If you are having problems recording through your PC microphone (or problems
with voice-to-note):
- Make sure your PC microphone is plugged into the correct plug/jack (check
your sound card's documentation) in the back of your computer (near the
speaker jack). The microphone jack is usually color-coded pink or red. If
you accidentally plug the microphone into the line-in jack, you will get
a very weak signal.
- Make sure the microphone is selected as the recording device in the 'Device'-'Wave
Input' sub-menu.
- Make sure the input volume is up high. To check this, select 'Device'-'Recording
volume' from the menu. Now you should see all the recording devices. Make
sure the microphone 'Select' check box is selected and the volume is turned
up high. Some applications might change this settings without your knowledge,
so it's good to check this.
- If you have an 'Advanced' button you can select it and then select
the 'boost' option, if you need higher volume.
- If you do not see the microphone option in the volume control panel,
select 'Options'-'Properties' off the volume control menu. Under 'Show
the following volume controls' make sure every option is checked.
- If your microphone has an on/off switch, turn it on. These types of microphones
usually do not have a power line coming into them, so they give a weaker
signal. Make sure the mic volume is turned up to the max for these (and
turn on the 'Mic Boost' if you have that advanced setting option available).
- It is better to use a PC microphone (which has 2 black rings on the
plug).
- The most common microphone for studio vocal recordings are called
large diaphragm condensor microphones. These give a pleasant-sounding
recording for vocals. The USB versions of these are the easiest to setup
and use - here are links to two such microphones: Samson
C01U and the Blue
Snowball. Most large diaphragm mics have an XLR interface, though,
and are harder to setup. These XLR microphones require a power source
and an amplifier (the tube
amps made by ART have both the power source, the amplifier and a
variety of outputs such as stereo jacks and USB to interface to your
computer).
- When singing into your microphone, make sure not to sing directly into
the microphone as this will cause 'wind noise' from the force of your breath.
- Some microphones have built-in wind/pop shields to help with this
problem.
- Pop shields are also sometimes used to force the singer to sing a
certain distance away from the microphone to avoid wind noise and wildly
changing volume levels as the singer moves back and forth. This is only
used for studio microphones with amplifiers, though - normal PC microphones
do not have much power and you usually have to sing very close to them.
- When using the voice-to-midi or In-Tune Tuner, check the volume indicator
to make sure the volume level is high enough. Usually, the higher the better,
but not too high as it will go into the red area and 'cap' the recording
of the audio waves.
- Voice-to-note tips:
- Any noise, including background noise, will lower the quality of the
voice-to-note conversion.
- Longer notes are picked up better than shorter ones.
- Even tones, such as singing 'laaaas', will be picked up better than
changing pitch rapidly.
