Audacity Forum

Ok, so I just downloaded the free version of Audacity, and it seems like a great program...except for one problem. I plug my amp directly into my computer via the 'extension speaker' jack, and I get nothing but fuzzy distortion. My riffs are unintelligible mush, and it sounds horrible! Is there any way I can fix this? I have an amazing sound on my amp and I don't really wanna mess with trying to duplicate that with anything else. I was just wondering what the problem could be, because we used Audacity in a previous band and it worked great.

<<<because we used Audacity in a previous band and it worked great.>>>

On a different computer, right? If you're plugged into the audio input of a typical Windows Laptop, that connection is designed for a very delicate, low sound level microphone, not a weapons grade high level sound feed. So that's the overload. There can be a thousand times difference between the two.

Dig in your laptop setup instructions and see if it won't let you switch the input between the two services; Line-In (what you want) and Mic-In (what you have now).

Some laptops like the higher end Lenovo's have both styles of connection and you just have to look.

If you're using the headphone out of your amplifier, turn it way down. that may be enough.

Koz

Actually, I don't have a laptop....I have a desktop computer...I've tried adjusting the volume of the amp, but that just cuts the sound out completely so I can't hear what I'm playing. It's distorting everything, even when I don't have the distortion on the amp turned on. I'm on the clean channel and it sounds fuzzy and distorted. I turned my computer's master volume down and it did absolutely nothing...still getting clipping. I also have my amp turned way down and that didn't help either.

<<<I have a desktop computer.>>>

That's very good news. Crawl back there with a flashlight and describe the connectors. Bulls-eye with an arrow pointing in, Little microphone symbol, etc. Colors. If you have the packaging the sound card came in, that may be enough. Most, if not all, large sound cards come with both Microphone-In and Line-In.

Tell me again how you're getting the audio signal. Model number of the amplifier and describe the connection labels? This is exciting because your machine should be working and we just have to figure out why it's not.

Do you have an iPod?

Koz