Whine on recording? Unfamilier user.

[Mason]

Hey I'm a musician who is looking to record some demo's and have heard a lot of good things about audacity. I don't really understand the in's and out's of it but I know how to record a track, convert it to mp3 etc. etc.

The issue I'm having though is on any recording.. even if I just hit record and keep quiet I'm getting a whine which try as hard as I can, I can't ignore. Is this a common thing?

I don't really have the foggiest and am still getting to grips with the software but was just wondering if anyone here would be wizened enough in the ways of audacity to perhaps have a potential answer for this problem?

I've used the mic to talk via skype to people and it's never given me any noise then.. but maybe this is just showing my ignorance on the subject.. any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Keith

P.S I have tried running it through low and high end filters to loose the whine.. but the track gets to a point where i sounds like i'm singing underwater. The whine is just.. there I monitor the input levels and it's something constant.. sure doesn't sound like conventional background noise.

[steve]

If you are using a laptop, run it from the batteries - laptop power supplies can often cause interference.

[CE49]

I'm having a similar problem.

Even if I just plug a jack adapter into my computer, linked to nothing, and press record the whining still appears.

I've tried recording without my laptop's power cable plugged in but it's made no difference.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[steve]

@ Mason
Try running from batteries first - that is a common cause.

@ CE49
Go into the Windows Mixer (the loudspeaker icon near the clock) and find the RECORD settings. Make sure that ALL recording inputs are visible and turn down the level on each one (or mute them) to find where the noise is coming from.

[CE49]

I've had a look at that and I changed the advanced setting of my microphone so that there's no mic boost and there was no noise at all when I recorded with just the adapter which is good news My problem now is that my microphone is way too quiet! I've got the microphone input up to full and I don't have any more ideas! Is there any way to solve that problem or am I going to have to make good friends with the Amplify function. Thanks for for your help!

[Mason]

I'm not using a laptop. Is there any other possible causes of this?

[steve]

@ Mason - make the same checks as CE49 (the other person posting in this topic) and see if your problem also comes from the mic input.

@ both of you, The microphone input on general purpose sound cards (and on-board sound) are often low quality (they are designed more for playing games and making system beeps rather than for recording). Good quality pre-amps cost money to make, so you are not going to get one on a cheap sound card.

The alternatives are:
To get a specialized music recording sound card that has microphone inputs (for example the m-audio Delta 1010LT),
To use a microphone pre-amp and plug it into the Line input (for example the Behringer Tube Ultragain MIC100 - note, I've not tried this product but it looks good at a very competitive price)
To use a mixing desk between the microphone and the line input (again, Behringer produce a range of well featured products at very competitive prices - this provides a versatile solution)
To use a USB microphone or USB audio interface with a microphone input.

[CE49]

Thank you very much. This has been very useful! I'm going to start looking into all this stuff straight away Thanks again!