IF ANYONE IS CRASHING:

Try to Test, Remove, or replace the following files:

ulmp3acm.xml
ulmp3acm.acm
ulmp3acm.dll

These are located in your windows folder inside the system32 folder. They are audio drivers that can cause a crash. Try that.


-

STEREO MICS

Is there such a thing as stereo microphones: Yes.
Are they useful: Yes.

But isn't a 'stereo' microphone just two mono microphones together? Yes. And stereo speakers are 2 mono speakers working together. And human hearing is 2 mono ears working together mounted on 1 human head.

Wont you get a nearly similar sound if you place each sensor equidistant from a mouth: Yes.

But if I twist it so that each sensor is now NOT equidistant but there is a small difference in distance between the sensors and the mouth, wont I now get differing phase sounds? Yes, in fact, this is what the human ear uses for echolocation. This is what allows you to pinpoint where a sound is coming from in 3d space.

But if the sensors aren't very far apart, the closer they are together doesn't that reduce the stereo effect? Yes.

But the greater the distance between the sensors the more enhance the stereo effect will be? Correct. In addition, microphone sensors aren't just equal in sensitivity in a sphere all around it, there are different pickup patterns. Some mics are sensitive in a cardiod pattern (imagine dropping paint on a slanted board), rather than spherically equal (like the head of an old spent dandelion flower).

> < = pickup pattern of cardiod microphone sensors pointing outward.
( )( ) = pickup pattern of 2 spherical microphone sensors.


Oh, so in other words, even if the mic heads are close to eachother physically in the mic, one sensor can "point" way to the right, and the other sensor in there can be sensitive to sounds coming from way to the left, even though they are both close to eachother in the mic's head? Yep.


Couldn't I just buy 2 mic's and put them farther apart? Yes, you could. Can you use a regular mouse with a laptop and not need a touchpad? Yes. But it might not be as convenient as with everything all built in. The stereo mic puts it all in 1 casing, for people who want that choice.

The arguments in favor of stereo microphones are pretty amusing. Many of you need to fully read the articles you post on "stereo microphones", before thinking that it's in favor of supporting your points.

But hey, you can tell yourself whatever you want.

Installed and activated on Win XP SP3 ok but I couldn't get it to play anything.
Loading some files causes this error message:
acmstreamopen: the requested operation cannot be performed.

After that trying to load files that loaded before (although didn't play) causes the same error message, had to close it and restart it to load the files again, still didn't work.

OK I think I know why it was crashing all the time. I was changing effects to test each one side by side and it would crash every time. If you record, stop, listen and THEN make the change to a different effect, it doesn't crash. Changing the percentage of effect applied doesn't seem to cause any issues. Also, there doesn't seem to be an ability to preview an effect. One must make the recording and then either save or record over it each time. Both of these things should be addressed in future releases.

Crashes constantly if you make any changes to the effects or record for too long on a Win 7 64bit machine. Too bad though, I was looking forward to creating new ringtones for my phone =(

Would not install correctly on Win 7 Ultimate 64. Something installed because a folder was opened after the install process. Did not show up in All Programs or the Desktop. Had to use System Restore to get rid of it.

Playback of a WAV file from within the application is very jittery. (Open file and then press play) But If I select "apply the effect permanently" and then SAVE the file as MP3, and then use windows media player to play the saved MP3 file, it plays properly.

Repeatedly crashed the computer (core2 duo laptop / xp pro) last time it was given away too.

Check this interesting and informative article for a better understanding of "STEREO MICROPHONE TECHNIQUES" and and perhaps some of you might learn a little about the analog aspects of the universe.

Perhaps you are talking about "Baffled-Omni Pair" microphones which some refer to as stereo mics. But 2 mics in one case is not a true stereo mic - it is only 2 mics in one case.

http://www.deltamedia.com/resource/stereo_microphone_techniques.html

I installed it on Win XP sp3 and also could not get it to play after recording. It also crashed on me when trying to get it to work. The program installed just fine but when trying to use it , well forget about that I tried it a few times and does not want to work on my laptop.So maybe I need to try another microphone. Any suggestions for me? and Thanks

Also read a few of your comments about stereo and gee I never knew anything about microphones except to use them with my kids and grandkids. So checked a few web sites for you that are interested on some history and how they make them stereo here are a few web sites to look over. I found them interesting. We learn something new everyday, dont we?

