richie2uk
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Driver problem
Just opened up Sonar and got an error message saying something about a missing audio? driver. Two choices, one to disable one to proceed anyway. I snatch precious minutes to do stuff and am always impatient so i chose proceed anyway. Now nothing works, and I cant see the usb codec for my condensing mike. Annoying as I didnt change any settings...clues anyone? Rich
soundcloud.com/richard-hutchins Samson G Track usb condenser mike, Sonar LE, Windows 7, Marshall JCM 2000, '76 Strat, Les Paul custom, Gibson '67 Hummingbird, Yamaha Stahr Piano, Juno synth.
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Cactus Music
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Re: Driver problem
March 15, 14 0:01 PM
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I'm afraid the answer is USB mikes don't normally even come with drivers. So your probably using MME mode which is a terrible driver for DAW recording. Yes I just confirmed this by going to the web site for your mike. No drivers. If it has been working for you then fine. But word around here is that USB mikes are great for pod casting but because they don't supply stable drivers are problematic for serious DAW work. from the web site : Though ideal for the traveling musician or the project studio, G-Track's versatile functionality can be applied to create ideal solutions for anyone who records audio, particularly podcasters, educators and business professionals.- Plugs directly into any computer with a USB input, no drivers required
The audio interface and its drivers, preferably ASIO is the heart of DAW recording technology. The drivers make or break the stability and often even the synchronizing of the audio and midi tracks. 99% of people posting here for the first time are issues related to them trying to work without a proper audio interface. There is no such thing as no drivers required in the world of DAW recording.. only for pod casting.
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richie2uk
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Re: Driver problem
March 15, 14 6:43 AM
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Okay, thanks for that. I really need to have a think about exactly how much effort goes into this, and of course have I got the time. But heres a question for the short term; I've used this(amateur)set up for years without this problem, All of a sudden it stops working, so for the moment what can I try? Longer term I think I need to upgrade as per advice on this(very helpful) forum. To start I suppose I need a decent mike? Ideas? Also I have access to a small mixing desk, its a little yamaha MG82CX console. How do I hook up this to my pc with the sonar software? These are dumb questions but I am much more of a musician than a techie so apologies!
soundcloud.com/richard-hutchins Samson G Track usb condenser mike, Sonar LE, Windows 7, Marshall JCM 2000, '76 Strat, Les Paul custom, Gibson '67 Hummingbird, Yamaha Stahr Piano, Juno synth.
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Kalle Rantaaho
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Re: Driver problem
March 15, 14 8:07 AM
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What is there selected for playback/recording timing master and In/Out drivers in Options (or Preferences, if you use X-version), if anything? It's not magic, just go through the settings in an organised way to find out what solves the problem. Sometimes the driver can just jump off "by itself". The first thing to get is a decent audio interface (USB), and a microphone. You have no use for the mic without a proper interface. Most likely you have no use for a mixing desk, just get an audio interface with as many inputs and outputs as you need.
SONAR PE 8.5.3, Asus P5B, 2,4 Ghz Dual Core, 4 Gb RAM, GF 7300, EMU 1820, Bluetube Pre - Kontakt4, Ozone, Addictive Drums, PSP Mixpack2, Melda Creative Pack, Melodyne Plugin etc. The benefit of being a middle aged amateur is the low number of years of frustration ahead of you.
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Cactus Music
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Re: Driver problem
March 15, 14 11:42 AM
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It's a bit of bummer that people buy these usb mikes just to find out it might not work as promised by the adds. I think the worst fact is that you can't even use the mike, which is probably a good sounding unit, in a standard set up. As Kalle has said, look in your audio settings and try some different set ups.
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richie2uk
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Re: Driver problem
March 15, 14 11:49 AM
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Nothing in drivers, and nothing in playback timing master either when this happened. So, I unplugged the mike and restarted sonar, and now I have input and output drivers! No reason I can see. All is ok on one song, but on another song all the tracks are silent except for the vocal track! Its very trying, all I want to do is record,not fix odd things that seem to happen without a reason, but I also admit I am impatient and that gets me nowhere!! BTW whats an audio interface?
soundcloud.com/richard-hutchins Samson G Track usb condenser mike, Sonar LE, Windows 7, Marshall JCM 2000, '76 Strat, Les Paul custom, Gibson '67 Hummingbird, Yamaha Stahr Piano, Juno synth.
