The solution is asio 4 all
http://www.asio4all.com/

Tom Overthere wrote.....
So is it possible to record to the laptop using just a microphone - with no digital interface? Recording will be done via Microsoft Win7 audio capabilities only.

Thanks

Don't bother with the built-in mic preamp on the laptop. These are notoriously lousy (cheap, noisy components). But you have a better option anyway (when not in a mobile situation)...

The Firestudio Project, according to its specs, can operate as a standalone mic preamp. This allows you to avoid the crappy laptop mic preamp, but you will still need to go out of the Firestudio into the laptop's line-in. Not the best, but should be sufficient.

Of course, while mobile, you won't be able to use the FS Project, so you might want to save the mic work for your studio. (Otherwise, you'll have to use the laptop's dreaded mic pre).

As mentioned in the previous post, ASIO4all is the driver you want to use. It's a last-ditch, generic driver used for sound cards with no decent ASIO driver. You should get around 10ms latency, which is workable.

Good luck!

Just buy an Audiobox!

You have all what you need and it's solid rock, and it has real ASIO driver. Not that Asio4All stuff.
99$ and have fun!

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AudioBoxUSB

Ari

^^^

AriAhrendt wroteJust buy an Audiobox!

You have all what you need and it's solid rock, and it has real ASIO driver. Not that Asio4All stuff.
99$ and have fun!

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AudioBoxUSB

Ari

OP said he has no budget for another interface. So if he says he doesn't have the funds - even if it's only $99 - I tend to believe him.

Tons of people use their laptops with the cheap onboard audio, and manage to make music. It's not ideal, but it's what they have. And despite ASIO4all being perceived as a generic workaround, it can work reasonably well on many laptops.

If it works and allows him to make music, then that's all that matters, right?

OP here ==

Thanks for all the helpful replies. For the record, I honestly have NO funds for a preamp/interface, and I don't have the option of using my FIreStudio Project either. At the moment, my only option for this laptop is to go Mic > Laptop Mic Input. As long as the signal isn't "absolute trash" it should serve my needs for now. This is an unusual AV laptop, so it has a FIreWire port that just might work with PreSonus interfaces...fingers crossed. I'll test it with my FSP at some point, and if it does work, I'll be saving up for that AudioBox you all so kindly suggested!

TWO STEPS FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK

1. Installed Studio One Pro 2, latest/final version. When loading components, the list warned "Audio recording is disabled" Apparently the Win7 audio drivers aren't up to the job.

2. So I took the advice of fellow user patricemazmanian and installed ASIO4ALL. Rebooted and the Studio One list warning no longer appears. Good.

3. PROBLEM: NO MIC SIGNAL ON MONO AUDIO TRACK 1. I see the jumpy VU bars at the noise floor, but no actual signal, no matter HOW LOUD I YELL!

I'm using a trusted old dynamic mic and cable with 1/4" T/S plug, converting the 1/4" T/S down to a mono mini-plug, and plugging that into the laptop's MIC input.

This mic has always been a bit on the quiet side, but I see LOTS of signal in Win7 Control Panel > Sound > Recording tab > Properties > Levels:
Microphone 100
Microphone Boost +20dB

I've been away from my audio pursuits for a while, so I'm probably missing something obvious in terms of Studio One settings. Could you guys inspect the images below and point me in the right direction?

Thanks,
Tom

First, make sure the ASIO4all driver is working in general. IOW, can you play back some music or a video and hear decent audio? (This also means checking your outputs to confirm they are set correctly).

Thanks for sticking with me, Dijon2. I'm sure this'll turn out to be something really simple.

With the ASIO4ALL (latest v2.13) as the audio drivers, I loaded a commercial track into Studio One TR1. Playback sounds great.

Stereo Main Out is default 1L 2R. See screen shot below.

I switched the Studio One Audio Device from ASIO4ALL to WINDOWS AUDIO...and it worked(!) but latency was large at about 46ms. Now the TR1 Input list shows "Microphone" instead of the "Audio Aux In" device as before. Solid signal appearing at TR1 Input, too.

I stumbled around some more and tried going back to ASIO4ALL as the Studio One Audio Device. It didn't work at first, later it did...

Configure Audio Device > select ASIO4ALL v2 > select "Control Panel" button > found Microphone DISABLED in that list, with a red X next to it.

So I enabled the mic and disabled the Audio Aux in. Now the Studio One TR1 Input list recognizes "HD Audio Microphone" with good signal present. Latency is workable at 10ms / 256 samples.

Here's a screen capture


I'm not knowledgeable about latency settings. The image below indicates this laptop's CPU, OS and RAM. Not a lot of resources to work with. Can you guys advise me on setting these particular ASIO parameters for lowest latency a stable environment and no glitches?

The only real goal with latency is to get it low enough to work comfortably where the system feels responsive enough that it's not disruptive in any way. Ideally, it's so low you're not even aware of any delay.

