n-track 4 stereo problem

recording in stereo isnt working rite

hey, im runnin n-track v.4.00, but have noticed an annoying problem. wen i plug my guitar into the mic, the vu-meter shows the guitar in stereo the way it should be (the bars move differently 2 one another) but when i record and come to play back the stereo file, the bars arent moving differently. The only difference between the bars is that the left one is slightly louder then the right. i hope this makes sense! is this a common problem or is something set up wrong. when i record in the same way but in different software, its recorded fine…
thanks.

OK, you may know this already but I’ll throw it in just in case…

Assuming you are using a typical soundcard (ie not some high-end card), the “Mic in” input is mono. So are most guitars (unless you are using a stereo effect of some kind). So you are only going to get a mono signal recorded.

The “Line in” input on the otherhand is stereo. (Personally I find it easier to think of it as two mono tracks because you can record, say, a guitar on one and a vocal on the other simultaneously). But plugging a mono guitar into a stereo input is going to result in two identical tracks.

So if you want 2 tracks or stereo you need two sources (or a single stereo source like a guitar through a stereo chorus), a stereo cable to the soundcard, and you need to use Line In.

(Also, Mic Ins are typically very noisy and should be avoided where possible).


HTH


Mark

Mark’s answer is acurate, but perhaps missed one tiny little detail… in the “Recording VU” display, click on the little hammer, then select Mono. If you are plugged into “Line In” it will automatically select stereo because “Line In” IS stereo. :)

The balance being off slightly is probably due to the “Pan” on your recording controls, or even a slight difference in the two channels internally in the sound card.

-steale