USB Mic Distortion

I recently bought a Samson G-Track USB microphone, to go with my new Macbook (running Leopard), but seem to get intermittent audio distortion when I record. I have been checking the record levels on the mic and garageband and it's not clipping. If anything the signal strength on the Garageband monitor seems low. I can sometimes record a signal ok and then with exactly the same setup next time it distorts. I have tried turning off all effects in case they are causing it. Looking at online discussion forums there seems to be a problem with the Apple USB driver (Audio Codec?).
Anyone else had this problem?

I've had a Snowball USB mic for about a year and it sometimes has problems like you describe (basically signal breakup that sounds like clipping, even though the input level is not too high).
I first used it with a G4 Powerbook, and found that the perfomance depended on which port I used. The differences were dramatic.
I'm now using a MacBook, and there is variability when I record my band from session to session. I'm getting the feeling it might have to do with how well the power is sent from the USB port to the mic. But I don't have a good diagnostic.
I plan to sit down and run some trials, and would suggest you do the same. Plug in the mic, do a quick test and listen, then disconnect/reconnect the mic and repeat the test (changing ports or not).
I read recently that USB power is "dirty" and maybe these mics are very sensitive. If anyone has more info, I'd like to hear it.

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Output sound distortion when USB Mic Connected

Hi everyone,
Really appreciate anyone’s help on this sound distortion problem.
I have been using the new 2014 iMac 27' for last 8 Months, bought Brand New, and recently updated to Yosemite. Everything worked fine including recording, until this update.
I'm using Blue Yeti USB Mic for recording, and few days after the update I was trying to record in GarageBand and the output sound (via headphone connected to USB MIc) started to distort and then suddenly dropped the bitrate/ sound and I could only hear some clicks. I reinstalled the GargeBand, still its the same distortion happens. The sound gets back to normal, only for few seconds, after I unplug the USB cable from the Mic device. And I tried changing the bit rate and again sounds starts to drop after few sec. This happens only when I connect the Blue Yeti USB Mic and sound output from the Mic itself. Same thing happens with iTunes as well. Output sound from Internal mic and speakers are working fine as normal.
I tried connecting the USB Mic to my Windows laptop and its working fine with the Cubase 5 without any problem. So the problem is with the output sound, when external Mic connected.
I don’t know the solution for this. Have checked on every single blog/ thread, sill couldn’t find the answer I’m looking for, to fix this.
It would be great if you have any kind of a solution for the same.
Info : FYI
Mac
OS X Yosemite: Version 10.10.2
iMac (27-inch, Late 2013)
Processor : 3.2 GHz Intel Core i5
Hard-drive : 1 TB SATA Disk
Ram: 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M 1024 MB
Built-in Output:
Default System Output Device:       Yes
Manufacturer:                                  Apple Inc.
Output Channels:                             2
Current SampleRate:                      48000
Transport:                                        Built-in
Yeti Stereo Microphone:
Default Input Device:                      Yes
Default Output Device:                    Yes
Input Channels:                               2
Manufacturer:                                 Blue Microphones
Output Channels:                            2
Current SampleRate:                      48000
Transport:

Nope. The larger buffer didn't work. What did work was running a cord out of the 1/4-inch jack from the direct box to a 1/4-to-1/8-inch adapter and then into the mic/line-in jack on my computer. I set GarageBand to use the built-in line-in and had no static problems. It's a stopgap until this gets fixed.
A post by LinuxMercedes on Oct. 3 at http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8158914 may provide a solution.

Distortion with USB mic and Logic Pro/Garage Band

I have read a ton of posts, but I have yet to find an answer to this question. I have a USB mic that used to work wonderfully before upgrading to Leopard. When I make a recording now, it usually works well for about 5 minutes, and then out of nowhere I get horrible distortion. I have read that if I changed the frequency from 48000Hz to 44000Hz it would correct the problem. It seemed to work, but the problem keeps coming back. If I switch the microphone profile from built-in mic back to USB Mic in Preferences>Audio, it corrects the problem for a little while. It happens in Logic, Garageband and any other program that I try to record to.
I read in a Leopard update note that one of the past few upgrades was supposed to fix this issue, but it hasn't been fixed for me. Does anybody know of any solution to this problem? I would be greatly indebted to you!

