[mad_caper]

I'm trying to do some recording with my PowerBook G4 but I can't get my external mic picking up any sound. I don't know a lot about Macs but here's what I can tell you.

I went into my voice preferences and switched it Line In and turned up the input volume

I plugged the mic into the 3.5 mm jack on the side that looks sort of like >0<

I'm using Audacity and it won't let me switch to anything but default.

I'd appreciate your help!

--Adam

[VegasACF]

Originally Posted by mad_caper

I'm trying to do some recording with my PowerBook G4 but I can't get my external mic picking up any sound. I don't know a lot about Macs but here's what I can tell you.

I went into my voice preferences and switched it Line In and turned up the input volume

I plugged the mic into the 3.5 mm jack on the side that looks sort of like >0<

I'm using Audacity and it won't let me switch to anything but default.

I'd appreciate your help!

--Adam

The mic inputs on Macs are not standard 3.5 mm jacks. They are slightly longer (deeper) so as to accommodate condenser mics (as opposed to the dynamic mics that most other computers use). I won't get into a dissertation on the differences between the two.

But I will tell you this: a dynamic mic will not get you good results on a Macintosh. You'll need to find a condenser mic with a 3.5 mm plug. Or do yourself a favor and get some sort of USB or FireWire audio interface into which you can plug whatever mic you want into the interface.

You'll never get great results from a mic plugged directly into the audio input of the Mac, even if it is a condenser mic.

[mad_caper]

Dag, yo.

Thanks, though!

--Adam