Stereo Microphone Techniques Explained
Part 1

PART 1: HUGH ROBJOHNS takes a historical look at stereo miking techniques and explains the whys and wherefores of the various methods available

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1997_articles/feb97/stereomiking.html

--------------------------------
Microphones
I. How They Work.
II. Specifications.
III. Pick Up Patterns
IV. Typical Placement
V. The Microphone Mystique
I. How They Work.

http://artsites.ucsc.edu/EMS/music/tech_background/te-20/teces_20.html

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1997_articles/feb97/stereomiking.html

Have a great day!

Far more like alpha than finished product. Ty but not impressed. Issues discovered within minutes of install. E.g. try closing the program without saving the file after recording and the program won't let you.

Very Disappointed: crashed 3 times; sound distorted, couldn't add my voice, needs instructions in a Help area.

Yes, it is possible to create a recording of a single voice with a stereo microphone. A bit of overkill. A single voice can be recorded quite well with a single microphone, adding a second won't accomplish a whole lot.

The question is whether the program can accept a stereo input. If it is designed for the standard headset microphone, it probably assumes a single input. So it makes perfectly good sense for it to have a mono output. Splitting it into stereo might make some people feel better, but it would just be two identical recordings of the same content.

Yes, some stereo effects might be added. That might be something to add to the wishlist. But if the program only keeps one mono channel throughout, it is unreasonable to expect it to have an option for stereo output. Most reasonable programs will do appropriate things with a mono program, like play the same thing out of both (or all) channels. Just because a CD is in stereo doesn't mean every other sound recording must also be stereo.

If you want to add effects, grab a program like audacity that can handle the monster voice program as one channel and add echo, reverb, flange, or whatever in stereo or 5.1 or some other number of channels. (Stereo isn't a magic number any more.)

Installed on my Win7 (X64) laptop without a problem ... after getting the mic unmuted, the program worked fine ... even after closing it ... and even after uninstalling it. I'm STILL getting a playback from the microphone. Hopefully it'll cease when I reboot.

John

Froze up my computer twice ... required rebooting both times and I lost data. I am uninstalling it ASAP

Thumbs down. Crashed my computer when recording sounds and then when adjusting the sound effects. Did this about 5 times, then uninstalled program. I have Win 7 64 bit system.

I farted into the microphone and managed somehow to give it a German accent using this software. Cool software.

@ luri #34

First of all - wikipedia is not a recommended source. A lot of people just put a lot of garbage in wikipedia...

If you want to have some real good information try reading some of the books on electroacoustics and digital or analog audio processing - but never ever rely on wikipedia as your sole source of information.

Well, I thought it might be fun to play with, so I installed it and tried it out. All it did was record some scratchy static and that's all I could get out of it, so I uninstalled it. It just didn't work. I messed with the settings and tried to figure out what was wrong, but I don't have much patience for programs that don't record when that's all they're meant to do.

I downloaded this same version here 13 months ago (June 28, 2009). I've been using it since and have found it to be a great program. Installed on Vista Home without problems. Thanks GAOTD.

#15 many modern laptops come with stereo microphones built in, in addition HD audio chips have dual function auto-sensing microphone sockets that detect mono microphone jacks and sample mono only or recognise true stereo microphone jacks and apply the bias for each electret condensor cartridge seperatly and sample in glorious full stereo, even upto to full input bitrate and sample depth, conversion quality aproaches that of studio quality... but is let down by the cheap analogue pre-amplifiers and microphones themselves. Positioning of the microphones determines if you get binaural or true stereo sound.

