Music creator 5 problems

Welcome to the forum.
What is she using to hear the playback?
Are the recording levels at a good, high level?
Are the track/bus volume sliders set too low?
If playing back through the Fast Track (recommended), is the output volume of the FT up high enough?

Welcome


There are a number of things that can cause low volume. 

First off.... have a look at the tracks in the track view mode. 

How much space in the tracks are the waves occupying?  Are they nice and fat or are they thin skinny lines? 

Do they look like this? 




This tells you the level that is going in to the DAW and gets captured to track. 

The waves in the picture above are nice well recorded wave levels. If the waves look like this and you have low output, something in the output chain is causing the low levels. 


If the levels are much thinner, you guys need to increase the input levels. Some interfaces have instrument and line level inputs..... if your's does too, try changing the input level type. Mine makes a huge difference between instrument and line. 

I would suggest as a test, import a standard wav or mp3 into a track and compare or listen back. If this wave file is playing back very low then the input levels are probably not your problem. If this wave plays back fine, then you have a problem with your input levels.

For either Input or Output issues, you must trace the signal chain.
Work backwards from the output back to the input.
If you are using your onboard sound card, then open the windows volume control.
(typically)  [Start]->[Programs]->[Accessories]->[Entertainment]->[Volume control]
 On the Master Volume make sure your Master volume and Wave volume are at healthy levels (for playback)
   and that the Recording Volume as well as the Mic and Line levels are at healthy levels as well.
Otherwise if you are using external gear and using ASIO this is done on the ASIO panel. I believe if you are using WDK then you use the Windows volume control as well.

If all is good here, then in Cakewalk, open the console view.
Check the Final stage volume which is usually labeled with the sound card you are using. Adjust the Levels accordingly.
Then work your way back to the Master Bus ( If you use one ) and proceed backwards through any other busses you may have in the signal chain. Once you have all the busses adjusted to good levels, then it's time to work on your sources.

All Midi inputs will drive a softsynth or WaveTable this will be the source of your analog signals. The soft synths will have their own master volume which can be adjusted as well. Finally check the midi track levels driving the softsynth for adequate drive levels.

All analog inputs (Non-midi) will have their own track levels. Adjust these to the proper drive levels.

Tracing the signal chain for analog signals can also be performed from the source, through the busses to the output as well. The important thing is to trace the entire signal chain to find where the level is inadequate.

You should have a respectable volume if the waves look like the yellow track. That is a stereo wave and the track is sized slightly smaller than the ones around it. The waves in it would easily compare to the one in red below it. 

Are you using the outputs on the M-Audio fastrack interface? If not, you should. You will need to connect amplified monitor speakers to those outputs since they are line level and not power outputs. 

In the audio setup for MC, you should see the M-Audio show up as both input and output choices. You want to select the M-Audio for both and then connect some amplified speakers to the interface.  Deselect the computer's sound card and thus, it's speakers...only use the M-Audio. ( with ASIO drivers) 

In the second post reply from you, you mentioned she is monitoring through the PC speakers. That is the wrong way to monitor. To get the best performance with low latency and audio quality, you definitely want to use the M-audio for all input and output. 

If you do not currently have any powered studio monitors, you can "fake it" for test & setup purposes by 
connecting the M-audio to either a spare set of working computer speakers or using connections to send the M-audio into a stereo system with aux inputs. 

You will likely need some adapters from radio shack to get the M-audio R&L into the miniature plug on the computer speakers. Or some straight up cords with the proper connectors to get into the aux in on the stereo. 

I actually send my interface out to a stereo for headphone amplification. Most interfaces do not have robust headphone output levels. 

Run these tests and see if that works. It looks to me, like the input levels you are getting, are good.  

Run the wave profiler when you change drivers and you should be good to go. 

Run the tests and let us know how it goes.