Recently I bought myself a new microphone, its just a cheap thing, a dynamic vivanco dm60, the cable it came with connects to the mic using an XLR and connects to the computer using a 1/4 inch connector, but unfortunately my computer doesn’t have a 1/4 so I just grabbed and adaptor
but when I plugged it into my computer using a 1/4 inch to 3.5mm adapter, I didn’t hear anything.
seeing as the adapter was a little bit bent, I just figured it was broken, so I grabbed a an M-Audio
MobilePre Usb and connected the mic using that, i still didnt hear anything, then I turned the phantom power thing on and voila, I could now hear myself, almost.
I have to have the mic super close to my face for it to pick up anything, and its still incredibly quiet, I can barely make out what is being said, and there is a lot of white noise
I went into the properties for the mic, but I couldn’t see any options to turn off any enhancements that could have been messing up the sound, and the volume levels are at 100% and I couldn’t find any options for mic boost, I could just add a bit of mic boost with an third party program, but there’s already so much noise, I could just as well be recording with a tin can and a bit of string
please help, I must be doing something wrong, I know its just a cheap mic, (around 50$) but I doubt that it could be so bad that its essentially non functional
connects to the computer using a 1/4 inch connector,
Actually, it connects to your guitar amplifier 1/4" Mic-In. A straight 1/4" socket to 1/8" plug should have worked at the Mic-In of your computer.
This microphone doesn’t take phantom power. “Dynamic” means moving-coil and your voice is doing all the work. There are no amplifiers inside the microphone.
The hiss noise you’re listening to is probably the 48v phantom power being used when it shouldn’t.
Turn the phantom power off and forget Audacity for a minute. Can you get the SIGNAL light on the front panel to light up when you talk and when you really lay into it, can you get the CLIP light to come on?
Plug your earbuds or headphones into the device and listen to your voice. Does it sound OK?
The instructions don’t come right out and say what happens if you plug an instrument into either one of the INST connections. Just for grins, put a 1/4" plug into both INST sockets and run it in and out a couple of times. Leave it out. I can’t prove this, but it’s possible they switch internally and the switching may have gotten ratty or dirty.
i can get both lights to light up when I talk, but not without shouting, also, turning the phantom power off didn’t help with the buzzing noise, its just as bad, when I plug my headphones into the device I cant hear my voice, the sound of my real voice drowns it out,
It sounds to me like some more troubleshooting is needed.
Make sure the 1/4 inch connector is screwed together completely. They tend to loosen up with regular use.
If you have a computer headset with mic, that you have used successfully in the recent past, plug the mic only into the computer. This is using “known working equipment” to test the input jack(s) on your computer.
Use the computer’s external speakers to monitor. Speak into the mic. Do you hear clear sound? If yes, your problem is the new mic you bought. If no, open your computer’s volume control window, select options, then select properties. Make sure all input types are checked. If they are already checked, make sure none of the volume controls in the control window are muted.
If that isn’t the problem, try plugging the mic into the “line in” jack instead of the “mic” jack. If your headset mic works, make note of which jack it worked in, then plug the dynamic mic into the same jack using the 3.5mm adapter. If it still doesn’t work, my money would be on a faulty pick-up in the mic head. Dropping them, or poor packaging for shipping, can ruin a mic in a big hurry.