What equipment are you using to record?

[Jim M.]

(icon chosen by my 8-yr. old, so not necessarily relevant to this post)

I thought I could record okay with my Sony mini-disc mic plugged into the 1/8" jack in my computer, but it is a very weak input signal. What is an inexpensive set-up to make recording into Audacity more feasible? Thanks.

[Stillpicking]

You may need to have a preamp between your mic and the computer. I have an Archos MP3 20GB recoder/hard drive.
I got an Archos 1/8 jack mic and small battery operated preamp that it goes through and I have used the mic to record directly into my Mac G4 laptop. If I got this right the preamp increases the signal or sound when being recorded or play through speakers.

If you want a cheap fast and easy fix try taking your Sony mic to radio shack and see if they can match you up with a battery powered preamp.

[craig]

very inexpensive:

audacity (FREE) with onboard computer mic. i also have a cheap external mic from an old desktop computer. there is plenty of background hissing, but i'm not aiming to make CD quality music. it's good enough for what we're doing here.

good luck!

craig

[Jim M.]

Thanks, I didn't realize there was such an inexpensive alternative.