*The opinions expressed in the blog in no way reflect the opinions of VB-Audio. VB-Audio is in no way affiliated with nor sponsoring this blog post. Think of this as just another customer review. All images (unless stated otherwise) are owned by VB-Audio and not the author.*

In my impression on the Blue Snowball Microphone, I mentioned that I had used it in conjunction with a virtual audio mixer called VoiceMeeter in order to enhance my overall sound quality. I wanted to take a moment to talk a bit more about it.

Since VoiceMeeter is a virtual mixer, there’s no need to take up desk space with a conventional physical mixer. This is great option especially if you have limited space to work with like I do.

VoiceMeeter allows you to manage your audio device inputs, what channels they output to, and the sources on the receiving end from one location. Prior to discovering VoiceMeeter, I found myself constantly clicking into the Windows Sound options to swap things around and disable devices, often forgetting to switch them back, resulting in an entire videos being recorded with very low or sometimes no audio at all–quite frustrating, especially after putting in an hours worth of work!

VoiceMeeter Standard

There’s two versions of VoiceMeeter; the standard version which allows for 3 inputs (2 hardware/ 1 virtual ), and 2 outputs (1 hardware/ 1 virtual output). If that sentence was confusing, see the diagram above. This basically acts as a 3 channel mixer and would be the best version to start with if you aren’t familiar with how mixers work. This is a great option for anyone who does live podcasts, and want to do their own live mixing.

VoiceMeeter Banana

The advanced version VoiceMeeter Banana allows up to 5 inputs (3 hardware / 2 virtual) and 5 outputs (3 hardware / 2 virtual). This is the version I chose to dive into and explore, and it’s pretty fantastic. So far I’ve only used a fraction of the features it offers, but It’s been extremely useful for recording my interviews. I am now able to record my audio separate from the interviewee so I can edit them individually if needed. I also use Shadowplay for game footage captures, and VoiceMeeter allows me to capture my mic audio separate from my game audio, as opposed to having them on the same audio track.

Both versions include some degree of equalization for all channels; as well as a modulator for input devices, so if you wanted to make yourself sound like a robot, or a crazy devil-person–you fully can. You can boost the volume for your channels if need be, and even set up a noise gate for your mic input to eliminate any unwanted ambient noise (like computer fans or air conditioning) while recording.

My Thoughts

All in all, VoiceMeeter is an incredibly useful program. I’ll most likely end up posting a tutorial here or there to show off some of the cool things you can do with it. If that’s something you think you’d be interested in, let me know in the comments!

One of the best things about it though, is that it’s free–that’s right–FREE!

Well…technically it’s donationware, which means you can set the licence price as you see fit. I highly suggest downloading it to give it a try. If you find that you really like it and want to support the fine folks who created such a convenient program, you can leave a donation on their website. The recommended license cost is 10-25 Euros (or 11-27 USD) but VB-Audio appreciates any and all donations no matter the size. I really like this pricing model they have for their program.

If you need a good sound mixer to spruce up your recordings and don’t want to use up desk space, maybe VoiceMeeter is what you need…give it a try!