Hello,
I can and have recorded tunes on my computer using the cheap mic that came with it. I recently got a $30 mic from Radio Shack thinking this might improve the sound quality a bit. However, it doesn’t work for some reason. The cheap mic works great but the $30 doesn’t pick up anything when I plug it into my sound card.
I tested the new mic on a tape recorder and it works fine with that…just not with my sound card.
The plug size is correct and the same as the cheap mic.
Any ideas?
-Brett
Preamp.
The output of the new mic isn’t high enough for the computer. You’ll need a preamp to raise the level for for the sound card connection to work.
P.S.
The mic I got is the Radio Shack omnidirectional electret mic (33-3014) for $30 (as suggested by ELLIOTT in another thread).
It takes a AAA battery which I assumed meant it would amp the signal a bit. Or, at least more than the cheap mic which doesn’t have any kind of amplification.
-brett
The battery powers the electret element. This doesn’t necessarily raise the level of output.
Did ELIOTT have any other comments?
For recording to the computer, I usually plug my mike into my guitar amp, disconnect the ground wire to the speaker, and run a cable from the preamp output to the computer. I have been told you can also do this from the headphone output to the computer, and not have to disconnect the speaker.
Did ELIOTT have any other comments?
Not reguarding computer recording…he was actually making a suggestion of a cheap (under $100) non-computer recording setup (which I got). I thought an additional advantage would be that I could use the better mic with my PC.
I’m using Audacity to record sound and it does have an amplify effect you can use but this didn’t have any effect either.
I could be wrong, but I don’t think I’m picking up anything at all from the mic (no noise or anything)…could the plugs be different even though they look the same (a stereo/mono thing?)?
Anyway…no big deal right now…the cheap mic that came with the PC is fine for Clips&Snips stuff. It just frustrates me when I can’t get tech stuff to work. 
-brett
See if the sound card has another input that gives more gain. Look for a boost selection on the sound card software panel (mine does) check w/ Radio shack… they used to have a mic preamp for under $30… I know it defeats having another mic if you have to amplify it, but you’ll probably get higher fidelity to your recordings with the new mic.
On 2002-12-29 22:08, Bretton wrote:
…could the plugs be different even though they look the same (a stereo/mono thing?)?
Yes! In general, it works okay to put a mono plug in a stereo jack but if you are using an adaptor (1/4" plug to 1/8" jack) you want to make sure to use the right one. I remember having this exact problem and it was either because I was using a stereo adaptor or a mono adaptor. I don’t recall which right now and it’s at home while I am at work. I think I had to use a mono adaptor to make it work, but I’m not certain.
At the time (about two years ago) it drove me absolutely nuts because intuitively it seems like either adaptor should have worked. I tried three different microphones, plugged into the sound card directly and the keyboard (HP computer with extension cable that brings the sound connections to the keyboard). Before finally trying a different adaptor.
John
Elliott has little to add. I’ve got an 8-year old Mac with the built-in sound card. This will not stop me from inserting my 2 cents worth (Hey! when did they take the cents symbol off of keyboards? I must be getting old.) Anyway …
Tony is right - the battery merely powers the electret element.
I’m suspicious of something here. Bretton says that his old mic works, so I don’t think it’s going into a line level input. But even if the computer input IS line level, the mic should make SOME noise. If you are getting nothing AT ALL, something else is wrong.
I’m guessing the plug. Look very closely at both plugs. Is the RS plug a little thinner than the “cheap” mic’s plug? You may have stretched out the input jack in the computer with a wide plug. Amazingly, these mini-plugs come in two sizes. That’s all I got.