Recording from two XLR microphones

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Ted N

New Member
Hi everybody -

I am trying to make a recording of classical guitar using two external microphones. I use
two XLR dynamic mics connected to the Audio Interface Scarlett 2i2 which in turn connects to my computer via USB.
I can't find the way to see in OBS Studio (on the Audio Mixer panel) both microphones. In defining my audio source I only see Audio Interface Scarlett as a source. Is it possible at all to see each of my mics and to configure them in OBS individually? Obviously each of the mics provides its own audio feed specific to it's position/distance from the guitar and probably requires individual settings.
(I couldn't find any reasonable YouTube video that covers this particular use case).

Thank you in advance for answering newbie question.
 
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Ted N

New Member
Harvey S said:
here is a thread that may help.

Question / Help - How to get separate channels from my focusrite sound card

Hi I have a focusrite 2i2. I has two channels. In Ableton using the ASIO drivers I can record one channel to track 1, and the other to track two. If I had a card with more inputs, I'd be able to record those individually as tracks 1,2,3,4 etc. But when I add my focusrite capture device in OBS I...
obsproject.com obsproject.com
Click to expand...
Hello, Harvey. Thank you for your prompt answer.
This thread that you mentioned at the moment doesn't make much sense to me. I am not familiar with the actual meaning of all that stuff. Simply because I don't have a clue here.
My vague understanding at this point is that if I had two USB microphones and connected them directly to my computer via USB ports I would easily see both mics in OBS and would be able to deal with them separately.
In my case it looks to me that the "audio interface" (Scarlett 2i2) somehow already blends the input of two microphones before sending this blend to OBS on the computer. And then people are using this ASIO plugin and trying to separate the original two audio components from this blend and to record them as different tracks. Does it make sense what I am saying?
 
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Tomasz Góral

Active Member
Your interface is 2x XLR mono, after connect to PC you got 1x stereo channel.
Set 1 channel XLR to PAN left, second channel XLR PAN to right, now you got stereo channel with only left and only right signal.
Typing PAN is set to center, mono channel XLR send the same sound to both output channel as stereo.
 
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Ted N

New Member
Tomasz Góral said:
Your interface is 2x XLR mono, after connect to PC you got 1x stereo channel.
Set 1 channel XLR to PAN left, second channel XLR PAN to right, now you got stereo channel with only left and only right signal.
Typing PAN is set to center, mono channel XLR send the same sound to both output channel as stereo.
Click to expand...
Tomasz, thank you for the hint. Now I will begin to get familiar with PAN plug-in for OBS and (probably) with ASIO plug-in. After installation and some playing around with them your recommendations will be more clear for me.
I greately appreciate your help.
 
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Messenger3dn

New Member
Follow up question. I understand the premise and the pan. However, my pan options are greyed out? What is the reason and how do I fix it?
 
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Lawrence_SoCal

Active Member
Ted N said:
In my case it looks to me that the "audio interface" (Scarlett 2i2) somehow already blends the input of two microphones before sending this blend to OBS on the computer.
Click to expand...
correct, though to be more accurate, the Scarlett blends the signal before outputting on the USB bus to the Operating System (which then OBS Studio connects to). You can go into Windows Operating System Sounds Control Panel to confirm, you by default get a single Audio Device (Source) from the Scarlett
Ted N said:
And then people are using this ASIO plugin and trying to separate the original two audio components from this blend and to record them as different tracks.
Click to expand...
ASIO doesn't technically separate them. What it does is allow bypassing the Windows Operating System audio sub-system and connect directly to the separate internal interfaces on the Scarlett, allowing you to see them individually BEFORE they combined combined

If you need to simply adjust balance, the PAN option may work out. If you wish to selectively mute a mic from within OBS Studio, or some other audio effect/filter/etc on the computer, then best to connect to the individual audio channels using ASIO
 
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