Hi all, I have been away from ntrack for a few years and am trying to set up again to record. I just go a new computer and put a Sound Blaster sound card in it. I’m using a Mackie 1202-VLZ as the devise to put Mics an instruments through. . I now only want Mic and acoustic guitar one on each track. I got a Y adapter coming out of 2 channel inserts to the “line in 2” on the sound card. (this is the part of sound card that is in the knock out bay on front of the computer)
I think I have the right things checked in recording and playback and I have selected stereo 2 mono tracks.I can only get the vu meter to light up on one side. I’m using stereo type jacks with the two rings on them , but I suspect that my connections are wrong. I really have a hard time figuring stuff like this out.
A couple years ago I had things working with two tracks with a Y adapter on my other computer. Maybe this sound card is part of the issue.
Any ideas at all would be awesome.
Jimmy
Is the soundcard a sound blaster audigy?
Is it 1/4" mic input? I think that this line input it mono only.
I had an audigy 1 and to do stereo I had to use the rca pinplug input instead.
hope this might help.
Just a guess - are you using the ‘Aux Send’ outputs.
So you basically want the MIC directed to Aux Send 1 and the
guitar directed to Aux Send 2.
I’m thinking a (stereo 1/4 to RCA adapter) out of each of the sends. And then taking
RCA to (stereo 1/4 inch) cable with the left RCA end of the cable going to Aux 1 and the right RCA end of the cable going to Aux Send 2. And the Stereo 1/4 inch to
Line 2 input.
aux send 1 ----< L ------------MIC----------- Line 2 (left)
aux send 1 ----< R
RCA-------------to---------1/4 or 1/8 inch plug
aux send 2 ----< L
aux send 2 ----< R ------------GUITAR-------- Line 2 (right)
May not be hearing you right though.
thanks guys! I will try some of these ideas tomorrow , I’m too tired tonight. I’ll let you know what happens soon
Thanks again
Jimmy
I’m starting to wonder if my sound card or mixer is bad. Been to Radio Shack 4 times, trying all kinds of combinations.
Seven0feleven, I’m trying to hook up the way you suggested. How do you as you say, direct the MIC to Aux send 1 and the Guitar to Aux send 2? I have the MIC in channel 1 and the guitar in channel 2. I still get nothing in the right track on the VU meter. I’m about to go buy a audio interface, but I’d rather go ahead and use this if I can get past this problem.
Many sound cards that come “standard” on computers have a manorial mic input (and stereo output). Look up the specs on the Soundblaster card and see if it is stereo. I think the two inputs (front and back) actually feed the same mic input circuit. In general “Y” adapters are a bad idea because of impedance miss-match. See if each of the Mackie inputs works without only one circuit.
I still don’t know why in the world someone would be trying to use a soundcard this day and age.
Get an interface and get on with it!
Don’t mean to come off like a jerk but Hugh Jass wouldn’t speak up.
Well now that Pops done went and dood it… I agree. Forget the SoundBuster, get a decent interface made fer music makin’ and get crackin’!
D
Don’t fall for that ‘Get an interface’ stuff.
I’ve got an Audigy - it’s great - The line/mic-2 input IS stereo. It accepts a
stereo TRS or a TS (MIC) input.
You can do what you’re trying to do with the right tweaks on your mixer.
You’ve got to remember that guitar and mic need pre-amping before you have a
signal with a level that you can work with. You’ll get it.
Well I’m about to wave the white flag here. Tired of trying to make this stuff work. I think there is something wrong with the mixer or sound card. I’ve already spent about $100 in adapters and cords. I always had a hard time understanding mixers and PA systems. But I’m determined to record music and since I’m this familiar with ntrack I’m gonna stay with it.
What does anyone think about this from zzounds $300 range.
http://www.zzounds.com/item–EDIFA66
I like the idea of not having to crawl underneath the desk and try and see the inputs with a flash light.
Any other suggestions on interfaces? Playin Bluegrass music.
Thanks for all the help.
Jimmy
I’m running a Line6 UX2 and works good. I’m also going to be testing the Native Instruments Kontrol 1 USB in the next week. I did test the E-MU Tracktor Pre and it’ works but I couldn’t get any input to it, for example Guitar Rig 3 wouldn’t work with it. So the E-MU wouldn’t be my first choice. Also, if your running a creative sound card and it’s line in I suggest you run the ASIO4ALL drivers because the creative ASIO driver blow IMO.
PACO
Hey dobroman
I just did what I think you are trying to do.
That is I am recording guitar on the left channel
and MIC on the right channel with no bleed between the two.
And recording each to a seperate mono track thru the MIC/LINE 2 input.
