Microphone issue (was: Ponyphonic - Lullaby for a Princess)

[Marioland1]

You're both correct.  My release didn't have this song in it, and so I had to install it manually from here.  I know, I checked the game files thoroughly.  Actually, hold on a sec...

*sounds of ruffling in computer files*

Okay.  Something is really botched up here.  The .iso has what looks like every available song pack to-date, and yet I was missing the entirety of Community Pack 4, the Foreign/Bonus pack, all 3 seasons of Official songs, Lullaby for a Princess, and both themes when I installed it.  I guess your installer really doesn't like me.

http://www.mylittlekaraoke.com/forum/index.php/topic,461.0.html may be relevant to this issue, as it also contains me trying to figure out why those things didn't get installed properly.  The current blame lies on either 64 bit Windows 7 or my computer in general.

As it is, I'm gonna have to get a new mic for it to be really worth it (even if my parents were away.  My brother doesn't mind it, but my parents would have a cow).  It's hard enough to sing in tune, and even harder to do so when screaming into the mic so that it'll pick you up maybe 2/3 of the time.  It just cuts out too much.

[PsychicWalnut]

Unless the sound completely cuts out at times(i.e. mic cable is bad), the problem might not be your microphone.   In fact, it usually isn't.

There are two main issues that can cause the game to not pick up your singing well.

1. Slow system - If your computer is slow, it can drop microphone processing packets as it attempts to display the video and graphics.  Setting the game to run at a lower resolution might help.

2. Volume settings are too low - In your case, you will want to make sure the recording volume for your microphone is set to maximum.  If that doesn't fix the problem, there is an in-game setting Tools -> Options -> Sound -> Mic Boost.  Increasing this setting should help solve any issues with your microphone not picking up your voice strongly enough.

[Marioland1]

I already know this is just a worn mic.  It used to work almost perfectly, and it's only been recently when I've been dealing with all these issues, even on Skype (where I've never had issues before with it).  I have had it for a few years, so it's not that unexpected, to be honest.

And yes, it does just cut out completely.  Yet another sign of a bad mic, although turning up the recording volume helps a little.

Edit: Just noticed this was moved to a new topic.  Confused me for a little bit there with that move, but it will be a fitting place for others with mic troubles.

Edit 2: As if I needed any proof that its the mic, I took a sample recording:

The first line is a high-quality mic I "borrowed" from my father.  It records nearly perfectly, and doesn't clip (unless I were to shout in it, which I didn't record).
The second line is my normal, rather old mic.  How I got over 9000 on Easy with this is remarkable, considering all the times it cuts out and then randomly clips.
The third line is a backup mic I had, but hadn't used in a while.  Almost anything will make it clip, which is bad in terms of pitch detection.