Line In on new Powerbook G4 not working.

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I've been trying to test out garage band and record a few things. I connected a microphone to the line input jack, went to the system settings, the sound option, then went to the input settings, and turned the input volume on the line in up. However, the microphone won't pick up anything and the little bars that monitor the level won't move. The mic on the powerbook itself works fine, but the line in does not. I've tried two different mics, and old compaq mic made for computers, and an SM57.

Trying to record in garage band obviously doesn't work, turning the monitoring on on a track changes nothing.
 
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october

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I'm not totally sure why, unless the mic needs power, and it's not getting it from just the line out. I don't have any mics made for computers, but when I record with my actual studio mics, I go through a mixer first and I have no problem.

I don't know if that answers your question, and I know someone else had this problem before with a mic, but it seems like they need power to be used.
 
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the only mics that require power are condensor mics which use phantom power from another source. i'm using a regular dynamic mic, and i also tried a compaq mic made for computers, which definitely doesn't require any power.
 
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PowerbookG417

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the input on the powerbook is not a power'd source....october was right, you need to run it threw a source that is going to power the input... with that being said if you were to purchase a piece of equipment called Imic from Griffin then you would have no problems.
 
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You'll need mic input for microphone, I believe. A line input will not work (unless you want to plug in a guitar directly).

I have iMic, works great for basic stuff (you can have both line and mic-level input).
 
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livatlantis said:
You'll need mic input for microphone, I believe. A line input will not work (unless you want to plug in a guitar directly).


This is correct....

LINE level sources are more amplified signals over MIC level signals. Line level requires an input usually between -10 to +4 dbm, MIC levels are around -60 dbm.

Because of the high output in guitar pickups (even ones without a preamp) you can get away with a LINE input. There are a few microphones that have built in preamps, and a handful (SM58) that I would imagine have enough output to be somewhat usable without any preamp... (just a guess) but most will need an external preamp to work on the LINE input.

If you are serious about doing alot of recording I would recommend getting a USB microphone input with a built in preamp... that way you can use a variety of mics/inputs and not have to worry about it. A good mixer would work too... but you would have to spend a little more to get one that won't degrade the signal.
 
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i have a digidesign 002 rack for high quality recording, but i was under the impression that i could just put a microphone into the line in. So there is no way to plug in even a low quality computer microphone into a powerbook without buying a USB adapter?
 
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Ilnyckyj said:
i have a digidesign 002 rack for high quality recording, but i was under the impression that i could just put a microphone into the line in. So there is no way to plug in even a low quality computer microphone into a powerbook without buying a USB adapter?

Afraid not... or use a preamp of some kind between the mic and the line input.... I had a shoot this last week and tried to use a lapel mic (which even had built in Phanton Power with a AA battery in it) with the input and of course it wouldn't work... But what I was able to do was run the mic into my MiniDisc recorder (which had a mic input) and run the headphone jack from the MiniDisc into the line in. So even something like that will work.
 
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xthisisRomancex

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ok... another thing
make sure while u are in garageband that you go to the preferancs and make sure under the audio tab that you have sleeted the line in as the chose for input sound..
 
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xthisisRomancex said:
ok... another thing
make sure while u are in garageband that you go to the preferancs and make sure under the audio tab that you have sleeted the line in as the chose for input sound..

for some reason, garage band isn't letting me switch that. the only option that i have under that menu is built-in audio for input and output.
 
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Yeah... I think you want to change it in your System Preferences >> Sound >> Input Tab.
 
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As sarahsboy18 said, it really might be worth getting an external mixer. I'm getting an alesis multimix 8 USB mixer for my iBook this weekend, and I'm hoping that's going to be good. It routes through the USB port, so sound quality should - in theory - be better than going in through a standard line/mic in on the computer. Of course, only having an iBook, I need some way of getting audio in anyway, so this seems like the most elegant solution ;)
 
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math said:
As sarahsboy18 said, it really might be worth getting an external mixer. I'm getting an alesis multimix 8 USB mixer for my iBook this weekend, and I'm hoping that's going to be good. It routes through the USB port, so sound quality should - in theory - be better than going in through a standard line/mic in on the computer. Of course, only having an iBook, I need some way of getting audio in anyway, so this seems like the most elegant solution ;)

do you have a link for this mixer? Does it allow you to record different tracks simultaneously? I'm kind of fed up with my mixer, and with using it with my powerbook mostly, it would be nice to have one that allows me to use the full power of Garageband. Keep us posted on how you like it.
 
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I got the Alesis mixer on Saturday... and took it back this morning. Aside from being quite a noisy mixer - the aux sends had a LOT of hiss on them - the USB connectivity simply didn't send any audio to either my Mac or my PC. Added to this, the version of Cubase LE that came with it was lacking a serial number, so I couldn't install it, and when I tried to mail Alesis tech support to ask them about it, I found out that the email address they provided in the manual didn't exist.

I'd never, ever buy another piece of Alesis equipment again.

I ended up getting my money back, and I went the sensible route and bought a Griffin iMic this morning (it was a toss-up between that and the MacAlly iVoice, but I've heard really good things about the Griffin). Not actually tried using it yet, but I've plugged it in and Jaguar picks it up (Panther is on its way to me in the post, I'm not going for Tiger until it's been out a while) so it's all looking good. I'm just going to get a normal mixer and route it through the iMic instead (possibly a Spirit or a Mackie).

So, my advice would be to steer clear of the Alesis Multimix 8USB - I'm not the only person who's had problems with it - and just use the iMic (or equivalent) and a decent analogue mixer. Hope this helps :)
 
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october

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what do you recommend would be the best for audio.

using the imic and having it go from a outside mixer to the imic to usb, or just a mixer to the audio in on my powerbook? do you think there is a difference?
 
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Personally, I couldn't tell you on a PB, as I'm stuck with an iBook :( (I love it really!)

One thing I would say is that I use a USB audio input on my iBook - Griffin iMic - and the sound quality is considerably better than when I record onto my PC using a SoundBlaster Audigy with breakout box. Now, whether this is because my Mac just handles sound better than my PC, or because the USB input makes a difference, I can't say.

My advice would be to get an iMic, and try it... if you don't notice any difference, it's only about £30 you've spent (cheaper if you get it from eBay or something, and they might be cheaper still in the States) and you've got yourself a mic pre-amp for if you ever want to record without your mixer...
 

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