I had the same problem my friend. You need an interface. Plugging your mic into your computer's soundcard for anything other than an online conference call is UNACCEPTABLE. You will not get good results this way. Try and see if you can borrow your friend's interface. Or you may have to buy one.

yeah i figured everyone's going to say that...i'll get saving again.

i like the way my voice sounds though!...i just want to get rid of this buzzing, it's frustrating

Your computer's built in soundcard was meant to playback simple audio files. Asking it to convert a stream of audio to digital form while sending it to disc is causing it to complain. This is the noise you hear.

You can't teach an old dog new tricks, but you can buy a new dog.

Chris07413 wrote: I borrowed my friends Sm-58 and went and got a radio shack adapter to get a mic chord to go from XLR to 1/4. I then used another adapter to get the chord to fit in to the mic input.

First: Did you buy their XLR to 1/4" adapter like the one shown below, or a cable that's XLR on one end 1/4" on the other? It sounds like you got the XLR female to 1/4" male adaptor, which would be a better choice.

Next: Is the 1/4" to 1/8" adapter you bought mono 1/4 or stereo1/4 + mono 1/8 or stereo 1/8? or a combination - mono on one end stereo on the other? The 1/4" female of your adapter needs to be mono if you have the adaptor shown above. You need to make sure you know if your computer input is mono or stereo. If your computer input is stereo, your best possible result is sending the mono signal into both the L/R.

NOTE: This has nothing to do with a mono or stereo source, obviously one mic is going to be a mono source. But the wrong cables & connectors will cause buzzing, hum, and other interferece if you're shorting the shield of a mono male across the left channel by using a mono male into a stereo female.

Is the buzzing equally annoying in the left and right speaker?

Lastly: Does you computer have a LCD screen or older CRT? If they are close to your computer, mics and guitars will buzz as they pick up interference from a CRT or TV. LCDs are not usually as much of a problem.

No specific cure, but some things to consider....

dvdhawk wrote: Lastly: Does you computer have a LCD screen or older CRT?

Chris07413 wrote:
I have been trying to make demos for my band using garageband and the mic input on my MacBook

LOL...
I tried to find a picture on Google Images of a laptop with a big-ass CRT strapped to it. Seems no one has taken the time to be that much of a smart ass.

;-)

i am using the adapter in the picture. i am also using the 1/4 to 1/8 adapter that i believe is stereo. I don't think it is the computer or any electronics around it because i moved the mic to a different room and it didn't solve anything. I just need to get a converter...

What i don't understand. is why the tracks buzz after i assign the mic to them. Even after im done recording and i take the cable

Guitarfreak wrote: Your computer's built in soundcard was meant to playback simple audio files. Asking it to convert a stream of audio to digital form while sending it to disc is causing it to complain. This is the noise you hear.

You can't teach an old dog new tricks, but you can buy a new dog.

i tried using a pair of old microphones and put them into the mic input on my computer. how come now i don't have any buzz????

Well that changes things a bit. What mics do you have? List what mics buzzed and which ones did not.

hold up, i'm sorry. i got mixed up with my words. I plugged a pair of Headphones* into the input on the computer and i didn't get buzz.

Wait so you put a headphone jack into the mic input, and you wonder why there is no buzz? Your headphones are waiting for signal from the mic input which isn't going to happen. And your mic input is waiting for signal from your headphones which, again, isn't going to happen.

i plugged a pair of headphones into the microphone input while i had my speakers plugged into the computer. so i was using headphones as a mic. I got no buzz..i am getting confused

Need a few things to clarify.

1. Do these headphones have a built in mic? And are you saying that you plugged the mic jack into the mic input on your computer?

2. Is there buzz when nothing is plugged in?

1. i heard that headphones could be used as a mics. so i plugged these "audiotechinica studiophones" into a 1/4 to 1/8 adapter and plugged that into the mic input on my computer. The buzz was gone. And i could hear myself being picked up on the speakers.

2. There is buzz when nothing is plugged in on the tracks, only after i have tried using the mic to record on them.

I hope that helps.

Man you're really desperate huh. Nobody in a legitimate studio would use a pair of headphones as a mic. You have mics lying around, just get an interface so you can use them.

i got the mic to record without buzz.
I plugged the mic into the mixer of a behringer pa (that had a broken speaker) and i connected a chord from the out on the pa to the mic input on my computer. no buzz, and the sound is good enough for me. atleast for now.