Can't hear mic thru speakers while recording

Click Start->Programs->Accessories->Entertainment->Volume Control

One the dialogue opens, Click the OPtions Menu, Clcick Properties, Select the radio button for Recording and click OK.

Make sure there is a check mark in the Select Check box under the mic input and that the volume is properly adjusted.

Steve

Also, once you select the Radio button for Recording in the dProperties Dialog, make sure Mic is checked in the list that shows underneath the Radio Buttons before clicking OK

I've tired all that, and I know the mic works properly. But I still cannot hear myself thru the speakers when i talk into the mic. Is there a way to hear myself in the speakers throught the mic all the time? For example..I am recording my voice onto a karaoke track. But when i have my head phones on, all i hear is the music, not my voice.

any ideas?

thanks

Keep in mind that the mic will also be picking up what is coming out of the speakers, which is highly undesirable if you are going for any level of quality (it creates an infinite loop, which will come across as a flanging effect when you listen back to the recorded results). To record with a mic you really need to use headphones so you can keep the backing track from bleeding back into the mic and resulting in that infinite loop.

Hi will

do you know how i can hear myself in the headphones with the music?

As far as I know there has to be some software active that actually takes the input from the mic and passes it to the output signal.

There are probably ways around this, but I don't know what they are off the top of my head... Hopefully someone else will comment with a solution and we'll both learn on this one.

Good Luck

What StephenJD is talking about is similar to Creative Labs (Soundblaster) cards, which have the "what you hear" recording/playback option that does this.

Janessa, what make and model of laptop? What software are you using for recording? Does your laptop have a software mixer for the soundchip that is independent of Windows?

The laptop is a Inspiron E1505 and I'm using sony acid music studio.

I'm not sure about a software mixer. Im sure its no...unless it came with one preinstalled

What type of mic are you using? Is it a USB mic, or one that connects with an 1/8" male plug into the jack next to the headphone jack?  I found something regarding USB mics and Acid that says not being able to hear yourself in real time is a limitation of the software:

http://forums.digitalmedianet.com/cgi-bin/displaywwugpost.fcgi?forum=sonic-foundry_acid&post=060927200116.htm

Actually, scratch that ... I misread the first time what the person was saying in that thread.

Let me take a look at the E1505 real quick and check back in :-)

okie...and its a 1/8 male plug mic

The problem isn't in the laptop/windows mixer... it's ACID.
When you hit RECORD in ACID... a window should pop up... in that window will be a check box that says "Monitor"

Click on that so that it is checked off, and you should be able to hear what you record in the mic.

That's how Sony Sound Forge is set up... so I'm pretty sure that ACID is the same way.

Peter

Monitor is checked..and when i talk into the mic, i can see the audio slider moving so i know it mics up the mic, but i still cannot hear it throught the headset

yay!!   so the bad news is... I DO have the Sigmatel, so i had to follow the bypass.

the good news is..it works.

Now i do have one other question..I noticed even before i could hear myself during recording...that during the play back, my vocals are about a half beat behind. Its this way with a few programs i use. Is there something i can do to fix that?

That last part is called "latency."  Unfortunately, integrated audio chips aren't great for doing this type of recording. You can try downloading the universal ASIO driver from www.asio4all.com and seeing if that improves your results.  I've got a regular PC for recording (I'm a musician as well as an IT guy), though when I did try to use my laptop I ran into the same latency problem (IBM R51). Since I needed to be able to have a portable recording setup on occasion, I ended up buying an external M-Audio Firewire Audiophile interface to use with my laptop. There are also a few PCMCIA options, Echo Audio makes some nice ones that aren't too expensive.  Creative Labs has a PCMCIA Audigy card as well that will give you near zero latency, if you decide to go down that route.

oh good..at least there is a way to fix it

Thanks for all your help Will

Janessa