Can’t suppress internal mic

Audacity 3 Help Forum Windows
1

I want to use Audacity to record music that I’m playing in from a Tascam portastudio via USB link, using the latest version of Audacity and Windows 10.

However, I haven’t found a way to disable/mute the internal microphone so any room noise gets added to the recording.

If I disable the internal microphone no recording occurs.
Any suggestions?

2

Make sure to select the USB device as your Recording Device. (Don’t select anything that says “loopback” or “stereo mix”).

There should also be a way to transfer the files from the PortaSudio to your computer so you don’t have to re-record them. Check the PortaStudio manual.

3

Thanks for your reply.

I can’t find any way to select the USB device on Windows 10 - that was the first thing I thought to do. Any idea how it’s done?

(Yes, there are ways to transfer files of mixed/mastered songs from the PortStudio to computer, but they’re not suitable in this case. This song hasn’t been mastered or ‘officially’ mixed down to two tracks, so I’d do a rough mix as I recorded it to ‘Audacity’.)

4

Ah!!! MAYBE the USB is ONLY for file transfer?

If you want to record onto the computer you might need a USB audio interface (to digitize the analog).

5

Thanks.

Just to recap - Audacity can record from the Portastudio, but the PC’s internal mic stays on and room noises are recorded at the same time - not great!

When using an older version of Audacity some time ago, I somehow managed to record solely from the Portastudio (silent internal mic!) using trial and error. So I know it’s possible, but can’t figure out what settings I need on the current version to silence the internal mic.

6

You shouldn’t have to do this but you can go into the Windows Control Panel and disable the mic or turn the volume down to zero.

7

Thanks for helping.

However, I’ve tried both turning off and muting the internal mic, but Audacity shows an error message and won’t record etc…

8

Problem solved.

The issue was caused by a faulty cable. After it was discovered and replaced, Audacity worked correctly again.

(Thanks for your help DVDdoug)

9

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