eastcoastscott wrote:
I've come to the conclusion, based on the many other forums I've visited....that the Macs are terrrible for recoding with an external microphone. The input level is too low. I (along with so many others) have used M-Audio preamps, USB microphones etc. and connected them properly and still cannot get a decent audio track (voice only) using ANY app on the mac. I, for example bought the M-Audio Podcast Factory which even comes with it's own microphone and literally have to speak less than 1" away from the mic to get any amount of volume. I'm trying to decide whether to purchase a digital recorder such as the ZOOM H2 Recorder ($250.00) to solve this mac deficiency.......
Hi Scott,
You've completely misunderstood how it works.
What you're saying is the equivalent of saying "My TV is terrible because it only plays boring TV shows."
As a recording device, the Mac is an empty vessel. It's "level agnostic." It only records what is fed into it by your external hardware. It's actually a similar technique as the H2 recorder or any digital system: an analog sound is converted into a stream of digital information and stored on a hard drive and manipulated with software. In the H2, the mic, preamp, conversion, and storage all occur in the device. In the Mac or a PC, the mic, preamp, and conversion typically happen outside of the computer via an interface; the digital stream is fed to and stored in the computer where it can be manipulated with software. Because the mic, amp, and conversion happen outside of the computer, that actually gives you the opportunity to use much better hardware and get much better results than an all-in-one like the H2. (The point of the H2 is portability).
The problem you're having is because your mics and preamps - your external hardware - is not good enough or loud enough for your expectations.
In the past several years, there's been a ton of low cost external hardware produced, cheap interfaces, USB mics, etc. This is all good because it lowers the price of admission, and anyone, using free software like GB, can produce music, often with excellent results.
However, there's a reason why people still pay thousands of dollars for microphone preamps, for digital converters, and microphones. There's a world of great gear out there that musicians, engineers, producers and studios use every day to create fantastic sounding recordings in conjunction with their computers. But they're not using USB mics and $150 interfaces. USB mics and $150 interfaces get you in the game, but they're not in the same league.
You would have the same problem if you hooked up a crappy USB mic to
any computer.
You could also get great results if you hooked up a fantastic mic and interface to
any computer.
Sadly, if you want to elevate the quality of your audio, you need to invest more in better hardware.
I have no idea about your experience, but experience also matters. Not that the scalpel doesn't matter, but it's the surgeon, not the scalpel, as they say. People who know what they're doing can make lesser gear sound better than people who are clueless but have top of the line. While your crappy preamp is limited by its own crappiness, do you know everything there is to know about digital gain staging in order to milk every last bit of audio goodness out of it?
If you're interested in what people are using and how they're using it, from noobs to pros, check out
http://www.gearslutz.com.
