1st step failure!

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ian292

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I hooked up a mic to the mic in jack on my soundblaster live card. Speaking into it caused sound to come from the speakers. Then I opened Windows sound recorder, and pressed record. I spoke into the mic, heard my voice on the speakers, and then stopeed the recording. I hit play....and nothing happened. No sound came back at me!!!

HELP! What sorts of things might cause this?

Also, I downloaded n-track, and tried to play a sample track that came with it, and heard silence.

I should also point out that I'm a Finale 98 user, and I get perfect MIDI playback from that program.

Thanks for the help!
 
I didn't try recording into n-track, as I couldn't get their sample track to play.
My soundcard came woth Cakewalk Express, which plays back MIDI no problem.
All my levels are up in my soundcard...
 
Thanks for your help. Cakewalk Express sample files are all .WRK. .WAV doesn't even appear as a possibility in the files of type pull down menu... But the .wrk files play fine...

I went and checked all the control panel settings for audio and multimedia. Everything appears to be routed through the SB Live and unmuted and everything. God these things are so frustrating!!!!!!!!!
 
Is the 'mic in' selected as a source in the soundblaster menu?

You have to do this by double-clicking on the speaker-icon in the lower right corner of your desktop then options ---> properties-->recording. Make sure the 'microphone' and not the 'line in' is selected in the record control menu
 
That worked!!

Thanks man. OK, next step..how do I get my guitar to comeout through my computer speakers, and how do I record my guitar. Do I plug it into the line in jack or the mic jack? Or do I need some kind of interface between the ax and the computer?
 
Guitar

I recorded my guitar using the mic in jack and sound recorder, but man was it noisy! How do I get a clean sound without all the static?
 
Believe you need a DI box or POD to run your guitar directly into the line in on your soundcard. You need to get the signal to line level.

The mic in is for, well... mics. Another approach, if you don't want to buy additional equipment, would be to simply mic your amp.
 
So the mic input is what's making my guitar noisy....duh

I know what a pod is, that's to make the guitar fx and amp sounds. What's a DI box?

Can you use any microphone to mic your amp, or does it have to be a computer microphone? Sorry I'm so dumb about this. Thanks for helping.
 
I just recorded my guitar through my amp, and out the PRE OUT of my amp to line-in on the computer. The result is half buzzing static, half guitar. I'm a friggin idiot, i know, but there's a first time for everything. So what gives? How do I make it sound nice?

Is it Sound Recorder that is so noisy? I figured if I can't get a good sound with that, I should just give up. Or should I?
 
I'm guessing here, so take it for what it's worth.... I think that coming out of your amp "pre out" into your sound card line-in might work. My guess, however, is that you have the recording volume set too high.

Double click on the speaker icon in the bottom right of your screen. The select Option - Properties. You should see a radio button for Recording. Click the Recoding button and click OK. You will then see a series of faders. Make sure the Line In fader is selected and try lowering your recording volume by sliding the fader down. Play with it and see if you can improve your sound quality.

If you were using recoding software rather than sound recorder you would probably have some meters that would show you the input level. This would allow you to adjust the level without using the "trial and error" method.

Not sure if this will work, but it won't cost anything to try it.

(BTW, DI Box = Direct Input Box).
 
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