VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[asnively]

A new, emergeny client wants to direct me via Skype (it's been a VO emergency kind of weekend!) I've only used Skype once, a long time ago, on a now-dead computer, to talk to my kid when he was in Japan.

I've got to buy whatever gear needed to make this happen asap. I'm wiling to wear earbuds (with a little mic at their intersection) under my usual cans. But is there some way to use my headphones and regular mic for Skype on one computer whilst simultameously using them to record on my other computer?
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[KaseyKruz]

If you use a mixer and have a couple of extra cables then yes you can...just run the audio out from the skype pc to the board on a channel and use an aux send to go into the sound card of the skype pc, then send the mic signal to the aux send with the appropriate knob and pot up the skype channel and there you go...
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[crisden]

I have used Skype several times as a phone patch.

Since I run a studio that is almost entirely digital I use a lil' program called "Virtual Audio Cable" to patch Skype into my recording software (Cubase SX3) so that I can record and play back the audio through Skype through my regular studio mics and have the client on the other end hear it. The program allows you to reroute any audio signal on your computer to any source and vice versa. It works very well, and was significantly less expensive than purchasing an actual box and paying for a land line. I do have a dial in number for Skype and unlimited calling in the US and Canada.

All of this records everything on the same computer. Granted, if you need to use 2 PCs, then analog patching with cables and possibly a mixer will be necessary.

[georgethetech]

On a Mac it's super easy. Just assign the Input and Output of Skype to the same audio interface you use to record. You'll hear the caller, they'll hear you, and you'll be recording your mic at the same time. If you need to record the caller, that gets more complex, but you can always use a "Call Recorder" plug-in for Skype to do that.
This all may work on a Windows computer, but I can't verify it.
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[cyclometh]

I use Skype for callins on my radio show all the time. I also just shelled out the sixty bucks to have an actual phone # for it, so people can call me, because a client wanted to direct me via phone.

I have Skype configured to use the secondary sound jacks on my system's internal sound card, and patch that to my mixer. The input for Skype is my Aux Send on the mic channel, the output is patched into a different mixer channel, and I can adjust how much of it I hear in my cans without it going to the mix. So basically it becomes an "instant remote producer". They hear me in realtime, I record to the local system, everyone's happy.
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Corey "Vox Man" Snow
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[Eddie Eagle]

I have my mic configured through skype and also my audio interface configured. You shouldn't have to buy anything extra.

[mcm]

Amy never posted to say how she resolved her Skype thing (this thread was started in March 2010). Inquiring minds...

When I first tried Skype way back when, I ended up uninstalling it because it kept changing my audio settings. Can't have that kind of behavior in a recording studio. I assume it has matured since then.

[cyclometh]

Yeah, that's my bad. I necro'd this inadvertently when searching for another topic about Skype and thought it was a more recent conversation.

Back to the vaults with ye, moldy thread!

(apologies)
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Corey "Vox Man" Snow
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[mcm]

Necro'd. Now that is funny.

[georgethetech]

Read my article in the October ed. of Voice-over Insider. Three pages on EXACTLY this topic!
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If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
GeorgeThe.Tech
424-226-8528
VOBS.TV Co-host
TheProAudioSuite.com Co-host
TriBooth.com Co-founder

[D Voice]

is there a link? can't seem to find it.

TIA

[georgethetech]

I uploaded the article to my website, for your convenience. It's a F under "Articles and Documents".
Normally you need to subscribe (for free) to get it from voice-overs.com.
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If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
GeorgeThe.Tech
424-226-8528
VOBS.TV Co-host
TheProAudioSuite.com Co-host
TriBooth.com Co-founder

[Donna]

Thanks for the new (to me) word. Necro'd! Lovin' it.

And thank you George for your crystal clear article on using Skype on a VO session. Today is the day I finally face my technofears and install Skype, and wouldn't ya know it, the VO-BB is once again the place to go for the most appropriate information.

I like the idea of the software-only way to use Skype as a phone patch, but hesitate to install it on my recording computer, on account o' how I likes it to stay off teh dirty ol' interwebs. I was planning to install Skype on my laptop and dig out a mixer and do the patch-around dance, but I gotta admit, the promise of easy one-stop shopping is alluring.

Anybody else have a story to share? Should I just get over it and go software-only?
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Donna Postel
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[Deirdre]

My laptop heats up like a rocket engine with Skype— So I can't use the same machine to Skype and record.

Nevertheless, It's a wicked brilliant way to converse with a director.
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[Nikki]

Necro'd or not, this was super timely and I had a light bulb moment. Skype is my answer! (And I already use it to chat with friends willy nilly, but haven't used it extensively for much else).

I suppose this solves me (how the heck will I let someone direct me when I have nothing fancy to let them direct me with. Thanks!)