external microphone on an IMac help

[Ericjon1007]

I'm doing a YouTube music channel for a friend and I'm having a hard time connecting an external microphone/ camera. I know some Mac headphone jacks work as a microphone Jack as well. I believe this iMac does not. Anyway I was having a real hard time finding a decent audio and Camera set up on this iMac that is cheap enough to do as a favor for somebody if you know what I mean and somebody shed any light on that thank you

 

[Fishrrman]

A USB mic will work, but realize that they have their limitations.

 

[jerwin]

Does this friend have microphones of her own? How about instruments?

Something like this -- called an "Audio Interface" allows you to plug a microphone in one channel, a guitar in the other, and mix.

There are cheaper interfaces, of course, but preamp noise is something you should be aware of.

 

[Ericjon1007]

I'm doing a YouTube music channel for a friend and I'm having a hard time connecting an external microphone/ camera. I know some Mac headphone jacks work as a microphone Jack as well. I believe this iMac does not. Anyway I was having a real hard time finding a decent audio and Camera set up on this iMac that is cheap enough to do as a favor for somebody if you know what I mean and somebody shed any light on that thank you

[doublepost=1563291125][/doublepost]I'm trying to do an acoustic show on her youtube channel. Her and guitar. She has an IMac. The unit I was using or trying to use was a Zoom Q2HD. I know it works with a PC but the other day i was able to finally get video. No audio. Grrr

 

[jerwin]

ah, so you do have a promising microphone.

have you installed the drivers?

they should be on this page.

and if that fails, record to a SD card. Test to see whether its in a usable format first.

Does the device not show up as a sound input device in the sound preferences panel?

 

[mikehalloran]

Ok...

For MacOS:
If using an external microphone, you must output the audio to the internal speakers or the audio interface. This was true in 1989 and hasn't changed.

You cannot send audio to the headphone/audio out unless it's an old iMac that also has an audio in (like my 2010/2011) — then the mic must connect to that port. Not an issue here.

Think of the Zoom Q2HD as an audio interface and this makes sense.

With a USB interface, this is easy. You will have to follow the mfr's instructions so that you can monitor the input for zero latency (USB mics have this built into a headphone jack).

Looking at the Q2HD manual (what a concept) we see a headphone/line and a USB out.
https://www.zoom.co.jp/sites/default/files/products/downloads/pdfs/Q2HD_UserGuide_English.pdf

You will monitor audio through the Q2HD's headphone out if your intent is to do it in real time.

I'll let you read the rest of the instructions on how to use it as a web cam. As long as you keep in mind the above, you can do what you want.