Ubuntu Wiki

Audio Mixer details

Levels

In your system's audio mixer (Applications -> Sound & Video -> Volume Control) you can adjust various volume levels:

attachment:mixer.png

Of particular interest here are the microphone settings:

attachment:mixer_shaded.png

Below the volume slider is a mute button. If it has a red cross in it, your microphone is muted.

Mic Boost

Some soundcards also offer the ability to further amplify the microphone input, by way of a Mic Boost. In the mixer, go into the Edit menu and choose Preferences. Find "Mic Boost" in the list and click the tickbox next to it.

This should now give you an extra option in the "Switches" tab of the mixer:

attachment:mic_boost.png

By enabling this, you may be able to correct for a quiet microphone.