Multiple sound inputs
I have a simple need. I need to record voice and guitar onto two seperate tracks simultaneously. I assume to do this I need either two sound cards or a card which has two line inputs and two logical paths to the software.
Can n-track use either of the two above? And, if so, what and how?
BTW, I currently have n-track 5, a soundblaster live! 24bit card and a two channel Behringer mixer.
Al help appreciated. Cheers!
Guitar to channel 1
Vox to channel 2
You will need a cable that has a stereo plug at one end (that fits your soundcard, probably a 1/8 jack with either an adapter or built that way), but splits to two discrete mono channels at the other end. Such as:
http://www.radioshack.com/sm-inse…228.htm
http://www.zzounds.com/item–HOSSTP20
They’re easy enough to make if you have a bit of know how.
What you do next depends on the mixer.
If you have two aux, I would recommend plugging the stereo end of the cable into your soundcard, and one plug at the other end into each of the auxes.
- Set Aux 1 Send, on Channel 1, all the way on. Turn Aux two on channel 1 all off. Adjust mic gain trim for recording level.
- Set Aux 2 send, on channel 1, all the way off, and turn Aux two all the way on. Adjust mic gain trim for recording level.
If you don’t have two auxes, plug the mono ends into the Main outs.
- Pan channel 1 all the way to the left,
- Pan channel 2 all the way to the right. Don’t do this a lot, but I’d probably open the desk main outs to about 0db on the scale and use the mic gain trim for recording levels.
If you have inserts on this desk,
- Stick a mono plug into each insert, use channel mic gain trim for recording level.
In all cases, set the inputs in ntrack to record "Stereo -> two mono tracks"
Might be easiest in your case if you just use for soundcard for monitoring - hook speakers up to the soundcard and monitor relative levels using the SB mixer software. Make sure you untick the “record what I hear” setting that seems to reside somewhere in the creative software.
Willy.
Thanks man, would never have thought of that. Cheers!
Don’t mean to hijack the thread, but…
I’ve been using a small 8 channel board- (4 xlr, 4 line) & go from the board main output L&R to L&R @ the soundcard. & out from the card to the 2-trk in, headphones from the mixer.
Get decent results, but now I’m interested in <!–QuoteBegin>
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| If you have inserts on this desk, - Stick a mono plug into each insert, use channel mic gain trim for recording level. |
I guess that the mono plug goes to 1 side of the soundcard?
Does this bypass the master on the mixer?
Also, is there a better way to ‘monitor’ w/ the headphones? I can’t seem to manage the input volume & the other track vols.
<!–QuoteBegin>
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| I guess that the mono plug goes to 1 side of the soundcard? |
Yes.
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| Does this bypass the master on the mixer? |
Yes. Depending on the setup of the actual insert jack on the channel, it may or may not go through to the master channel. I’ll explain more later.
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| Also, is there a better way to ‘monitor’ w/ the headphones? I can’t seem to manage the input volume & the other track vols. |
Yes, it has to do with sending the soundcards output back out to the desk and using the desk to monitor the recording channels. This means that you have to disable monitoring in the soundcard’s mixer. More later.
Willy.
Check this out in the meantime:
http://www.ntrack.com/cgi-bin…0;st=10
http://www.ntrack.com/cgi-bin…t=5431;
http://www.ntrack.com/cgi-bin…t=2220;
http://audiominds.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3011&hl=inserts
http://audiominds.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2643&hl=inserts
http://audiominds.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1985&hl=inserts
http://audiominds.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=963&hl=
When using insert jacks, one trick is to plug the 1/4" plug half-way in, and the other end goes to your soundcard input, using a 2-conductor (a.k.a. “mono” or “unbalanced” cable. On most mixers, this acts as a send without interrupting the signal going into the mixer, and you monitor from the mixer. Other than the “gain” control on mic channels, none of the other mixer controls have any effect on the recorded signal.
For folks who don’t like a plug halfway in, the best solution is a 1/4" stereo to mono RCA adaptor plug and an RCA to 1/4" cable. You can get the cable in 8-channel snakes, which really helps keep the studio sane.
Note: beware Radio Shack product labeling – their website SUCKS in terms of accuracy. Interestingly, it rarely matches the labeling on the packages, which is usually much better. But in any case, note that the plug is 3-conductor (tip, ring, and sleeve) and accept no substitutions. This adaptor shorts tip and ring contacts and connects them to the RCA’s center contact.
Thanks guys.
New soundcard got here last nite, gotta get some more cords & I can play some more.
This one (M-Audio 2496) has what looks like a lot of control.
Which berry desk do you have?