Samson mic problem

[PhyllisV]

I have a Samson Q2U mic that I use with audacity. Yesterday it worked perfectly fine. Today I can't record with it - although playback is fine. Here's what I've done so far -
Made sure my laptop wasn't on mute
Restarted laptop, closed and restarted Audacity
Checked Audio Setup and it's showing Samson mic
Checked recording volume and it's fine
Updated firmware
Ran Transport/Rescan audio devices
Checked Audio Setup/Settings
Unplugged mic, opened audacity, plugged mic back in

All to no avail! Any suggestions welcome.

[TriciaG]

So Audacity isn't "seeing" the mic, or does it "see" it but it simply isn't sending waves from the mic to Audacity?

You've selected it in Audacity as your input device (Shift-I, or select it from the microphone pick list toolbar), or is it simply not listed?

I've had times where Audacity has recognized the mic, but it doesn't record. I don't know if it's because my USB port is getting old and decrepit, or what.

[Rapunzelina]

Just to rule out, or limit the possibilities of what doesn't work:

Can you record with the same microphone using a different recording software, or on a different laptop - if you can try on someone else's laptop.
Can audacity record with a different microphone, if you have another one or an internal one to try.

I've had times where Audacity has recognized the mic, but it doesn't record. I don't know if it's because my USB port is getting old and decrepit, or what.

and how do you fix that?

[TriciaG]

I've had times where Audacity has recognized the mic, but it doesn't record. I don't know if it's because my USB port is getting old and decrepit, or what.

and how do you fix that?

Unplug, replug, unplug, replug until it works. At least, it has worked so far...

[PhyllisV]

So Audacity isn't "seeing" the mic, or does it "see" it but it simply isn't sending waves from the mic to Audacity?

You've selected it in Audacity as your input device (Shift-I, or select it from the microphone pick list toolbar), or is it simply not listed?

I've had times where Audacity has recognized the mic, but it doesn't record. I don't know if it's because my USB port is getting old and decrepit, or what.

Audacity is seeing the mic and it is showing as the default for recording and playback. In fact, it's working fine for playback. When I do try to record, it does in fact record, but shows barely a blip, almost like it's a volume issue. When I select the recording and apply Loudness Normalization to it, it amplifies it to a reasonable level. So perhaps I just do that - but it may be a bit 'tinny' sounding. I'll have to keep monkeying with it.

[PhyllisV]

Just to rule out, or limit the possibilities of what doesn't work:

Can you record with the same microphone using a different recording software, or on a different laptop - if you can try on someone else's laptop.
Can audacity record with a different microphone, if you have another one or an internal one to try.

I've had times where Audacity has recognized the mic, but it doesn't record. I don't know if it's because my USB port is getting old and decrepit, or what.

and how do you fix that?

I don't have another laptop and I don't have another recording software. But when I try to record, it does record, but at a miniscule volume. Applying Loudness Normalization to it does seem to amp it to a normal volume, but I feel it sounds low quality. That seems to suggest it's a volume issue, but everything I've checked looks good

[PhyllisV]

I think I found the issue - the Audacity Meter Toolbar for the mic recording level was low. Phew! Fingers crossed that was the issue.

Thanks for the suggestions - it helped me to pinpoint that volume was the problem.