Microphone not working on new laptop

[Spirit]

So I had a similar problem to this with my last laptop about 2 years ago. I plugged in my samson co1u straight into my laptop and although it did pick up sound, it was extremely weak even when the input volume was maxed out on both the microphone and in mixcraft. I ended up finding out that if I switched the usb cable of the microphone to the second usb port in the laptop, then the issue was fixed and it picked up normal levels of sound. Well I have the same issue with my new dell but this time the fix won't work. I tried all three usb ports but none make a difference. The input volume is maxed out as well. Any idea how I can fix this?

[Tiasdad]

It may be worth you reading this page .. http://10rem.net/blog/2009/10/25/samson ... -and-vista

There may not be enough power supplied to the onboard USB ports to support the mic and the only way to go would be to use an external powered USB hub.

[TrevsAudio]

A quick check shows the samson co1u is a condenser mic and requires 48 volt phantom power.

You need a unit similar to this.

[Tiasdad]

A quick check shows the samson co1u is a condenser mic and requires 48 volt phantom power.

You need a unit similar to this.

It's a USB condenser Trev and is supposed to draw what it needs from the USB port .. not on all computers obviously lol

[TrevsAudio]

I stand corrected! Thanks Gary

[Spirit]

I have to find my usb power booster somewhere around the house to test the theory but last time I tried it with my last laptop, it didn't fix the issue.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

[outteh]

The mic is probably compatible with 2.0 USB and not 3.0. Check your USB ports and see if one of them is still old school USB.

[Spirit]

That's a good point about the ports. I'll look into that. Now I am having a new problem... The mic. isn't working properly on the desktop now...

I unplugged it earlier today to test it with the new laptop and now I am running into the same issue. input volume in mixcraft is high, mic. input volume is around 80 and I am getting very small waveforms for my tracks now... What is going on!!! The mic worked fine this morning on my desktop!

[Ozscot]

I'm relatively new to this but would offer the following (and please, anyone with more experience please tell me if I'm wrong)

I have a Behringer USB cond mic - I power it through a Behringer USB Mixer with phantom power. However when recording today the recording levels were dreadful even with me really pushing the gain and levels - I couldn't understand it - until I realised that although everything was wired up perfectly - I was not being recorded through the Behringer Mic at all - I was being recorded through the on board mic on the lap top - I needed to go to the track in Mxcraft and open that little downward arrow which asks what input you are using - it seems the default is the lap top's own mic ( the fact I was getting a recording at all was fooling me into thinking I had a mic problem) - all I had to do was choose 'USB cond mic' - and voila - perfect levels again.

I hope it's something as simple as this for you. Apologies if you've already thought of that and I sound like a simpleton!

Oz

[Spirit]

Thanks Ozscot. I have made sure that I am connected to the samson mic though. When I started out I had the same issue actually... wondering why my brand new mic was giving me terrible recording quality...

[Acoustica Greg]

Thanks Ozscot. I have made sure that I am connected to the samson mic though. When I started out I had the same issue actually... wondering why my brand new mic was giving me terrible recording quality...

Hi,

When you arm the mic, do you have an option for left and right? If so, choose the side on which you hear the audio.

If that doesn't help, right-click on the small volume control in your Windows taskbar and select "Recording Devices." On the Level tab, make sure that the level is turned up. If there is a "mic boost" option, you can try that. On the Advanced tab, make sure you're set for 1 channel sound.

Greg

[Spirit]

Hi Greg. First I should say that somehow it is working on my desktop again so that's good at least... Anyways, my laptop is still not agreeing with it. I do not have the option to change from left to right although is says left channel when I hover over arm. Also I have already boosted the windows volume control to a high level (around 70, 80) but still not working properly. It is recording but at a very low volume to the point where I hardly get any waveform for the track.

Any other ideas?

I have tried all three usb ports, one of which is a 2.0 port and it hasn't made a difference.

[Acoustica Greg]

Hi,

What do you see if you click the little arrow next the Arm button?



Greg

[Spirit]

This is what I get when I click arm.

[outteh]

Seems the Samson CO1U has problems on lot's of systems. It appeasr to be a windows setup issue in order to get it to work properly. Try this:

The C01U is a WAV device. Therefore, adjusting the slider for your default MIC input level on the volume control applet does not adjust the gain on the C01U. You access the actual volume control for the C01U as follows:

Start, Settings, Control Panel, Sounds and Audio Devices
Click on Audio tab.

Under "Sound Recording", insure that Default Device is selected as Samson C01U.

Once Samson C01U is selected as Default Recording Device, click on the Volume button just below the name. A new window will pop up, with a vertical slider. This window will be labelled "WAVE IN", however it actually does control the MIC volume for the C01U.

The key here seems to be that the USB device that represents the Microphone input (as far as Windows is concerned) is not a traditional microphone, but (as mentioned above) a WAV-IN device.