I don't have anything else for input nor output in my sound device preferences other than "NotConnected 1/Not Connected 2" when I selected "ASIO". I tried both a USB headset and stereo headphones.

Probably useful info:
MC: Mixcraft 6
OS: Windows 7 (64)
ASIO: ASIO4ALL
Sound driver: "AMD High Definition Audio Device" (doesn't look much like specs to me, but that's all I could get...)

Hi,

ASIO4All is a generic ASIO driver and it doesn't work well with all sound cards. For ASIO, it's best to have a sound device that provides its own native ASIO driver. Is WaveRT an option for you? You could try WaveRT in exclusive mode if you're trying to get low latency. If WaveRT doesn't work for you (or maybe you have Windows XP), try updating the audio drivers for your sound card.

Greg

WaveRT works fine with some latency and some static noise (probably caused by hardware rather than mixcraft) in the background. On exclusive mode, there's no input at all (visible nor audible) despite being the same input selected, in this case what my computer recognizes as an external mic. As I'm trying to connect a bass, would it improve anything if I used an amp connected between the instrument and laptop?

Hi,

Yes, an amp might help if you're getting hiss because you have to turn the recording volume up too high.

Once again, check and see if there are any updated audio drivers for your sound card and that might help ASIO4All and/or WaveRT exclusive mode work properly.

Greg