[6116]

I've been trying to get sound into my slightly on the old side G4 lately, and it seems more annoying than it should be. I remember the mic slot in it needs a weird longer than regular eighth inch plug to get a usable level from a regular mic. It seems like my only other option is a $150+ usb preamp thing. Basically my questions are thus:

1) Where can I get one of those long mic plugs and will they give me a decent level?

2) How much quality will I lose going through an eighth inch plug?

3) If I'm barking up the wrong tree, any advice on a usb preamp?

Thanks
6116

[tr]

1. the 'weirder longer' plug you are referring to is the plug on the end of the apple plaintalk mics. those mics get power from the jack. i have one of these mics on my G4 450, it was about $15, but i don't think apple sells them anymore. maybe you can find one on ebay, or here.

2. are you talking about quality of the plaintalk mic? or quality if you hooked up a regular mic to the jack? because you won't be able to hook up a regular PC mic to the jack and get usuable audio. you'll need some sort of pre-amp, or to go through a mixer of some sort.

3. if you have a specific mic that you want to use, how about trying the Griffin iMic? [also here.]
it has 1/8" inputs so you can use just about any computer mic out there. this thing is like $35. what's this USB pre-amp thing you are talking about for $150? are you talking about USB audio interfaces?

tr

[edit]

WOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOO!!!!! I'M OFFICIALLY ADDICTED!!! 1000 POSTS!!!!

[6116]

Congrats on the thousandth post! Yeah, those hundred+ things that I was looking at were USB audio interfaces. I was thinking of getting a low end shure xlr or quarter inch mic. Am I going to defeat the purpose of having it by running it through the an eight inch converter and the iMic?

[tr]

the question here is, what are you doing with this mic? and how serious are you about quality? if you are really really serious about recording and stuff, maybe the USB audio interfaces would be your best bet.

right now, i'm running various mics (condensers and some EV dynamics) through a Behringer mixer, and that output goes to the line in on my G4. i'm sure i could get a cleaner signal if i went through some sort of digital interface to the mac, but honestly, i use this setup for recording, and it sounds fine to me.

i haven't used the iMic personally, but i've read that people have had good results with it.

tr

[6116]

Well, I'll probably use it mostly for recording voice, but I'll probably record some music on it eventually. I wouldn't consider myself an audiophile, but, you know, I don't want it to sound terrible. I think I might just have to break down and get the audio interface.

[cnelson87]

I don't suppose there's any chance you're still using os 9? If so, you could pick up a Soundblaster for Mac dirt cheap since it seems they will never make drivers for os X. It has a mic and the sound is pretty good, not pro, but as good as anything else out there. Plus midi if you're into that.
I'm still hoping beyond hope they'll make os X drivers or I would sell mine.
Chris

[6116]

Nah, I'm on X, but that's interesting advice. Thanks for everybody's help.