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?

Similar Messages

Zoom H4 USB mic issues

Hello,
My housemate and I both have the new Macbook pros with OSX10.5.7
When using a Zoom H4 mic to record instruments at a high pitch (flute, and a casio keyboard played acoustically to test the mic), I'm getting a low rumbling distortion that increases as the pitch increases.
I've recorded in Garage Band and Quicktime and the distortion is exactly the same. I recorded on both USBs on both computers and the distortion is exactly the same.
The device itself functions properly, and even as a USB interface functions without this problem on my friend's older version macbook.
Has anyone else had this problem? I'm searching the forums but can't see my exact problem. It seems to only affect recordings at a high pitch, and again the exact same levels and settings work fine on older macs and on the device itself.
Any help will be most appreciated.

I am recording with a H4 mic in Garageband. I haven't experienced that problem on my Mac Mini. The only time I recorded a high pitch instrument was with a harmonica, but I recorded directly to the H4 then imported to Garageband.
When I have recorded directly to Garageband with the H4 I always use headphones linked to the H4 mic, which allows me to hear playback in Garageband without interfering with the new recording through the H4.

Samson USB mic issue

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.
I came back to my home MacMini and tried to get it worked and after setting up aggregate devices etc... got it going but after about 5-10 minutes the audio started to chatter and clip.
I fiddled with it alot. If I unplug it, plug it back in it works for another 5-10 then chatters.
So I figure its a driver or conflict problem.
Well the other day my new MacPro arrived. I installed Logic, setup the aggregate device and I suddenly have the same problem. No bad drivers or anything (trial software etc) But still I get 5 mins then chatter and clip.
Any thoughts? Anyone using USB mics with Logic Pro?
Thanks in advance.

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.

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".

Trying to use Zoom Q2HD in USB MIC mode and it crashes GarageBand and the whole Ipad?

I bought the Zoom Q2HD video recorder to use for video and because it can be used at a USB Mic for iPad. I recently bought a camera connection kit and last night tried to get the Zoom to work as a mic but it would either not work at all or it would crash GarageBand and the ipad and take me to the Apple logo as it restarted the iPad.
Any ideas?

From the podcast link on the Garageband help page:
"Attach your preferred audio interface and a microphone to your Mac, or use your computer's built-in microphone. (Note: The iSight camera is not supported as a microphone input in GarageBand.)"
http://www.apple.com/support/garageband/podcasts/

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.

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.

Both internal and USB mics not working

Hi there, all. Long-time lurker, first-time poster. Starting last night, I have been having issues with microphone use on my iBook G4. Neither the internal mic nor my USB headset mic (Altec Lansing AHS302USB) are accepting input.
The internal mic's failure doesn't surprise me, as I have heard about the delicate nature of the wire connecting the internal mic from its position on the display down to the main computer. It's the USB mic that confuses me, since USB mics are what everyone seems to recommend that people use when the internal mic is on the fritz (thanks to other mics not working with Mac due to the line-in thing). Also there is the fact that I have used this headset with this computer for over a year with no significant issues until now, with both mics simultaneously failing.
There doesn't seem to be a problem with the headset's wires; I am still able to hear audio through the headphones quite well, and when I load my audio recording program (Audio In) and Sound Preferences, I can see the occasional blip of sound recognition when I move the USB adapter portion around in the port. These blips even occur when the pink microphone jack and headphones jack are unplugged from the adapter, so this suggests to me that the problem lies not with the wires, but somewhere in the USB adapter, port, or the computer itself.
I'm leaning toward the computer itself, since it just seems odd that both mics would just happen to stop working at the same time. That and the fact that audio output still works through the headset, and the USB ports work fine for other USB devices such as my external drive and iPod.
I have tried restarting, resetting the PRAM, and repairing permissions with Disk Utility. Nothing's working so far.
Does anyone have any idea what could possibly be wrong?
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
iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.10) 768 MB RAM, 37.7 GB hard disk

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.
One positive effect of the change to 10.4.10 is that my Griffin iMic no longer flips to 8-bit, 22khz recording when I plug it in.
Having said that, I really like to get my internal mic back up and running again.
iBook Mac OS X (10.4.10) 1.5gb RAM, 60gb hard disk

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/Audio MIDI setup help.

