The sound card in a computer can create sound, process sound from input sources, and send sound to output destinations. A sound recorder may capture sound from a microphone (mic in) or from an audio device (line in). It is possible to control which source will be used by opening the
entertainment accessory called
volume control (start / all programs / accessories / entertainment). This utility controls the output or playback volume of a number of devices (microphone, line in, CD audio, midi, wave, etc.).
By resetting the
options/properties from
playback to
recording, the input source (mic, line in, CD, midi) may be selected. If you are recording from a microphone, you may need to check that the mic is selected here, that the mic volume is adequate but not too loud, and, perhaps if needed, that the microphone is
boosted (under Advanced properties). You have to play with it to see what works for your current recording conditions.
Pre-Amp: The quality of microphone inputs can vary enormously from one computer to another. If you need better quality recording from a microphone, it may be worth investing in a
pre-amplifier that will amplify the microphone input. This gives you more control over strength of the signal that your computer receives. The sound card in your computer probably has a pretty cheap amplifier for the microphone. A pre-amp will do a better job boosting the microphone's signal. The
output from the pre-amp would then be plugged into the computer's
line-in jack (rather than the microphone input jack). When using a pre-amp, you may need to be careful of clipping in both the pre-amp and the sound card
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