You'll have to experiment by lowering the buffers and finding your "sweet spot" (where the latency is so low that the system feels instantaneous, while not overtaxing the cpu, which shows as pops, clicks, dropouts, etc).

The double-precision engine eats up a lot of cpu cycles, so unless it's vital to you, you should consider turning it off (At least see if disabling it improves your latency results).

You'll hear all kinds of opinions about the lowest acceptable latency... Don't put too much stock in the number (of milliseconds). The only thing that matters is what sounds "tight" to you and allows you to work comfortably. The usual number thrown around as "barely acceptable" latency is 10ms (But again, that's up to you. Consider it a rough guideline).

Finally, during mixing, you really don't need low latencies, so you can push the buffers up if you just want to ease the load off your cpu. Of course, you can just as well leave it alone. Just use your own judgment.

Just to follow up...

Duh. I accidentally fried the laptop's Headphone OUT jack. Had two computers feeding the same speakers and somehow managed to fry the speakers AND! the laptop's headphone jack. Murphy's Law.

Musician's Friend has a sale on the PreSonus AudioBox USB in BLACK (apparently the more style-conscious among us prefer the Blue one ) so for $80 I have a much better setup and am very happy with it. The analog Mix Knob balances your live mic/instrument signal and the existing DAW signal for ZERO LATENCY tracking. Works very well. And for the record, ASIO4ALL worked very well, too, even with an old laptop with limited CPU and Ram.

So AriAhrendt, your suggestion to "Just buy the AudioBox" was a good one. Lack of funds was the only argument against it.

Just to follow up...

Duh. I accidentally fried the laptop's Headphone OUT jack. Had two computers feeding the same speakers and somehow managed to fry the speakers AND! the laptop's headphone jack. Murphy's Law.

Musician's Friend has a sale on the PreSonus AudioBox USB in BLACK (apparently the more style-conscious among us prefer the Blue one ) so for $80 I have a much better setup and am very happy with it. The analog Mix Knob balances your live mic/instrument signal and the existing DAW signal for ZERO LATENCY tracking. Works very well. And for the record, ASIO4ALL worked very well, too, even with an old laptop with limited CPU and Ram.

So AriAhrendt, your suggestion to "Just buy the AudioBox" was a good one. Lack of funds was the only argument against it.

Just saw this thread. I was prepared to agree with Ari (and ready to back him up), but I kept reading along thr thread. I always use ASIO4ALL on my laptop, but only during playback when no MIC, or audio recording is necessary, as it provides the ASIO driver for Windows. For recording, it will not be enough, due to latency. You simply need the hardware. I know, I probably sound like an armchair quarterback. Only seriously, I was fully in agreement with Ari, here.

Yeah, the Audiobox is a good choice. Very portable, clean, and invisible sounding (no coloration). I've come across other interfaces for laptops from Digidesign, M-Box, and Avid, and found the preamp and gain circuitry to lack quality, and produce less than desirable headroom, compared to the Audiobox with XMAX preamps. I've always swore by the VSL Audiobox units, as they are not a lot more $$$$. Still, for the $80, you did good,

Good luck. If you're just playing tracks back, and need to sound a few MIDI instruments, via controller through USB, and sync to the playback audio, the ASIO4ALL works fine for that sort of thing. Just not recording audio via a Mic, or guitar via interface. That's where impedance needs to match, and circuitry account for latency, via buffers, etc.

Thanks for the informative, in-depth reply, Lokeyfly.
I'm a dog lover, so I like your avatar photo, too.

FWIW, ASIO4ALL was able to keep latency low enough to track with no problems. My old laptop has a dual-core CPU and 4GB of old Ram, so I was surprised at how workable the latency was.

I read a few somewhat negative remarks when researching ASIO4ALL. I think it's a GREAT program (and FREE to boot! )

I believe things happen for a reason. When I fried the laptop headphone out I was up until 3:00am looking for a workaround (and considering shooting myself). As it turns out, I now have a really GOOD recording setup for mobile recording and for use as a sketchbook/scratchpad.

Tom Overthere wrote: I believe things happen for a reason. When I fried the laptop headphone out I was up until 3:00am looking for a workaround (and considering shooting myself). As it turns out, I now have a really GOOD recording setup for mobile recording and for use as a sketchbook/scratchpad

Tom, do not consider shooting yourself! This world needs all the real dog lovers it can!
Yeah, for not a lot, we can enjoy a kick-A mobile setup. Enjoy my friend.

About the Av: Crimson (right) here only 2-1/2 months old, will follow Ellie (Eleanor Rigby) to the four corners of the earth, who is her Aunt. The image personifies (to me anyway) that undying loyalty and love, and I get to see it every day. Now Both fully grown at 160 lbs each. Both Great Danes.