I'm going crazy and have spent two+ hours today trying to resolve what should be a simple issue, especially since I had it working at one time...
I'm looking to set up my USB mic in Logic (MXL USB.007, if it matters). First, in going to my System Prefs > Sound, I can see that it is indeed registering sound. Simple.
So I go to Audio MIDI Setup, as I've seen on the boards. Though the mic automatically shows up as "USB Audio Codec", I'm following the process to create an aggregate device (as shown here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1215). Since after doing this, it's not working, my newbie Logic 101 question is, then, what is the correct setup I'm looking for? My choices are USB Audio Codec In and Out, and Built-In Input, Output and Microphone (I'm assuming I should use USB Audio Codec In and Built-In Output).
After this I've gone to Logic's Audio Pref's and changed it to the Aggregate Device, but the mic produces no sound and the audio track monitor doesn't move.
I'm completely frustrated and would be very appreciative of some help. Thanks.

Okay, after much hair pulling, it had to do with my Bus setting on the track. (sigh) What do I know...I'm a singer-songwriter, not a producer.

Help With Audition CS6: Adding windows sound to accompany USB Mic

Hey Guys,
I have a Blue Yeti USB microphone that I wil be using to create a podcast with a friend over skype. When I am setting up audition cs6 I cannot seem to get the USB mic AND skype audio to be recording at the same time. Is this because I do not have a dedicated sound card, or is there something else I am missing?
On a side note, when I set the multitrack to the stereo mix, it says that there are two different types of audio signals and wont record.
Thanks for your help!

dancalgary wrote:
I have been using Audition on this computer for the past few months now. The computer itself is an Alienware laptop, with the most optimal specifications we could get. So right away ram, disk space, disk writing speed, processor, and sound hardware should not be an issue at all.
I take it that you are using the internal sound hardware, then. If this is the case, then you could easily have problems with the sound device, because there isn't a single laptop made that has a decent sound system in it. For a start, none of them support ASIO - which is inherently what Audition uses to produce its output. What happens to get around this is that Audition has to provide an internal extra driver to drive the default sound driver, and this is at best a compromise. If you want decent sound from a laptop, then you need an external sound device with an ASIO driver.
As for W8, well I'm with Bob on this one. It's new, slightly weird, and as with all M$ operating systems, all bets are off until at least the first service pack is issued. If you have anti-virus software that's any more aggressive than AVG, then turn it off. The other common gotcha is wifi - some systems manage to give a massively high priority to wifi polling, and sometimes just turning it off completely is the only way to get any sort of performance at all. I must say though that lately this doesn't seem to have been anything like as much of an issue as it used to be back in the bad old days...
But, if you have badly stuttering playback, then it sounds as though your HD streaming isn't working as it should, and that something else is getting priority access to the drive - which is sometimes where virus scans can catch you out. You really do need to stop pretty much everything unnecessary running, one way or another. And get an external sound device that uses ASIO - this effectively bypasses most of the OS, and gives Audition pretty direct access to the device.

[Solved] USB mics don't work

I've problems with the mic from a webcam and Zoom H2 as an usb mic
- neither will be recognized. It used to work some month ago...
Webcam messages
[24389.259085] input: UVC Camera (046d:0802) as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:13.2/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/input/input19
[24389.259205] cannot find the slot for index 1 (range 0-1), error: -16
[24389.259208] cannot create card instance 0
[24389.259213] snd-usb-audio: probe of 2-5:1.2 failed with error -5
[24401.470941] usb 2-5: USB disconnect, device number 5
Zoom H2 messages
[24763.764214] usb 6-2: new full-speed USB device number 2 using ohci_hcd
[24763.928663] cannot find the slot for index 1 (range 0-1), error: -16
[24763.928666] cannot create card instance 0
[24763.928671] snd-usb-audio: probe of 6-2:1.0 failed with error -5
[24838.782527] usb 6-2: USB disconnect, device number 2
Edit:
A new graphic card (with HDMI) invalidated an entry in /etc/modprobe.d/sound.conf
options snd-usb-audio index=1
sorry for the noise
Last edited by rtfreedman (2012-04-20 22:17:20)

