On a
Windows PC,
you will most like
see a little speaker-icon in the bottom-right corner of your screen.
(If
it's not there, check your Control Panel's Multimedia
item, and
you may be able to enable it). Right-click on it, and choose Open
Volume Controls from the pop-up menu. You'll see a bunch of
volume
controls for playing-back different sorts of signals; your exact set
will vary depending on the capabilities of your sound card. The
illustration is showing the set for a Creative Extigy:
Click
on
the Options menu,
select Properties, and then select Recording
to get the
similar set of level controls for recording... make sure that your
levels are turned on for the inputs you'll be using. (Again, you may
have fewer-- or more recording controls. The picture is for a Creative
Extigy; on my notebook, there are only two controls, labelled Microphone and Line In).
These controls are very important, as they'll be used with your
recording software to make sure that the levels of the sound coming
into the computer are neither too low nor too loud, but just right.
About
signal levels
The trick with
recording (not just
in the case, but in all sorts of recordings) is to get as hot
a
signal as possible that isn't too powerful. If your signal is too low,
the quiet portions of the music can get lost in the ever-present
background hiss and noise. So you want to boost your music signal as
much as possible, relative to the background sound. However, if the
signal is too high, the loud portions will
over-drive the
recording circuitry, causing audible distortion and clipping. Most
recording software (and hardware) will include meters, (known in the
trade as VU Meters). Typically, the top portion
will be
coloured red. While playing or recording, you're best off if the signal
is high, going into the red momentarily. If it is in the red for
extended periods, you're probably getting a distorted signal. If it's
never in the red, you're probably too quiet.
You
may be
able to adjust the
level with a Gain or Level
control (as in the Mac Sound
control panel or the Windows speaker controls), or with a volume
control
on your stereo. (Depending how you're hooked up, your stereo's volume
controls may or may not affect the strength of the signal being sent
from your audio equipment to your computer). If you can't control the
levels at this stage, you're better off with a lower-strength signal;
you can boost a quiet sound later, but if you've recorded a distorted
signal, there's nothing you can do later to get rid of the distortion.
However, if your signal is too low, you'll get a lot of background
noise, and boosting the signal will also boost this noise, sometimes
making the music unlistenable.
Unlike
the
Mac
equivalents, in Windows, the speaker
controls offer
level
controls, but no metering to show the effect of making changes. To get
meters, you need to use some of the software discussed below. This is
more awkward, having to keep two windows open at once, but it
can
be done!)