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spacealf
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Re: Driver problem
March 15, 14 1:33 PM
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http://www.sweetwater.com/shop/computer-audio/audio_interfaces/Examples of audio/interfaces. Different places on-line or local music store or wherever can be found. If something is wrong in the computer, impatient is not going to solve it. Searching for an answer on the Internet, might. http://www.gearslutz.com/board/Another place perhaps to find out about stuff. But there is always a delay in maybe getting an answer. We all wanted it done yesterday, but again that probably is not going to happen in this world perhaps. And audio/interface is an electronic unit that is not unlike a soundcard in the computer, except it has different connections for connecting musical equipment and instruments the standard way, and can be used as a replacement for the sound card in a computer. All music, video sound, utube, itunes, whatever now goes through the audio/interface to hear it. And the chief reason is that a person can record music with it (and with a DAW - digital audio workstation, a computer persay) providing the person also has a program (Sonar) that records music on the computer.
post edited by spacealf - March 15, 14 1:36 PM
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Cactus Music
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Re: Driver problem
March 15, 14 5:40 PM
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Your on board sound card should be the timing master as the mike is not an interface. iT has no drivers.
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richie2uk
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Re: Driver problem
March 16, 14 12:24 AM
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Thanks guys, its starting to sink in now!
soundcloud.com/richard-hutchins Samson G Track usb condenser mike, Sonar LE, Windows 7, Marshall JCM 2000, '76 Strat, Les Paul custom, Gibson '67 Hummingbird, Yamaha Stahr Piano, Juno synth.
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richie2uk
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Re: Driver problem
March 17, 14 5:23 AM
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Any recommendations for an audio interface? I generally use a yamaha piano, les paul, acoustic and mike for vocals? I'm no pro user(obvious!) so dont want to spend a fortune.
soundcloud.com/richard-hutchins Samson G Track usb condenser mike, Sonar LE, Windows 7, Marshall JCM 2000, '76 Strat, Les Paul custom, Gibson '67 Hummingbird, Yamaha Stahr Piano, Juno synth.
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57Gregy
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Re: Driver problem
March 17, 14 8:59 AM
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The Samson G Track is both a microphone and audio interface. You would select that as both recording device and playback device. Connect your monitor speakers or headphones to the Samson. Some folks have had success downloading the ASIO4All audio driver to use with the G Track. But it's not the best device to use with your DAW. An interface with true ASIO drivers will almost certainly give you better performance. Look at the signatures of many of the users here to see what audio interfaces are used. You'll see lots of Focusrite (what I use), M-Audio, MOTU, Presonus, Cakewalk/Roland, some TASCAM and Alesis devices. I recommend Focusrite. My Saffire has been rock solid for years and it works great. If you decide to try ASIO4All first and later want to get a different interface, you'll have to delete ASIO4All from your computer before you can use the new device's true ASIO drivers.
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Cactus Music
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Re: Driver problem
March 17, 14 11:03 AM
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When shopping for an audio interface what is most important is your needs for connectivity and monitoring. To many people run out a grab an interface just because everyone else recommend it only to find they now have to buy some more gear to complete their set up. Make a wish list of what you really need in the way of connections and monitoring and start shopping. I just bought a Scarlett 6i6 because it had exactly what I need. I wrote a review: http://www.gearslutz.com/...rite-scarlett-6i6.html
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richie2uk
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Re: Driver problem
March 17, 14 2:52 PM
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So to get this straight; I choose a decent audio interface. I plug in my Samson Mike to it, and also my guitar/piano whatever, and then tell my sonar software to point to the audio interface rather than the Samson mike as I do at the moment?
soundcloud.com/richard-hutchins Samson G Track usb condenser mike, Sonar LE, Windows 7, Marshall JCM 2000, '76 Strat, Les Paul custom, Gibson '67 Hummingbird, Yamaha Stahr Piano, Juno synth.
