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Mic Crackle


Cobby

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Im using SAM on Vista 32, and all my other djs mostly the same, and we get a crackle on the mic somtimes when it peeks, we have played with the buffer and latency settings but still getting every now and again. i think its a vista problem as well

 

any ideas guys?

 

Cobby

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What type of sound card is in your pc? Most built-in sound cards are worthless when it comes to recording audio in. Also make sure your levels aren't too hot or loud. That can also cause distortion, as well as cheap or loose cables between the mic and computer.
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Are you using any kind of outboard mic preamp or are you pushing the gain through software alone?

 

Cracks and pops can indicate any number of things, but if you can explain your setup in more detail, it might help.

Please name what is your gear chain from mic to PC and I'll see what I can come up with.

 

Most mic signals are too weak to be driven solely by a sound card and still maintain a smooth frequency response.

Knowing the -db output of your mic is a good start.

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OK, its not my setup its one of my DJ's, from what i undertsnad its a built in soundcard, using a normal standalone mic with a 3.5 jack, we have played with the clipper today which has mostly fixed it, for thouse who dont know the clipper is Voice FX pannel > Voice FX > AGC > Scroll Down > Clipper i just put to i think - 5 which seemed to do most the trick, whenever he speeks loudly it still does it, iv set it so it just goes i the yellow bars, im still messing about with settings, it only does it in sam though, any other settings in the AGC i can change?

 

Thanks

 

Cobby

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  • 2 weeks later...
You lost me at "a normal standalone mic"

 

In this business, that's like saying "the wall is painted in a normal color, do you have anything that will match it?"

Please help us to understand....

 

He's using a standard "PC" type of Microphone, right into the Mic Jack of his sound card. I *think* that's what we're calling "normal" in this case.

 

This might sound crazy, but, crackles and pops, outside of breakfast cereal when we were growing up, is usually the result of physical interference.

 

I'm just guessing here, but if the theory is right about the Wal-Mart Mic in the onboard sound card....

  1. Take a Q-Tip.
  2. Make it MILDLY damp. (Lick it if you have to)
  3. If you don't think it's damp enough, but it's damp, its probably perfect.
  4. Stick it in the soundcard Mic Input (PLEASE TURN THE PC OFF)
  5. Revolve it around a few times, play with it. (Easy kids)
  6. Plug the Mic back in.
  7. Give it a shot.

And for those of you on the go... it works for Iphones too!

 

 

****One special note I forgot to add. IF it's really a software problem, its because "SAM" does not play nice on XP or Vista with CPU usage over anything around 80%. You touch 100% and your internet world literally stops, buffers, drops and rolls until the fire goes out.

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Hello.

 

I have Vista as well and had the same same problem as you.

 

I toyed around with the mic settings for a few days and eventually fixed it. No clue what i pressed though.

 

If you have toyed around with the settings for a while and still haven't fixed it than maybe it's your mic???

 

I don't think it has anything to do with SAM on vista becuase it has been working fine for me for about a month on my new vista PC I got for Xmas from my girlfriend.

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