one solution for podcasting audio. Designed to offer superb audio quality and expansive features. Discover More.
www.maono.com www.maono.com

So I have my iPad connected to the mixer's Line in using 3.5mm mini jack cable.

Mixer is connected to my Macbook Pro via USB cable.

In OBS I select Audio Input Source as the Maono-AM200.

So when I record in OBS with the iPad playing a Youtube song, the result is what I have posted - either garbled audio or somehow the vocals get isolated.

When I use Garageband or Audacity and select the input source as the Maono-AM200 and record, the recording is fine.
 
A

AaronD

Active Member
Wow. Okay, so no analog connection from physical mixer to PC to mess up.

I listened to all three recordings again, and my first thought was a sort-of reverse-karaoke effect. Most karaoke effects simply subtract the left and right channels (possibly above a certain frequency so that the bass isn't affected), so that the center-panned vocals drop out and you're left with the instruments that the mixing engineer panned off-center. A reverse-karaoke effect might take that, plus the original, to figure out what the vocals are and isolate them instead.

But OBS doesn't have a karaoke effect, straight or reverse. What it does have, is a Noise Suppressor. Like I said, those are designed for voice only, and often mangle music by treating it as "noise".

But you say you don't have that either. You've even re-installed, which should have wiped out anything you had and didn't know about...unless it keeps its settings after uninstall in case you want the old rig back? I've seen that happen before.

What happens if you:
  1. Remove ALL of the audio connections in OBS, from every scene, and set all the globals to Disabled
  2. Do a scene transition, so it doesn't hold onto what the current scene is doing
  3. Restart OBS
  4. Add them back
Does it still do this?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top