I did a little research and I think I have a handle on the whole stereo microphone question. What is called a stereo mic is two sensors in a single case or unit. If you consider each sensor a microphone then what is termed a "stereo" microphone is really a pair of microphones in one case. If your definition of a microphone is everything that the manufacturer put in a single microphone case, then a unit that contains two sensors is a stereo microphone. It's all in how you look at it. One really cool stereo microphone (or set of microphones) is known as the dummy head or Kunstkopf microphone. It (They) tries to mechanically reproduce human hearing by putting a sensor in each ear of a model of a human head.

Good little program. Our granddaughters are going to love this.

There is such a thing as a stereo mike for a PC. It's actually just one microphone casing with two mikes (capsules) inside. And there are sound card drivers that can process the two signal paths from a stereo mike (controlling what sounds each internal mike is processing). And there's a multitude of recording software to control the mixing of those two signals.

Much of the confusion lies in people thinking of a singer when they think of a mike. A little mouth lined up with a cone-shaped mike. How could that possibly be done in stereo?!

Rather, think of a piano, with a mike on top. Picture a mike that has two capsules. That kinda resembles a fly's eyes. Like the Alexis AM3 mike. The capsule on the left would pickup the sounds from the left side of the piano, the capsule on the right would pickup the sounds from the right side of the piano. Plug it into a USB port in your computer and you have true stereo mike input.

There are other solutions available to get stereo mike input with a computer, but we digress...

I'll give "Your monster voice" a try. My 4-year-old and 7-year-old will probably think it's the coolest program ever when they hear themselves sound like a monster.
:)

I'm passing on this program because I just can't use it and on the long chance that I can use it I don't want something that might be unstable when I make an alteration to the effect. Nothing is more irritating when creating a big project than having it all stop for a reboot It sounds like a hard reboot might be necessary from the reports on here. If that happened repeatedly when using a program that I paid for I would be looking for my money back. If this is a simple just novelty item, try lowering the price a little. 20 bucks is where most Americans who don't value a dollar would decide it is worth their time to try to get it back. Most of us don't make $20 an hour. Personally I would be screaming on a $10.00 program.

As for the stereo: please guys read up on Wikipedia. Stereo is not really two speakers side by side. Stereo sound is multi-directional/ multi-channel, so the sounds coming out of the different speakers is different giving the illusion of being surrounded by the symphony or the band. Given 1 person speaking even into a multi-directional mike, you aren't going to get real stereophonic sound. Unless you alter & layer the voice a la this program and get an effect like the echoing Galileo in Bohemian Rhapsody.

Installed to Win 7 pro x64. Everything works, for a short time and then the program crashes. I was switching between voice templates and it just stopped working and closed. Very unstable. I'll be removing it from my system. Not useful/stable enough as a free program, let alone trying to charge $19.

Thanks anyway, GOTD, hopefully I'll find the next offering more useful.

One way to use this program is to use a text-to-speech application (I use TextAloud. Type out a text file of what you want to say or use a text file that already exists. TextAloud has the option to "Speak to a file", which creates a ".wav" file. Load it into Monster Voice.

This may be handy for a programmer who wants to add some non-human voices to a project.

Very unstable software. After it is installed if you try to change it in any way at all it will shut down. And I mean making changes required to simply use this software causes a crash.

@nonick
And stereo output is two speakers side by side....

I have this program from the last GOTD run and have used it twice with no problems. (Vista) Once to test it and once for I forget what. - I know it is there for when I 'want' or 'need' it but seems like I never do.

Thanks #15 Jerkface for the link to the Morphvox freeware alternative. Looks pretty good.

Re: stereo microphones. I'm not a 'sound connoisseur' nor a sound engineer. Just a dummy that sits in the audience.

But it seems to me that if I put two (identical) microphones an equal distance from each side of my mouth and speak both microphones will pick up quite near the same sounds. Perhaps the 'stereo' microphones would make a difference if you have a room full of people singing "We are the world" but I always thought that a big part of 'stereo' was separation.

