Audacity Forum

hi guys...I recently bought my self a studio condenser mic. pop filter. and a four channel mixer. well its my first time really.
and I tried to connect but can't seem to be getting them right. well I used to record with the mic of the laptop.
and recently after connecting everything, still if I try to record with the studio mic. its not picking up my voice. but the laptop does.
how I can I change this. if I am doing everything wrong. the laptop does pick up my voice though but with too much noise.
I am using HP-laptop with windows 8.

please help out.

Moderator note: Please do not piggy-back on an existing and unrelated thread (that way lies confusion). I have split this off for you into its own thread.

nicardo wrote:... still if I try to record with the studio mic. its not picking up my voice. but the laptop does.
how I can I change this.

See Windows "recording devices" to disable the built-in mic ...

... right-click on the Speakers icon in your Notification Area and select Recording Devices ...

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/how-to-en ... indows-7&8

when I plug in the aux cable to the recording audio port on my laptop.it brings out this funny noise that I don't understand, even if the cable is not plugged on the mixer.
at first I thought it was the mixer, I thought maybe I didn't put on the right settings then I unplugged the cable from the mixer. but still the noise was just too much.
but when I unplug the cable from the recording audio port on the laptop the noise stops. does it mean that I have to get the interface for overcome this problem.
or maybe my laptop does not support this....
I am confused.

recording audio port on the laptop

Most laptops don't have a recording audio port, they have a microphone connection (Mic-In). If you plug something other than a microphone into it...

http://kozco.com/tech/audacity/pix/comp ... ophone.jpg

...then it may buzz, hum, and create many problems.

Koz

I like my UCA-202 for connecting my mixer to my laptop.

http://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/pix/ ... Lenovo.jpg

It's only stereo, two channels (left and right), not four channels.

Koz

so the best way is to get my self the uca202 behringer interface. right?

You need some way to connect the mixer to the computer.
Plugging the mixer into a "mic" input on a laptop is not recommended - in most cases the sound quality will be dreadful and there may be a risk of permanently damaging the mic input. What is required is a "line level" input. Many full-size computers have a "line" input available (may not be brilliant quality, but should work OK with a mixer). Many laptop computers have only a "mic" (microphone) input, which is unsuitable.

A USB audio device that has "stereo line level" inputs is a cost effective way to add "line" inputs. The Behringer UCA 202 is one such device (and very inexpensive). I have one myself and I'm very pleased with it, but there are also many other make/models available.