10 minutes

Microphone and ducking — your voice stays clear.

Automatic music attenuation while you speak, without audible pumping. Silero VAD listens in, you stay in the flow.

1 · Enable the microphone and pick a device

Open Settings → "Audio & Hardware". Flip the "Enable microphone" switch on. The dropdown under "Microphone" shows all available inputs:

  • Built-in laptop mic — works in a pinch, but noticeably thin
  • USB condenser (Rode NT-USB+, Shure MV7) — recommended for solo work
  • XLR mic via interface (Shure SM7B + Scarlett) — broadcast quality
  • Headset mic — practical for long sessions, reduces cable clutter

The microphone permission is requested once by Windows. If the dialog doesn't appear: check Windows Settings → Privacy → Microphone, Hypnotika has to be allowed.

Picked the wrong mic? At the bottom left, the cockpit shows "Microphone" — hover over it and the tooltip names the active microphone device. That way you notice if, say, the webcam mic is selected instead of your good one. And if a recording runs for around 45 seconds without any voice coming in, a red warning appears with the device name.

2 · Live VU meter for levelling

Directly below the device dropdown you'll see a live horizontal level bar with a green-shaded target zone. Speak normally into your mic: below it, Hypnotika shows a plain-language tip in real time. Aim for "Good level ✓". It can also say:

  • "A bit quiet — raise the mic level or use "Auto level"."
  • "A little loud — a few dB lower would be safer."
  • "Clipping! Lower the mic level."
  • "No signal — speak into the mic."
  • "Microphone is muted."

The "Auto level" button measures 3 seconds of your voice and sets the "Mic level" automatically to a good value (clear, no clipping) — you can fine-tune it with the slider afterwards.

By the way, you can also adjust the microphone level right in the cockpit — the "Mic" slider there (with dB readout) is the same setting as here in Settings; changes apply in both directions. The cockpit's level meter keeps running at all times — even without an active recording or music.

3 · What is ducking?

Ducking means: as soon as you speak, the music becomes quieter automatically so your voice stays clear. As soon as you stop, the music gently returns to the original level.

The trick: Hypnotika uses Silero VAD (Voice Activity Detection), a neural model. It detects actual speech — unlike classical threshold-based duckers, which also trigger on paper rustling, coughing or ambient noise. The result: only your actual speech lowers the music.

Important: ducking only affects the music. The nature-sounds layer and the anchor sounds stay at full level while you speak — the soundscape carries your voice instead of dropping away underneath it.

4 · The three ducking parameters

Under Settings → "Sound & Effects" → switch "Ducking (your voice dips the music automatically)" you'll find three sliders — they are visible while this switch is on:

Attenuation (dB)

How much the music drops while you speak. Recommendation: −9 dB (default). That's about half the perceived loudness — enough for your voice to dominate, without the music disappearing. For hypnotic inductions with a soft voice, you can reduce it to −6 dB. For louder music or directive techniques, rather −12 dB.

Attack (ms)

How quickly the music is attenuated once speech is detected. Recommendation: 350 ms (default). Too short (< 20 ms) → audible click.

Release (ms)

How long it takes until the music returns to 0 dB after you stop talking. Recommendation: 1100 ms (default). Too short (< 200 ms) → after every pause the music audibly "breathes" back up, feels nervous.

Why the defaults are this gentle: with 50 ms attack and 400 ms release, the jump in volume felt too abrupt in the first real-world test — too snappy for a hypnosis session. So out of the box the music fades down softly (350 ms) and glides back up slowly (1100 ms). Voice detection itself still reacts quickly; the softness comes only from the fade down and back up. Especially if you speak slowly and with many pauses (typical hypnosis rhythm), the long release helps: short breath pauses don't immediately bring the music back up.

5 · Session recording as MP3

Hypnotika only records when the "Session recording (MP3)" switch is on (Settings → "Audio & Hardware"). It is off by default — an active microphone alone records nothing. With the switch on, you get a mixed track: music + voice, with ducking correctly applied. The nature-sounds layer is included in the recording as well. The result is a single MP3 file you can send directly to your client.

Related settings:

  • Recording folder — path is configurable, default: Documents\Hypnotika Sessions
  • Filename — assigned automatically, pattern: YYYY-MM-DD_Session_HH-MM-SS.mp3 (e.g. 2026-05-02_Session_14-30-22.mp3)
  • Bitrate — 128, 192 (default, good compromise) or 256 kbps (maximum)

With the switch on, recording starts as soon as the session begins — with the first track play or when a nature sound starts — and ends automatically on Soft Stop. No manual button-pressing needed. All the details are in the session recording guide.

6 · Alternative: recording via OBS

If you'd rather use OBS Studio or an external DAW for recording (e.g. for video sessions or for later editing): turn off Hypnotika's "Session recording (MP3)" in the settings so nothing is recorded twice. If you want only the music (with the anchor sounds) to go to OBS and not your mic, also turn off the microphone in Hypnotika — then you record your voice directly in OBS. Details in the audio guide.

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