Frequently Asked QUestions

• If you're not using VR, turning off the lights is essential.
• Virtual Reality can enhance the experience.
• User over-ear headphones.
• SoundSelf is designed to support a personal subwoofer. Just make sure you are using headphones for the non-bass frequencies.
• Make yourself comfortable. Set your hardware up so you can play in a reclined and relaxed position, with a pillow under the bed.
• Take a moment to remove your belt and shoes.

• Light some candles.
• Meditate in silence for a few minutes before beginning.
• Set an intention for your session, and then let it go.
• Treat SoundSelf with respect and courtesy at all times.

• Meditating with someone while they play can be extremely powerful.
• SoundSelf will eventually support more than one voice. For now, being present for each other while you take turns can be very powerful. 

• Beginning with breathwork can deepen the experience.
• Indica dominant cannabis can dramatically heighten the SoundSelf experience. In jurisdictions where it is legal, and if you are of legal age, we recommend the combination.
• Alcohol is strongly discouraged for use with SoundSelf, as it can lead to extreme discomfort and nausea.

"Automatic Gain Control", also known as "AGC", "Gain Reduction", "Noise Suppression", or "Noise Reduction", is a feature built into many microphones, including those used by most VR headsets. This interferes with SoundSelf's voice detection algorithm, by editing out any sound that has been persistent for more than a few seconds... such as your voice in SoundSelf!

SoundSelf tries to accommodate for this, but if you regularly notice that SoundSelf is "letting go" of your voice (and usually then producing a whoosh sound and a burst of light and color) while you are still toning, then your experience will be improved by disabling Automatic Gain Control on your device, or by using a different microphone or webcam.

Here are some steps you can take for disabling Automatic Gain Control in Windows:

• Disable "Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device" in Manage Audio Devices settings menu in Control Panel. 
• Some devices have a "Custom" tab in their Manage Audio Devices window, that includes filters like AGC. Turn that off.
• Some headsets can have Gain Reduction disabled in the Steam VR audio settings menu, accessible through the Steam VR status window.

SoundSelf has been tested to work with many inexpensive microphones and webcams available on Amazon and other online stores. For examples:

• CAD brand microphones.
• More recommendations coming soon - if you have an inexpensive microphone that's working, please let us know at hello@enterandromeda.com

This is probably background sound coming through your microphone. SoundSelf will only play this sound to you if it thinks you are vocalizing. If it's picking up excessive background sound, try increasing the volume of your voice relative to the background noise. You can do this by moving the microphone closer to you, turning off noisy appliances, or just toning louder

• Please make sure that your operating system, or launcher (if you are using Oculus or SteamVR) has these devices as the default input and output audio device. 
• When you're in the SoundSelf menu, including the splash screens, minimize the noise you're making. SoundSelf uses that time to capture initial noise floor information.
• If you are using a Rift-S, unplugging it and then plugging it back in again sometimes fixes the issue.

Try this:

1. In the SteamVR settings, set your audio device to "headset" if you're using a headset with onboard audio devices OR a wired audio device plugged into the 3.5 mm jack on your PC
2. Turn "audio mirroring" on and set the mirror to your preferred headset of choice
3. Start the game.

This is usually a permissions issue. You can learn more about how to solve this issue from this Reddit thread.

One way to bypass it is to launch SoundSelf directly from your apps folder, instead of from the Steam launcher, usually located in

"~/Library/Application Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/SoundSelf"

If audio is skipping, this can mean one of two things.

1. If you're using Bluetooth, some Bluetooth headsets have trouble if you are using both the input and output of the same device. The easiest solution, if this is the problem, is to use a wired connection with your headphones if that is supported. Otherwise, some Bluetooth headsets have multiple "devices" that show up on the computer - some will create conflicts, others won't. If that doesn't work, you will probably have to use a different microphone.
2. Alternatively the buffer size on your audio device may be too small. This usually only happens with professional audio interfaces. Try increasing your device's audio buffer and decreasing the samplerate.

Some USB sound cards have been known to cause issues - if you have a 3.5mm plug, that usually fixes the issue.

Please hit "Shift" + "F6" while you are running SoundSelf, and experiencing your problem. This will bring up an inquiry form that will allow you to share with us the problem you are having, and it will automatically include the application log, which includes no personal data. Provide as thorough a description as you can about what's going wrong, and we will work to fix it.

You can also join our Discord to help us solve the problem.

Thanks for helping us make SoundSelf better!