USB mic issue

I recently bought a Samson C01U USB condenser mic but I' having problems with it in Garageband.
If I start up the computer and start up garageband I can record quite well (quality wise) although sometimes the mic is not balanced correctly e.g - left side records louder than the right.
Ok, so I shut down Garageband, go and do some other stuff and come back to it later.
When I try to record the sound quality is dreadful, completely muffled and in order to get anything decent again I have to restart the computer. Even if I move the mic from one USB port to another (and I'm only using the ones at the back - not a hub or the keyboard ports) the problem remains.
Also, the Samson pre-amp software does not work on the iMac but it did work previously on my G5.
Has anyone else encountered this kind of problem? Any advice would be much appreciated as I have a podcast to complete by Friday and it's becoming a nightmare to get it together.
Thanks

The Software doesn't exist for Intel Macs yet. The Samson support wrote to me on Aug 22: "We are planning on releasing a Soft Pre version that is compatible with
Intel Macs." Let's hope for it.
I've had the issues too that you are describing, like that strange left/right balancing. Anyway, you should set the track in GB to mono since it's not a stereo microphone. I used to have a really low input level the first times I used it.
You can correct some things by going to the Audio/Midi configuration program. There you can set the microphone to 16 bit/mono and crank up the gain. Make sure to go back next time to see if the settings are still the same - sometimes they don't "stick".

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I tried removing the batteries, switching the sampling rate, and installing the new firmware. Nothing worked.
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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.
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Hi All,
I purchased a Samson USB mic C01U which is a pretty sweet mic. I used it USB once on my Mac Book Pro but only for a quick verse or two on a friends song.
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I fiddled with it alot. If I unplug it, plug it back in it works for another 5-10 then chatters.
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I saw that thread albeit after I posted this. The thread address some technical issues but didn't give any opinions on the sound quality. I wouldn't expect too much from an $80.00 mic but I was wondering if it was at least a decent value.
I should have been more specific.

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For reference's sake, I took a recording of the sound that results from jiggling the USB headset adapter in the port. It's very quiet, so you may need to turn up the volume a little bit to hear it. Again, these are the ONLY sounds that the mic is able to pick up currently.
http://animeutahime.com/temp/faultymicrecording.mp3
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Just to chime in here - I wonder if it's down to the software: I've recently updated to 10.4.10, and the internal mic seems to have stopped working.
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dancalgary wrote:
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dollarblower,
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WH

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