Two stereo speakers placed side by side don't have the same effect as it does having them across the room from one another. Seems to me the same would go for microphones too.

#21 GeorgeIbiza sez it is playing with it after the recording that makes the difference and I'll agree with him.

@JohnnySolo, @GeorgeIbiza, @balanced view

What you call 'stereo microphone' are just two MONO microphones side by side.

Crap program, locks up the computer had to do a force close and reboot. What a waste of time.

Download your monster voice now.

19$? Overkill to say the least.

Look at their website and you will see that everything about this company seems to be stuck in the 90's. I think they wrote all their software back then and haven't updated a single thing since. Well, they at least updated their website to be copyrighted up to 2010. Interesting that this Windows 98 looking software still works for people using Vista & 7.

it isn't work on my XP, i had installed but i can't run this program. i don't know why,

acess violatio wit every action
same behaviour on XP vist 7 Bit32/64
The same as long time ago and still version1

i do NOT take everything because its free DO YOU?

I'm not sure this software is something I would ever use, but if YOU like it...go for it. Its free!
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@Jerkface...

Quote...Microphones are NOT stereo. EVER."

There are no such things as stereo microphones, then?

Really? Are you SURE about that?

Pull yer head in and check your facts before you mouth off. You have no idea what equipment "anon" has.

http://images.google.com/images?q=stereo+microphones&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls={moz:distributionID}:{moz:locale}:{moz:official}&biw=1440&bih=681

# Jerkface
You are right, microphones are normally MONO, however the output after the application of effects such as DELAY, ECHO, REVERB,PHASING,FLANGING,CHORUS, etc, would normally be in STEREO.

@Jerkface. "Microphones are NOT stereo, EVER." Perhaps in your Grandpa's time they were all mono. Go and Google stereo microphones ...

when the software crash it wont exit even when i close it using task manager

this crazy logografos I believe, can be practical in msn, google

i have downloaded todays free giveaway and morphvox junior
and i have let the children play with these programmes for a while
in their opinion both are fun and goods tools
both with differring tools
but what the hell

it looks i will be keeping these two programmes

(anything that can keep the children happy/quiet during the shool holidays seems ok by me also)
yes i know this maybe off topic

Installed on Win7(64) successfully. My 10 yr old son really enjoyed this one. Dont let the formula scare you off, there are quite a few preloaded effects. VERY easy to use and rather cute. Thanks GOTD.

Microphones are NOT stereo. EVER. If you have an audio program that outputs your mic in stereo then its a "false" stereo to begin with and basically both channels are duplicated.

The program itself runs fine in XP, though it is a bit labor intensive for such a small program. Its simple and intended as nothing more than a gag or a toy.

MorphVOX offers a free (and better) alternative. http://www.screamingbee.com/product/MorphVOXJunior.aspx

#9 Watcher.
I always thought Halloween was more than 2 months away, not 'is coming up soon'.

I think this is a neat little toy; you can get some very funny results depending on what music or speech you feed into it. Kind of a novelty item, but one that's well thought out. GAOTD finds a small gem once in a while, and this is one of them.

1. 2Mike: There IS an explanation, it is displayed when you try to edit or create a new effect, just below the formula window

2. Thanks to the creators and to GAOTD for today's giveaway. It is a nice toy indeed. Playing with these formulas is a nice way of learning what are actually things like the frequence domain or the Fourier transform, anyway :)

3. Still not figured out how can I apply the effects on-the fly, for instance during communicating with others using Skype or the like. Hope there is a way

Won't install to my external HDD.

Halloween is coming up soon and I think that the kids will love to use this for their haunted house sound effects. Install was easy and uneventful. No issues on XPs3. Thanks guys!

Cute little proggy that basically takes recorded input and plays back with different modulations of the sound wave. I got an exception error, but wasn't really surprised. The layout is very basic as I imagine the coding is. Nice, but not really a program I would buy. With a few more features like choosing the input mike, "live" listening with real-time effect, faders for volume levels etc.. this could be a competitor in the marketplace. meh