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Cactus Music
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Re: Driver problem
March 17, 14 11:15 PM
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Yes and No, the trouble is the Samson mike is not XLR so cannot be used with an audio interface. I was speculating a while ago that someone would eventually make a converter box. But the rest you are correct. You set the audio interface as your in/out with Sonar and all your audio programs. You'll have to buy a mike that has a standard connection ( XLR) Happens a lot. This is why I was saying it's a bit of a rip off that people purchase these mikes, they don't work as advertised, and they end up having to buy a normal mike and a audio interface.`I would sell the Sampson to try and re coup your money. Or take it back to the store and see if they'll trade it in on an interface.
post edited by Cactus Music - March 17, 14 11:25 PM
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richie2uk
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Re: Driver problem
March 18, 14 3:06 PM
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Cheers, At the risk of an obvious question; are the advantages of the audio interface in terms of the quality compared to the usb mike or just ease of use, or both of these things? Remember that I just want to get reasonable results, not pro ones(although of course that latter would be nice to achieve!) And a decent mike would be? Rich
soundcloud.com/richard-hutchins Samson G Track usb condenser mike, Sonar LE, Windows 7, Marshall JCM 2000, '76 Strat, Les Paul custom, Gibson '67 Hummingbird, Yamaha Stahr Piano, Juno synth.
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Cactus Music
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Re: Driver problem
March 18, 14 9:49 PM
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A audio interface with good pre amps like the Scarlett series, and any good mike will give you all you need. It's tooo bad you can't use the Sampson. It will cost you another $100-$200 to replace it. Your mike? Without comparing it to other mikes I cannot say but my guess is it sounds just fine. There are many, many mikes on the market, too many. And depending on what your looking for, most will sound perfectly fine if your level of expectations is in the lower end of the scale. Nothing wrong with that, this is just a hobby for most of us. The good old SM 57. If I owned just one mike, this would be it. A Beta 57 might be better. For my Vocals I'm using a old, old Audio Technica mike that looks like a 58. The number wore off 20 years ago. But I like what my voice sounds like both live and in the studio with this mike. It was only $120 back when. So finding your favorite mike is a personal thing. If you can try as many as possible. It's worth a mention that a work around for you is to not use Sonar at all. Sonar is the worlds pickiest DAW when it comes to drivers. Your mike will work fine with programs like Audacity. What some folks do is record into Audacity and import those tracks into Sonar to mix. Clunky and not perfect, but FREE>
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Cactus Music
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Re: Driver problem
March 18, 14 10:07 PM
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I just Goggled " converting a USB mike to XLR" The results are what I expected. It does not exsist. And advice from all is " If you want a good mike, don't buy a USB mike, they are not for audio but podcasting( talking) " I was wondering if there was a way to just re-wire one and by pass the interface part.. nope, at least not worth it to the average person. Sell it...
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spacealf
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Re: Driver problem
March 18, 14 10:50 PM
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The audio/interface takes the place of a regular computer type soundcard (or built-in sound) on the computer. As with all things, Professional is a word that can be tossed around. There are better audio/interfaces that can cost thousands of dollars and there are other ones that can cost a couple of hundred or even cheaper ones that can cost $50. Usually the couple of hundred dollars one will have inputs for guitar, synth, microphone, whatever, and also Midi in and out. Cheaper ones probably will not have midi at all included, and with all things, then there is the quality of the device in the end and what you want it to sound like. As with anything, checking out reviews and maybe over at Gearslutz forum is a way to find out with your budget how much you want to spend and how you want to use it.
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57Gregy
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Re: Driver problem
March 19, 14 8:01 AM
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As I wrote above, the G-Track is an audio interface. If you don't want to spend more money or can't afford to spend more money at this time, download ASIO4All and give that a try. It has worked for many folks and saved them some money, too. It may work, and may give you not-pro results. For the record, it didn't work for me when I tried it in my Sound Blaster Extigy sound card days.
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richie2uk
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Re: Driver problem
March 19, 14 11:25 AM
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Lots of ideas..thanks I'll go away and think...and think some more!
soundcloud.com/richard-hutchins Samson G Track usb condenser mike, Sonar LE, Windows 7, Marshall JCM 2000, '76 Strat, Les Paul custom, Gibson '67 Hummingbird, Yamaha Stahr Piano, Juno synth.
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