mic level question..sorta

ok..so i have sonar studio 8.5..i have a tascam interface that works perfectly. but i also have a nice usb microphone that i used to use for everything. i would still like to use it for some vocals and stuff since the only other mics i have are drum mics. now when i used it in the past i was able to go into my windows sounds and adjust the volume as it is very powerful/loud. but as of recent i am not able to "apply" the adjustments i make through the windows mixer. i was wondering if this was strictly a windows issue or if there was another way to lower the input level in sonar. i have tried the "trim" but that doesnt work. i whisper into this mic and it clips. can anyone help me? thanks to anyone whom may answer.
 
paul

im definitely going to eventually i just already spent good money on that mic. and now i have to save to buy a house so i dont have any extra money at all. so i was kinda just lookin for a quick/easy fix for the time being until i can invest more into quality gear.

yea ive tried it with all driver modes..unplugged tascam...tried asio..i will double check when i get home, but nothing seems to be affecting it.
and i did record some vox with my snare mic the other day..just not as good as sounds ive gotten with the usb condenser..very frustrating..but thank you

shankadams
 i was wondering if this was strictly a windows issue or if there was another way to lower the input level in sonar. i have tried the "trim" but that doesnt work.

To more directly address this question, yes, it is a windows issue. If you are not able to adjust the level in your windows mixer, there is a problem in the communication between windows and the USB mic.
Are you using the same USB input as before?
Does it have its own drivers, or is it class compliant? Have you made any changes to the computer?
As for Sonar, you cannot adjust the input levels. Sonar accepts the input levels as they are. If the signal is too hot, Sonar will simply record the clipping as it happens.
The Trim and Volume controls affect playback on recorded tracks, and have no bearing on an incoming signal.


ps. Good luck on buying the house. That is an adventure in itself.

+1 to all of the above. 

Windows or Sonar considers a USB microphone to be a sound device. ASIO mode only allows one sound device at a time so you cannot use ASIO mode with a USB microphone. You can try WDM mode or ASIO4ALL (which is a 3rd party WDM driver). If those don't work, you're stuck with MME mode which will give you high latency. 

I'd eBay the USB mic and buy something else, even if its only a temporary solution. 

a usb to xlr adapter

Would be nice, but that would require converting a digital signal to analog and so it wouldn't be cheap.