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🎚️ Preamp GainBooster Microphone

Virtual microphone preamp for Windows
Boost your mic gain digitally • Use in Discord, Zoom, OBS & any app

What is this? • Features • How it works • Quick Start • Usage • Troubleshooting

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🎯 What is this?

Preamp GainBooster is a small Windows app that acts as a digital preamp for your microphone.
Your mic is too quiet in Discord, Zoom, or streaming? This app raises the volume (gain) before the sound reaches those apps—so you sound louder and clearer everywhere, without buying hardware.

🎤 Your mic  →  [ Preamp GainBooster ]  →  🔌 Virtual cable  →  Discord / Zoom / OBS
                    ↑ you set the dB

✨ Features

Feature	Description
🎚️ Gain control	Adjust mic level from -6 dB to +30 dB with slider or number box
🔌 Virtual cable	Sends boosted audio to VB-Cable; any app can use it as “CABLE Output” mic
🎧 Monitor	Optional: hear yourself in your headphones (sidetone)
💾 Presets	Save and load gain presets by name (e.g. “Streaming”, “Quiet room”)
🌍 8 languages	Español, English, Français, Deutsch, Português, Italiano, Русский, 中文
🖥️ System tray	Minimize to tray; choose on close: Quit or Minimize to tray (and remember)
🚀 Run at startup	One click to run when Windows starts
🎨 Dark UI	Purple cyberpunk-style theme, easy on the eyes
📦 Minimal setup	Only 2 files: one .bat, one .py — no requirements.txt

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🔄 How it works

flowchart LR
    subgraph Input
        A[🎤 Real microphone]
    end
    subgraph App
        B[Preamp GainBooster]
        B --> C[Apply gain in dB]
    end
    subgraph Virtual
        D[CABLE Input]
        E[CABLE Output]
    end
    subgraph Apps
        F[Discord / Zoom / OBS]
    end
    A --> B
    C --> D
    D --> E
    E --> F

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📊 User journey (high level)

flowchart TD
    A[Install VB-Cable driver] --> B[Run install_and_run.bat]
    B --> C[Select mic + CABLE Input + set gain]
    C --> D[Start preamp]
    D --> E[Set CABLE Output as mic in Discord/Zoom]
    E --> F[You sound louder everywhere]

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📋 Requirements

Requirement	Notes
🪟 Windows	Tested on Windows 10/11
🐍 Python 3.8+	Installed automatically by the .bat via winget if missing
🔌 VB-Cable driver	You must install it once from vb-audio.com/Cable

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🚀 Quick Start

1️⃣ Install the virtual cable driver (one-time)

You need VB-Cable so that “CABLE Input” and “CABLE Output” exist in Windows.

• Download: VB-Cable from vb-audio.com
• Run VBCABLE_Setup_x64.exe (or x86) as Administrator.
• Reboot if the installer asks.

2️⃣ Run the app

• Double-click install_and_run.bat.
• It will install Python (via winget) if needed, install dependencies, and start the app—no requirements.txt, everything is in the batch file.

That’s it. 🎉

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📖 Usage

Windows sound (microphone tab)

• Use the in-app button: “Open Windows sound → Microphone → CABLE Output default”.
• In Sound settings, open the Microphone (Recording) tab—not the Speaker tab—and set CABLE Output as the default device so all apps use it.

Dependencies (installed by the .bat): sounddevice, numpy, pystray, Pillow.

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🛠️ Troubleshooting

Problem	What to do
CABLE doesn’t appear	Install VB-Cable and run the installer as Administrator. Reboot if asked.
No sound in Discord/Zoom	In the app, output must be CABLE Input. In Discord/Zoom, input must be CABLE Output. In Windows, set CABLE Output as default Recording device (Microphone tab).
Monitor sounds bad / robotic	Monitor runs at 48 kHz for compatibility. Make sure the monitor device is your HEADPHONES, not CABLE Input.
Python not found	Run install_and_run.bat; it will try to install Python via winget. Or install Python manually and tick “Add Python to PATH”.

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👤 Author

AlexRabbit
🔗 GitHub

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_{If this helped you, consider starring the repo ⭐}