I've problems with the mic from a webcam and Zoom H2 as an usb mic
- neither will be recognized. It used to work some month ago...
Webcam messages
[24389.259085] input: UVC Camera (046d:0802) as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:13.2/usb2/2-5/2-5:1.0/input/input19
[24389.259205] cannot find the slot for index 1 (range 0-1), error: -16
[24389.259208] cannot create card instance 0
[24389.259213] snd-usb-audio: probe of 2-5:1.2 failed with error -5
[24401.470941] usb 2-5: USB disconnect, device number 5
Zoom H2 messages
[24763.764214] usb 6-2: new full-speed USB device number 2 using ohci_hcd
[24763.928663] cannot find the slot for index 1 (range 0-1), error: -16
[24763.928666] cannot create card instance 0
[24763.928671] snd-usb-audio: probe of 6-2:1.0 failed with error -5
[24838.782527] usb 6-2: USB disconnect, device number 2
Edit:
A new graphic card (with HDMI) invalidated an entry in /etc/modprobe.d/sound.conf
options snd-usb-audio index=1
sorry for the noise
Last edited by rtfreedman (2012-04-20 22:17:20)

TS1008 when the usb mic (Blue) is connected I can't hear the track play

when the usb mic (Blue) is connected I can't hear the track play. Track plays fine when mic not installed...hoping this is a typical set-up issue easily resolved.

Did you choose the the output in Garageband > Preferences > Audio midi?

Trouble with snoowball usb mic in GB3....low volume levels or bad clipping

I have rebooted the computer several times. This usb mic has no driver software and was working fine until I got a audio core driver message of some sort.
Any pointers?

dollarblower,
If it's not the Snowball, then I'm not sure.
You can give the following a try; I don't know if it will help you, but it won't hurt you, and it often solves weird issues in GB:
Use Disk Utility to repair your system permissions (/Applications/Utilities);
Then, trash your GarageBand Preference files (don't worry, it will replace them; you can reset any prefs to what they were in the app)
Search for the two files:
com.apple.garageband.cs -and-
com.apple.garageband.plist
and discard them.
(Normally, they are in /Library/Preferences/ or in user/Library/Preferences/
but do a search to make sure you get all the copies.)
WH

USB mic recommendation?

I am simplifing my workstation and moving to a USB mic. What would you recommend?
Best.
Tom

I'd recommend foregoing the USB mic and get a USB audio interface... then you can use whatever mic you like. Really high quality mics? ... ain't gonna be USB. You really can't beat a Shure SM58 (you can... but it would be a matter of opinion.)
If you need to take your show "on the road", I would recommend one of the Zoom mics. I have the H1 and H2 (got the h2 first.) It can be configured as a USB audio interface/mic for your computer. It can be taken on location (without a computer) and used as a recorder. It can use other kinds of mics as the audio input... on location... which means if you have a fancy mic like the Shure, you can take it with you and use it on location just with the H1... awesome (you will need an XLR to 1/8in stereo adapter though.) It's great with lavalier mics. Zoom mics have an outstanding dynamic range (some might say it's too good — they can pick up *everything* – if you're not careful.)
Here are some examples [absolutely NO noise reduction used in any of them]:
This first clip is a recording of a folk guitar, outside, on a breezy day. I used a lavalier mic (with windscreen) clipped to the soundhole connected to the Zoom H1 and set the levels down low enough to cut the ambient noise.
http://sight-creations.com/audio/small_clip3.mov.mp3
... not very impressive by itself (compared to a Tascam PortaStudio 4-track cassette recorder I had in the early nineties... it's bloody amazing!)
and this is what it sounds like after post in Logic:
http://sight-creations.com/audio/small_clip4.mp3
You can really pull a lot of audio out of those lower levels because the recorder is exceptionally quiet (as far as I can tell – and i'm kind of old, so: some hearing loss — it's dead silent... but I can't find any data on the "floor" or the recorder [dead silent is at least -96dB]).
Here's what it can sound like. Again, I mic'd a steel string guitar out in my backyard with a lavalier mic clipped to the sound hole (mic inside the guitar -- you can't tell how windy it was.)
http://ftp.sight-creations.com/audio/improv_030612_03.mp3
If it weren't for my amateurish playing, it sounds as good as a professional studio recording.
If you don't need a fancy mic and all you *really* need is good noise reduction... invest in ScreenFlow. It has the BEST noise reduction of any software I have ever used (including Soundtrack Pro, Audicity, Logic, FCPX, you name it...) and you don't need to be editing video to use it. Just turn it on (default setting) and save! Listen to any of my later tutorials on youtube (channel: fxmah)... and realize I'm sitting 6 feet from a window air conditioner/heater that is ON all the time. You would never believe it. BTW - for those tutorials, I use a cheap GE headphone/boom mic combo (gaming headset?)... it's perfect for the job. Always in the right place and always out of the way. Headphone part is not all that great, but I like what I get from the mic.
HTH

ZOOM H2 usb mic issues

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for