what's wrong with my computer?

[mbengs1]

I'd can't plug in a microphone or a guitar to it. it has a soundcard and i can listen to music but i can't use a mic or instrument with it.

[Anderton]

I need some more details...this is a Windows computer, I assume? It probably has a mic input using an 1/8th-inch jack for a headset mic or whatever...but it won't be guitar-friendly...guitars aren't loud enough for line level inputs, and have enough level to overload mic level inputs. And if you could plug in a guitar, the latency (delay between hitting a note and hearing it) would likely be sufficiently annoying you wouldn't want to play guitar anyway. To use a computer for music, an external audio interface with ASIO drivers is highly recommended. We can get into that more in subsequent posts.

 

A Mac is a different story...so tell us what kind of computer you have, and we'll take it from there .

[thankyou]

You could also look into a USB microphone.

[Anderton]

You could also look into a USB microphone.

 

Great suggestion, as long as the mic has a headphone out for low-latency monitoring.

[mbengs1]

I need some more details...this is a Windows computer, I assume? It probably has a mic input using an 1/8th-inch jack for a headset mic or whatever...but it won't be guitar-friendly...guitars aren't loud enough for line level inputs, and have enough level to overload mic level inputs. And if you could plug in a guitar, the latency (delay between hitting a note and hearing it) would likely be sufficiently annoying you wouldn't want to play guitar anyway. To use a computer for music, an external audio interface with ASIO drivers is highly recommended. We can get into that more in subsequent posts.

 

A Mac is a different story...so tell us what kind of computer you have, and we'll take it from there .

 

I already tried a usb microphone. i bought a usb to xlr cable for my shure sm57 microphone and it didnt work even after getting the correct drivers. It's a windows 7 computer i believe. I just like to be able to play guitar through the computer just using a multi effects as a preamp. but in the future i'd like to do some serious recording and turn it into a studio. .

[Mandolin Picker]

Given you said you have a SM57 mic and had to buy a USB to XLR cable, do you have any type of interface now? Do you have a small mixing board? If you have a small mixing board (even if analog only) you may have a couple of options. You can come off the main outs into your sound card. You will likely need an adapter to get down to the 9mm connection in the computer. Perhaps you have a 'tape out" on the board. If so, it likely uses RCA connections. Again, a RCA to 9mm cable can be found at Walmart and will get your sound into the computer.

 

If you are looking to try something with recording, two options to start with that won't cost any money. First is to download Audactiy or Reaper. Both allow you to record music. Audacity is completely free and open source. Reaper is shareware with no time outs or restrictions (if you like it and use it, send them $60 - a good deal for all you get). When you find these limiting, move up to something like Sonar.

 

But I got to tell you, we are all shooting in the dark here trying to help. Tell us what set up you currently have such as:

 

• Windows 10, Sonar X3e Producer (64-bit), AMD FX 6120 Six-Core, 10GB RAM, Behringer Xenyx X1204USB
  

 

That will tell us

 

• what version of Windows you are using (Windows 10)
  
• What software you are using (Sonar X3e Producer - 64-bit)
  
• What type of processor (AMD FX 6120 Six Core)
  
• How much memory you have (10 GB RAM)
  
• The interface you are using (Behringer Xenyx X1204USB)
  

 

If you are not sure about the computer specs, everything can be found by going to the Computer icon on the windows desktop, right click and select Properties (I believe this is correct - working from the Linux box as my Windows box is not connected to the net).

 

Get that information to us and that will be a big start in getting you the help that you need.

 

[MikeRivers]

Given you said you have a SM57 mic and had to buy a USB to XLR cable, do you have any type of interface now?

 

To someone who isn't even sure what operating system his computer is running, a "USB to XLR calbe" is an interface. Most analog-to-USB interfaces are in box format, but some have all the hardware built into the XLR connector end and indeed look like a cable. I suspect that there's something that mbengs isn't doing and we still don't have enough information.

 

It could be as simple as the Windows mixer Recording Options set incorrectlly. If you indeed have Windows 7, they don't make this very easy for you. Windowx XP had a "mixer" application built in that, once you know where to find all the settings, makes good sense for recording and playback. Windows 7 doesn't have this mixer, but there are some things you can check.

 

Start with the Windows Start menu, select Settings, and then select Control Panel. From there, click on Sound, which will pop up a new window with tabs at the top. Click the Recording tab. What you see there depends on the sound hardware that your computer has. If it's a laptop, you'll probably just see Microphone. If it's a desktop with audio mic and line input jacks on the back and a microphone (and headphone) jack on the front, they'll have their own tabs. Anyway, click on the input that you want to use, say Microphone. Click the Properties button, which will pop up another window with tabs. The two of interest are Level and Listen.

 

Click the Level tab and you'll see a slider that adjusts the input gain. Make sure it's not all the way to the left. Turn it up at least half way. And make sure you're looking at the level slider for the input jack you're usiing - turning up the level of the jack on the rear won't help if you're plugging into the jack on the front.

 

The Listen tab sends the audio intput directly to the audio output (headphone jack) so you can listen to what's going into the input. If you're plugging in a guitar, you might want to use this, at least while you're testing and learning your way around. If you're plugging in a mic, you probably don't want to click that box because you'll get feedback if the mic is too close to your speakers or headphones.

 

This is all assuming that Windows is expecting the audio input to be coming from one of the built-in jacks. If you've installed a driver for your USB mic cable, it may have changed the Windows default audio input device to the USB port. That's another Control Panel Sound setting.

 

Depending on what software you're trying to use with your mic or guitar, it may use whatever Windows has as its default source, or you may be able to select the source that the program uses. Check this to be sure that you aren't plugging in to one jack and the program (or Windows) is looking for the audio input somewhere else.