Nope. The larger buffer didn't work. What did work was running a cord out of the 1/4-inch jack from the direct box to a 1/4-to-1/8-inch adapter and then into the mic/line-in jack on my computer. I set GarageBand to use the built-in line-in and had no static problems. It's a stopgap until this gets fixed.
A post by LinuxMercedes on Oct. 3 at http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8158914 may provide a solution.

USB Mic Problems

I am recording with my USB mic it's a Blue Microphone Spark and at first it was recording fine now... It isn't so much I turned down the mic volume to 2 and even 1 and it still is recording hot and sounds distorted at points. How do I fix this problem and get the best out of my microphone?

Vacuoso wrote:
I turned the windows control for the mic down but it appears overridden by Audition. (Is this correct?)
There has to be a master control for the USB mic input levels, right? I can't find it for the life of me... I suspect that I am going to feel plenty dumb when someone tells me how to do it--but HELP, anyway! =)
Audition doesn't control any gains or levels in external devices at all - period. No overrides, nothing.
There are two ways in general that USB devices work in this situation - they either have a driver with its own control applet or they hand control to the Windows mixer. I think your Stanton device uses the Windows mixer, and it's extremely unlikely to use the Mic input - far more likely to use the Line input, I would have thought - it won't be a mic level signal coming from it, after all.
First thing to do is to look at the setup as it is in your PC, and make sure that it appears as it is on p.8 of the manual. If you can't find those settings on your machine, chances are that there's driver software on the CD that came with it, and you'll have to install that Cakewalk stuff to make it work (you don't have to use it though - it's just the driver you want). When you've got the correct source set up, it should appear in the Windows mixer but as I said, it's probably the line input level that controls it.
It's also quite possible that the standard Windows USB PID driver will work, and that the turntable will just appear correctly - no driver required - so check that first before doing anything else. Whatever you end up doing though, it's got to appear in the control panel like it does on p.8.

ZOOM H2 usb mic issues

I am having volume and intermittent static issues when trying to use a Zoom H2 recorder as a usb mic going directly into my macbook. In Garage band and the sound preferences the volume being registered is almost half of what the little H2 screen is registering. So what is recorded by GB is alot softer than the mic is picking up. Also there is intermittent pops of static in the GB recording.
My GB records using the built-in mic just fine and even line-in fine (other than the low volume for line-in).
when I use my H2 as a portable recorder it works great. no static and no volume issues but when usb to my macbook i have those issues.
I have the lasted version of H2 firmware.
Also if i up the mic gain on the H2 it reds out on the H2 screen but more volume with the distortions on GB.
any thoughts??

I'm having the same problems with my Zoom H2. Actually, it works well as a USB mic for about eight minutes, then it just sends static into the notebook. The static crops up in GarageBand and Skype.
I tried removing the batteries, switching the sampling rate, and installing the new firmware. Nothing worked.
Called Zoom today and they said they don't have the problem with their Macs. They told me to exchange the unit for another one and see if the problem persists.
The Zoom tech did mention that people have similar problems with PC USB ports that are underpowered. Similar, but not the same.
I have a Santa Rosa MBP, if that helps anything.
I'm going to exchange this recorder for a new one and hopefully that'll fix things.
I'll post here if it does.
Good luck.
P.S. I've also read of static problems with the Zoom USB mic. Perhaps a QC issue with Zoom? Or some strange incompatibility with certain Macs?

How to record a USB mic and a guitar at the same time?