I am using an Audigy. You were right the first time. You take the out
from the insert In my case on my mixer I have inserts for ch-5 and ch-6.
So I plug guitar directly into ch-5 of my mixer. I plug my MIC directly
into ch-6. Set the fader gains of both channels to about 8. The trim for
(guitar ch-5) is at -10, the trim for the (MIC ch-6) is at -60 (that’s a
high gain setting, but appropriate for a dyn MIC.)
I use a cable that has a stereo TRS on one end and 2 TS(mono) phone
plugs on the other. Put the left mono phone plug into insert 5 and the
right mono plug into insert 6. Plug the Stereo end into the LINE 2/MIC
input of the Audigy.
BE SURE TO
turn the control pot all the way to the left until it clicks OFF.
That is the LINE 2 setting. If you have it ON you will be in a non-
stereo mode.
And you will not get seperation of each channel.
You have to select Line2/MIC
as the record input in the WINDOWS mixer
(record) menu
In n-Track I am using ASIO4ALL and 48khz (in PREF) to select my Audigy card.
You’ll end up with something like:
SB Audigy 9400 L+R for stereo
SB Audigy L
mono
SB Audigy R
mono
You can do it either way - that is select Stereo L+R to record and
you’ll get one track with a stereo wav that has the guitar on the top
(left ch) and MIC on the bottom (right ch) or
you can add 2 audio tracks and select SB 9400 L for
one track (i.e left guitar) and SB 9400 R for Mic.
and record each to a seperate mono track. Both ways
record a seperated guitar/mic track(s).
Well I'm about to wave the white flag here. Tired of trying to make this stuff work. I think there is something wrong with the mixer or sound card. I've already spent about $100 in adapters and cords. I always had a hard time understanding mixers and PA systems. But I'm determined to record music and since I'm this familiar with ntrack I'm gonna stay with it.
What does anyone think about this from zzounds $300 range.
http://www.zzounds.com/item--EDIFA66
I like the idea of not having to crawl underneath the desk and try and see the inputs with a flash light.
Any other suggestions on interfaces? Playin Bluegrass music.
Thanks for all the help.
Jimmy
Firewire is tricky because of chipset issues although that FA-66 is a sweet little unit. If you only need a couple I/O look into a USB2.0 interface like a Tascam US-122L or 144. They are reliable, simple and sound great. You have already paid for a 122 in cables/adapters and aggravation. I see 'em all the time for a hunnert bucks.
While 7 o' 11 is correct of course, you CAN get what you want with even a basic Soundblaster type card (I used one for a long time) they are really not well designed for audio production. With the right tweaks, third-party drivers and such I reckon they can do the job. It got to be more hassle than I was willing to put up with...
D
Don’t fall for that ‘interface stuff’? That’s about the most hilarious thing I’ve EVER seen posted on the internet. 
Why make it easier and better, when you can continue to suffer, and grow to tolerate continued hassles. Can’t believe you said that 7.
Here’s a link for audio interfaces. 108 USB Audio Interfaces. Shoot for your price range.
Ask around - folks have great results with a wide variety. I always recommend Tascam.
How many inputs do think you want/need Dobroman? That’ll go a long way to helping you select an interface.
Personally, I don’t have (or want) an analog mixing desk so I have an audio/midi interface with piles of I/O so I can leave everything connected and can change recording sources with a mouse click.
I also have the aforementioned Tascam US-122L for laptop/travel use. It has a pair of inputs and a pair of outputs. If that’s all you need… it’s a great unit. The 144 adds S/PDIF which you may or may not find useful…
D
I have made good-sounding recordings in a crowded nightclub using a $4 mic and a $20 mono cassette recorder from Radio Shack. I have made bad recordings with ProTools on a hot computer with a multi-track interface in a semi-treated room. One difference between the two was that I had lots of time to find the right place to set my $4 mic, and only a little time to learn the intricacies of that studio setup.
My point, of course, is that you can make good music with the system you already have if you take the time to learn as much about how it works as possible. seven’s guide to hooking up your stuff (above) looks like an excellent blueprint to help you get started.
Good luck!
'til next time;
tony w
Well yea. You can drive nails with a crescent wrench too.
Just trying to make it easy and more of a way for a creative expression than a technical lesson. I come down on the side of ease of creativity most every time. If it costs me 100 bucks to end hours of frustration after I’ve spent 100 bucks to try to find a fix. I’m gonna suck it up and move on… but that’s just me.
Let’s see - oh with the interface I have to make sure I turn on the interface first (or is it turn on the computer first) then do I have it plugged into the same USB I had before - Oh another driver update cus it
doesn’t work with my newest record software. Yeh - if that’s your hammer,
I’ll use the crescent wrench.