Voice Track

Voice Tracking Overview

Voice Tracking allows an announcer to record a spoken segment between two scheduled audio files. AAE associates the recording with the outgoing and incoming carts, previews the complete transition, and inserts the finished voice track into the Play Schedule. On air, the outgoing audio can continue beneath the beginning of the voice track, and the incoming audio can begin beneath its ending.

Creating a Voice Track

Open the appropriate date and hour in Schedule Manager.
Make sure the outgoing and incoming songs or audio files are already present in the Play Schedule.
Click the Play Schedule near the transition where the voice track should be inserted.
Click Voice Track.
AAE identifies:
- Outgoing: The audio before the selected transition.
- Voice Track: The recording being created.
- Incoming: The audio that follows the recording.
Confirm that the correct outgoing and incoming carts appear in the Voice Track window. If they are incorrect, close the window and select a more appropriate point in the Play Schedule.
Select the desired microphone or recording input. The browser may ask for permission to use the microphone.
Click Record and begin speaking.
Watch the left and right level meters to verify that audio is being received.
Click Stop when finished.
After the recording is prepared, click Play to audition the complete transition.
Click Re-Record if another take is needed.
When satisfied, click Save.

AAE creates a unique cart number beginning with VT, saves the WAV recording in the station’s Voice Tracks audio folder, adds it to the Audio Library, inserts it between the outgoing and incoming carts, and saves the updated schedule hour.

Adjusting the Transition

The three waveforms represent the outgoing audio, voice recording, and incoming audio. The arrow buttons adjust the transition in half-second increments:

Outgoing <: Reduces the outgoing overlap and starts the voice track later.
Outgoing >: Increases the outgoing overlap and starts the voice track earlier.
Incoming <: Increases the incoming overlap and starts the incoming audio earlier.
Incoming >: Reduces the incoming overlap and starts the incoming audio later.

The initial outgoing transition is based on the outgoing cart’s EOM marker. The initial incoming transition is based on the incoming cart’s Voice marker. Always use Play to audition the complete result after making adjustments.

Incoming Duck Level

The Duck Level determines how loudly the incoming audio begins while the end of the voice track is still playing:

0% makes the incoming audio silent during the overlap.
50% starts it at approximately half level.
100% starts it at full level.

A lower setting helps keep the announcer’s voice clear. The incoming audio returns to its normal level after the voice-track overlap ends.

Adding a Music Bed

A music bed can be mixed underneath the recorded voice:

Select the desired bed cart in the Scheduler’s Audio Library.
Click Add Music Bed.
Set the music-bed level from 0–100%.
Click Play to audition the combined outgoing audio, voice track, bed, and incoming audio.
Click Save to create the finished recording.

For a newly recorded voice track, the selected music bed is mixed into the saved WAV file. Click Remove Music Bed to remove it before saving.

Editing an Existing Voice Track

Double-click a Voice Track event in the Play Schedule to reopen it. You can audition it, adjust the outgoing or incoming overlaps, change the duck or music-bed settings, or select Re-Record to replace the spoken audio.

Click Save to update the voice-track event and schedule.

If the window is closed with unsaved changes, AAE asks whether to save, discard, or cancel.

On-Air Operation

The saved voice track appears as a VT event in the On-Air playlist and plays automatically in sequence. At the outgoing cart’s designated transition point, AAE starts the voice track while the outgoing audio finishes underneath it. Near the end of the voice track, AAE starts the incoming cart at the selected duck level, producing a continuous transition without dead air.

Basic Troubleshooting

If Voice Track is not displayed, confirm that the user has Voice Track permission and permission to manage the selected station.
If AAE cannot identify the transition, verify that there is an audio event before and after the selected point.
If recording will not begin, allow microphone access in the browser and Windows privacy settings.
If the selected input fails, AAE attempts to use the default microphone.
If the status reports very low level, check the microphone connection, input gain, and selected recording device.
If the WAN session says it is waiting for audition audio, allow it to finish retrieving the outgoing and incoming files before recording.
If saving fails, confirm that the APEX Server connection is active and retry without closing the unsaved recording.

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