I have an Intel Corporation Haswell-ULT HD Audio Controller .
when recording sound using Audio Recorder , the output is a distorted sound barely you can understand .
but in skype it works perfect and i get a clear sound ,
what is the problem ?
BTW i tired external and internal microphones , Distro is Ubuntu 15.04 untiy .
Try installing pulse audio volume control
then when pavu is open run skype and the other aplications that record sound. Select the recording tab and see if the programs other than skype are set to be amplified recording if they are turn them down and see if this works.