How to record a Skype conference call on multiple tracks?

[awepittance]

OK so here is my puzzle

I want to record a Skype conference call between 3 people (including myself) but I want to record it so that each individual person is recorded to a separate mono audio track.

I have a motu 8xin audio interface, I have a 16 channel mackie mixer at my disposal but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to do this on multiple tracks.

anybody have any ideas? Skype is pretty limited when it comes to audio options, usually you can only do a single in and a single out for the entire phone call. Is there anything else out there software besides Skype I can do this on?

any help would be greatly appreciated, the interview takes place on Sunday

[awepittance]

found this : http://lublog.tuttoeniente.net/archives/399/record-multi-track-skype-group-call-on-os-x

but it seems complicated as fuck, I'm hoping that between the hardware I already have i won't have to go to these lengths but if i absolutely have to I will.

[Chris Toffer]

One solution would b to get the people you're recording to record their audio in

[awepittance]

that's true, but the people I'm having do this have a fairly low level of technical expertise when it comes to anything audio.

I happen to have access to 3 different computers that can run skype and connect to the internet, I feel like im missing an obvious solution here involving piping the audio out of 2 laptop headphones jacks into my motu or piping it into a mixer first and then to my motu running on a master computer

[modey]

Can you mute individual people on skype? Perhaps you could set the other two computers up with dummy accounts, each with one person un-muted and record that way?

[awepittance]

here is an idea I just had but have no idea if it would actually work, it would depend on being able to run Skype on 2 different computers and allow someone to call into just one number and hit both skypes at the same time. If i can do this (it may be cumbersome) but I can easily do a recording on each of those individual computers and sync it up after the call is finished. Going to have to run a test if 2 different skypes can pick up the same phone call

Can you mute individual people on skype? Perhaps you could set the other two computers up with dummy accounts, each with one person un-muted and record that way?

hah, i was just thinking this. I believe that you wouldn't have to mute anybody, the key would be pulling this off with just the same skype account logged in on 3 separate computers ( i think). This may not work at all though

[Chris Toffer]

Quick query, y do u want to record them seperately?

[awepittance]

because I've tried this before by just doing one recording and it just ends up sounding unprofessional and really raw.
one of the things we strive to do with our media roots podcast is make it sound as 'pro' as possible when we can.

[Adieu]

If you use teamspeak you can definitely open it on 3 computers and mute all but 1 person to isolate their audio on that pc. You can even record using teamspeak.

[Adieu]

The only tricky part would be lining up the audio perfectly at the start of the recording once you put the tracks together I think.

[awepittance]

that part is pretty easy as long as the people do the audio equivalent of a movie slate like a clap through a speakerphone. My sister and I have been doing our regular podcast for over a year this way, she records separately with her own mic setup and line it up/sync it after

[foresense]

I haven't really looked into this a great deal but you could check out some collaborative music softwares like this:

 

http://www.cockos.com/ninjam/

[Guest]

I can't think of a particular way to record separate tracks from Skype though that feature would be pretty handy. The multiple computer setup seems overkill for the end result. I would record the whole conference call to a mono track and, afterwards, checkerboard each person on their own tracks for EQ, balancing and/or other clean up effects. And use actual mics instead of webcam mics if possible.

If you're adamant on the multiple computer solution, I guess having one person call one account on CPU 1 and the other call another account on CPU 2, then having CPU 1 go into input 1 of your interface, CPU 2 go into input 2, you have your mic going into input 3, record it all (monitoring with headphones) while sending a mixdown of all three inputs to CPU 1 and CPU 2's Skype inputs through a stereo out or individual outs would work.

[th555]

Why, the answer is obvious! Use FM, and have every caller on a different carrier freq!

[Guest]

Robbie, can you post or PM me a link to a podcast of yours you think sounds unprofessional?

[awepittance]

well here is an example of a conference call podcast that sounds pretty fucking unprofessional

http://www.foreignpolicyi.org/files/FPI%20Conference%20Call%20on%20Ukraine_0.mp3

and here is an example of one of our own that we did with a guest (senator Mike Gravel) calling in over skype (this is when both of us were in the same room together). Besides a few times when the mic overdrives, it sounds adequately professional
https://soundcloud.com/media-roots/mikegravelinterviewmediarootsr

now we could just record it all to one track, but more often than not in our podcasts we talk over each other and do an interview more like a casual conversation where multiple times during the broadcast there will be some overlap of voices.

[Guest]

OK, it's really a matter of volume balance. The first one you think sounds horrible doesn't sound bad despite the different sources, it's just unbalanced. I don't know if you have time to do any editing/mixing after your recording sessions, but, even with cross talk, it should be possible to get a good mix by separating each person on their own track and cross fading to each person - even cross fading through cross talk.

If you don't want to take that time reworking you recording, then yeah a somewhat permanent solution to recording these conference calls where everyone is at the same volume would be better!

[awepittance]

well im going to try this weird Soundflower /skype multiple sessions hack and see how it works out. I've never been able to get Soundflower to work properly on anything after Snow Leopard though so i'm going to have to do it on my old(er) laptop

its not just the volume imbalance, i just really cringe at recordings done through skype laptop mics for some reason, especially in audio only podcasts.

side note: has anyone had luck using soundflower to record the master bus of a sound card on Lion or Mountain Lion? In my experience it just produces weird glitchy digital feedback noises

[Guest]

Yeah, the Skype webcam quality sucks, but it's common place in radio now. I'm always hearing crappy Skype interviews on CBC.