How to find your system sound settings

If you are unable to hear yourself during the soundcheck or you wish to adjust your audio levels, you will need to open your system sound settings.

As per your operating system, please follow the instructions below:

Mac (OSX)

1. Click on the Apple icon on the top left corner and go to “System Preferences”.
2. Click on “Sound”.
3. Click on the “Input” tab at the top.
4. Choose the microphone that you are using from the list of input devices.
5. Now you can see the volume level indicator “Input Level”. The bars should light up as you speak. If they don’t, your mic levels may be very low or you may be muted. 
6. Adjust your levels by changing the “Input Volume”. 

Windows:

1. Type “Control Panel” in the Windows search bar and click to open.
2. Click on “Hardware and Sound”.
3. Click on “Sound” - this should open a new window.
4. Click on the “Recording” tab at the top. 
5. You can see a list of available input devices. First choose the microphone you are using by clicking on it and then clicking “Set Default” at the bottom. 
6. Make sure that the volume indicator bars next to your selected mic are lighting up as you speak. If the levels aren't moving, the microphone may not be plugged in correctly, powered off, or a volume knob turned too low. To adjust the levels see steps 7-9
     
7. Now select the chosen microphone and click on “Properties”. This should open a new window where you can change your sound settings. 
8. To adjust audio levels, click on the “Levels” tab at the top. Here you can make sure you are not muted and you can adjust levels. 
   To set the levels correctly, follow 3 simple rules.
   1. Even when you are at maximum voice energy (yelling), the microphone should not reach the top of the bar.
   2. When you are talking normally (like during a broadcast) it should be between 40% and 60% of the full meter.
      
   3. When you are silent there should be no activity. If it there is activity the levels are too loud.
9. We strongly recommend disabling Automatic Gain Control (AGC). AGC is a technology for web audio conferencing (Zoom etc) that automatically varies your audio levels. This is very bad during a broadcast as it makes it hard to set the mix with the background sound correctly. To disable AGC, click on the “Advanced” tab at the top and uncheck the “Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device” option.