I have an Audio-Technia AT-2020 USB mic and an Ovation acoustic/electric guitar. I wanted to record both of them at the same time, so i plugged the mic into the USB port (duh!) and the guitar into the 1/8" port on the computer (with a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter and a male/male headphone cable). However, when i went to select the inputs for the diffrent tracks, it was either one or the other. My question is, do you need an audio interface to be able to do multitrack recording? If so, could I use a USB hub, 1/8" to USB adapter, and plug both the guitar and mic to fool the computer into thinking i have an audio interface? I would rather not spend money on an audio interface ($200) and a new mic ($120) when i already have something that could work!
Thanks to anyone who can help!

beberhard14 wrote:
do you need an audio interface to be able to do multitrack recording?
create an aggregate device from the mic and line-IN:
http://www.bulletsandbones.com/GB/Tutorials.html#allaboutaggregatedevices
(Let the page FULLY load. The link to your answer is at the top of your screen)

Using usb mic with logic output stops

using usb mic with logic output stops

Aggregate devices are setup in the Audio/Midi setup of OSX Utilities, (Not in Logic). It gives you a way of having for than one audio i/o device. Once you have set up your aggregated devices in Audio/Midi, when you start Logic you will need to go into Audio preferences and choose the Aggregate device.

IMovie 10.0.5 crashes into millions of colored pixels when I add v/o narrative using Pages to read script from and using a USB mic attached to my iMac. I am running Mavericks OS X10.9.4

Hi, I have been editing a project for a week and over the past 2 days iMovie 10.0.5 has crashed into millions of colored pixels about 6 times. I am working on a 27" iMac running OS X 10.9.4 with 6GB of Ram, plenty of space on start up disc (217 GB's) The crash seems to coincide with any effort to use an external USB mic plugged in to record a narrative. I can record the voice over but a few minutes later I get some awful audio scrubbing sounds and then it pixelates. Why is this happening and how can I work around this to record a voiceover please? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm nervous to continue if my work is going to ultimately be lost. My project is currently about seventeen mins and includes, video clips from 2 different cameras (both Canon) a music track from iTunes and some still images (jpegs.)

Thanks Erik,
If nothing else, this huge list of updates and fixes, shows clearly that the Logic Dev team is working hard on fixing and improving LPX to a major degree.... and from the list of fixes done.. show they do read the bug reports submitted!
As an aside....
I recall how all the 'naysayers' prior to LPX (and in some cases, since...) were proclaiming how Logic was dead, the team was being disbanded, we won't see any further development, the Dev team doesn't listen or care... and so on....... I wonder where those people are now?

USB Mic won't show up in Drivers Menu

I just bought an Audio Technica 2020 USB microphone, and I can't get it to work with Logic Pro 7.2.3.
When I open up the audio/midi setup it is listed there, and it works with other programs, but it doesn't show up in the Driver drop-down list on the Drivers tab in Audio Preferences in Logic Pro.
I even tried setting up various aggregate devices, but none of these show up in Logic Pro. The only 2 things that show up are Built-in Input and Built-in Mic.
I've tried restarting Logic, restarting the computer, and nothing seems to help.
Does it make a difference if this is the academic version?
Please someone help!!!
Thanks,
Justin

In the Audio / Midi settings under the Audio menu, create an aggregate device one for the usb mic and one for the output. Then in your Logic pro settings in the core audio set the aggregate device as the default device.
Well that works LP 8 w/10.5.3
Message was edited by: Mac Pro 8core - x86

Cannot switch back to built-in output after connecting USB mic

I cannot get playback unless I plug back in my USB mic (Blue Yeti) on Mac OS X.
I get this notice:
"The selected audio device has no output channels."
I select Default Output to be "built in output" then go to Audio Channel Mapping tab and my output device is saying Yeti stereo microphone (not working).
It is obviously not working because it isn't plugged in. My question is why isnt it using my built in output when the mic is unplugged. Even through the Sound tab in system preferences my output is set to "built in"
I get playback through the mic when it's plugged in, but I need to be able to get playback through my built in output when the mic is not plugged in. Any ideas on this greatly appreciated.

Start out with these ! Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) - Apple Support How to Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support if issue still persists look inside the audio jack see if the light is on.

