Help for the Mentally Challenged.

[Swappo]

That's all I can figure is that I MUST be mentally retarded. This is what I'm sure is a foolish question. I've been searching the forum and for every search Internet Explorer can't display the page and my Google searches are fruitless.

Anyway, I have an MXL M.A.R.K. I have the mic plugged into the mic jack of my computer and I use Audacity for recording.

The problem is the mic volume is very low despite the sliders turned up on Audacity and in the Windows volume control. Is there some basic setting I'm overlooking or something possibly in the Realtek HD Audio Manager?

 

[pandamonk]

That's all I can figure is that I MUST be mentally retarded. This is what I'm sure is a foolish question. I've been searching the forum and for every search Internet Explorer can't display the page and my Google searches are fruitless.

Anyway, I have an MXL M.A.R.K. I have the mic plugged into the mic jack of my computer and I use Audacity for recording. I also have Cool Edit, FL Studio 4 and Sonar 4 Producer Edition, but those are all Greek to me, so I don't use them.

The problem is the mic volume is very low despite the sliders turned up on Audacity and in the Windows volume control. Is there some basic setting I'm overlooking or something possibly in the Realtek HD Audio Manager?

You're plugged into the jack in. You need to plug into a preamp(usually xlr) to bring it up to line-level.

 

[XLR]

That mike has a built in preamp. So you don't need an external preamp.

Sounds like you don't have the recording level set correctly for the input jack on your computer. Have you adjusted the Windows mixer recording input controls? - Options/Properties, then select Recording. Then make sure the Stereo Mix checkbox is selected. If that doesn't register a high enough level when recording, select the Microphone checkbox instead.

EDIT: are you sure the mike's internal battery is installed?

 

[Swappo]

Timothy, thank you. The Stereo Mix was muted and that has helped greatly. Here's another dumb question. I use Audacity to record and with this new mic the mic is picking up the background track coming out of the speakers, so when I play it back the backing track (karaoke) loud and distorted and my vocals are drowned out. I never had a problem with the cheap PC mic I used before. Is it that this mic is so much better it's picking up what comes out of my speakers or, once again, do I not have something set properly?

 

[andyhix]

Timothy, thank you. The Stereo Mix was muted and that has helped greatly. Here's another dumb question. I use Audacity to record and with this new mic the mic is picking up the background track coming out of the speakers, so when I play it back the backing track (karaoke) loud and distorted and my vocals are drowned out. I never had a problem with the cheap PC mic I used before. Is it that this mic is so much better it's picking up what comes out of my speakers or, once again, do I not have something set properly?

Wear headphones. Turn the speakers off.

 

[pandamonk]

That mike has a built in preamp. So you don't need an external preamp.

Sounds like you don't have the recording level set correctly for the input jack on your computer. Have you adjusted the Windows mixer recording input controls? - Options/Properties, then select Recording. Then make sure the Stereo Mix checkbox is selected. If that doesn't register a high enough level when recording, select the Microphone checkbox instead.

EDIT: are you sure the mike's internal battery is installed?

Ahh ok...

 

[XLR]

...mic is picking up the background track coming out of the speakers, so when I play it back the backing track (karaoke) loud and distorted and my vocals are drowned out.

Yep, headphones will get you the best separation but it can be tough getting used to singing with them on.

You can get OK results using speakers to monitor if the mike has a cardioid pickup pattern because it will reject most of the sound coming from behind it. Make sure the back of the mike is facing the speakers. If it's an omnidirectional mike you'll have to use headphones. It should say in the manual what the pickup pattern is but you can easily test it just by recording from each side. Also, singing within a few inches of the mike helps.

edit: just occurred to me that if you use the Stereo Mix input the recorder will be re-recording the original backing track (internally, separately from the mike's picking up the speakers) as it plays along with your miked vocal. So if that's happening, select Microphone on the recorder input instead.

 

[Swappo]

Thanks again. I'll get some headphones and try it that way.

 

[Swappo]

Thanks, Andy.

 

[Swappo]

Well, I got the headphones and now the mic doesn't work once again and even with the headphones the recording is still coming through louder.

 

[XLR]

There's a lot involved in balancing levels. Recording engineers were originally called balance engineers for good reason.

 

[Swappo]

I figured it was something that isn't set properly. I'm almost about to get into a karate stance with this thing. I'll have to keep playing with it.

 

[rayc]

I had a similar prob with Audacity - that is the backing being recorded into each new track even though I had h/phones & speakers not on & using an external S/card so I figured I'd give it a miss & moved on to cakewalk.
That said I'm sure it's something simple - I did all the mutes, mixes etc etc but I didn't like the prog much anyway (sour grapes?) so it was no skin of my nose to move on.

 

[Swappo]

I need phantom power for this mic, so I'll have to get a phantom power supply because I can't return the mic. I'm assuming that's the problem 'cause my $20 pc mic works fine, it's just not great for recording vocals.

 

[XLR]

Your mike uses power supplied by an internal replaceable battery, not phantom power.

 

[Swappo]

That's what I thought since it says right on the box that no outside voltage is required, but I'm not getting much sound out of it. I tested it with Windows sound recorder and the mic is on, but the sound is muffled and barely audible when recorded. I plug in my cheap pc mic and it works. Same with Audacity. I record with the MXL and nothing from the mic records. Cheap pc mic; no problem.

I'm practically bald now.

 

[XLR]

Could be:

Dead battery
Faulty cable

Does the mike have an on/off switch or pad switch?

 

[Steve Henningsgard]

Not sure why nobody's mentioned it, but I'd personally suggest switching to Reaper instead of Audacity. Just my $0.02

 

[Swappo]

Could be:

Dead battery
Faulty cable

Does the mike have an on/off switch or pad switch?

I tried a new battery. The cable, I don't know.

Yes, it has an on/off switch.

I just got back from Guitar Center and they won't return it or even exchange it. They sugested I call Marshall Electronics and see if they can figure out why it isn't working.

I thought possibly it's something related to Realtek Audio since the mixer their doesn't allow me to adust the mic level. But then why does my other mic work?

In the meantime I'll try Reaper as Steve suggested.

 

[Swappo]

Not sure why nobody's mentioned it, but I'd personally suggest switching to Reaper instead of Audacity. Just my $0.02

I tried Reaper. I get the same horrible sound from this mic in Reaper as I do elsewhere. I'm gona go to my neighbor's and plug it into their computer and see if it works over there.