Is it possible to use USB webcam + USB mic simultaneously?

I would like to use a USB mic (Blue Snowball USB) and USB webcam (Ligoitch Quickcam) together simultaneously, because I understand the one is good sound and the other is good video for live internet broadcasting of music.
can anyone tell me if this should be possible? I'd hate to buy them and find it doesn't work... THANKS!
I'm using Macbook 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo OSX 10.5.8

No reason why not.

Macmini 2012, Mountain Lion, Logitech C600 webcam USB Mic...

OK.
So I got the new macmini 2012(base model). Got 10.8.2 on it and a webcam Logitech C600.
Everything works fine (no additional drivers needed). The problem comes when sometimes (randomly) the mic stops working. It is a USB mic integrated in the webcam. I am thinking it has something to do when the monitor goes to sleep, but still cannot find the reason. It sometimes happen after fresh restart. When I disconnect and reconnect the webcam it goes ok. Any ideas?

BDAqua is right Hristokirev. I solved this problem myself with this issue before. Coz I also have a C600. Also if your C600 video display resolution is crap, go to quicktime player then go to movie recording and click on high recording quality on it so you can manually adjust the resolution. So yeah when I first plug this camera it didn't had a 720p quality feature, but its just that you have to manually change the settings in it itself.

T60 USB Mice has random disconnect, needs to be plugged back in

We have a bunch of T60's here, and we use Lenovo USB mice with them. What happens is, at any given moment, the mouse will stop working. The user just unplugs and plugs the mouse back in (Port Rep or directly into machine). This usually works, but sometimes requires the mouse to be swapped out. Then that old mouse will work somewhere else.
It's a very weird problem, and was wondering if anyone has a solution? I did some reading up and found other people with this problem, didn't find much of a solution though.
Any help appreciated, thanks.

Try setting usb in bios - config - usb to always on or powered and in device manager remove the tick on usb hubs allowing windows to turn them off.
Andy ______________________________________
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What is the capture range of the snowball and the nessi usb mic ?

anyone knows the max range to capture voice with these usb mic, or any other. it is to records Church Sunday's messages, my audi booth is at the far back of the church. it would be so much easier if apple would equip their product with an audio in, then i would just need a audio cable from the comptuter to the sound console, but they don't so i need another solution.
i would welcome other not too expensive solution
thanks
Rob Mongeau

It depends on the quality you need. The iMic would give you about the same quality as the built-in audio input of an earlier Mac. If you want a more professional quality input, or something with a more rugged jack than the 3.5mm jack in the iMic, something like the Lexicon Alpha or M-Audio M-Track might be worth looking at. There are higher-end devices available, but those might be overkill for capturing chuch services.
Regards.

Help with Rode Posdcaster USB Mic

Hello all--
I'm trying to use audacity to create my first podcasts for a class. I initially tried a no-name lapel mic that plugged into the line in on my Macbook Pro. No dice. When I go to Sound on the control panel, I can't get any of the bars to move, even when I select the mic.
I did a bit of reading and figure that it may be because the mic isn't powered by the audio in. Ok. No problem. I borrowed a brand new Rode Podcaster USB mic to try. Plug it in, got the green light on the mic showing power. Go to Sound and there it is listed. Still, when I select it, I can't get any sound to show up on the bars.
Ideas? I'm missing something dumb.
I'd figure that the mic wasn't Mac friendly but the instructions have a mac section dealing with 10.4+ installation. Followed 'em to the letter.
Thanks for any and all help!
--P
MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.6)

I tried that, but the mic doesn't show up in Audacity. I don't think that the Mac is getting any input at all. In the sound panel, the Rode mic shows up as installed, but when I select it and talk into it, no movement on the bars. That's what's annoying me--the computer knows it is there, but nothing is coming in. I think my problem is with the mic, not the program.
Just for hoots, I tried it on my G5. Same deal. Mac recognizes the mic is there, but no sound coming in.
Ideas?

USB Mic Distortion

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