Records on Left channel only!

When you record in stereo, do you have 2 wave forms in the track, or one wave form and a straight line above or below the wave from? If you have a wave form and a straight line, you're recording with a mono cable.

Most guitar cables are mono and the signal is sent to the left channel. Just record the left channel from your SB and pan the final signal left or right in the stereo field.

Try a new cable first.

I also tried restoring windows to the day i bought it and reformatted the drive but that didnt help either

This may also help [or not], and you may have already seen it, but this comes from Creative’s Knowledge Base at
http://dmzweb4.europe.creative.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE/,/?St=571,E=0000000000072569917,K=2076,Sxi=0,Case=obj(6516),Kb=ww_english,VARSET=ws:http://us.creative.com/

They have a number of steps to follow, which may offer a solution.

Solution ID # 6516
Optimizing your system for better sound performance
During audio play back, you may receive random drop outs, repeating sounds or constant distortion (hissing/crackling sound). All these symptoms (and any other degradation of sound quality for that matter) can mostly be traced back to system / BIOS settings that prevent your audio sub-system from functioning properly. In other words, if your system is optimized ("tweaked") for a specific task, the result might be that the extra bit of 3D power or data transfer speed to the drives uses up so much of the systems resources, that there is simply not enough left for your sound card to do its job as it should. Sometimes even the factory settings of certain PCs / Motherboards can cause symptoms as described above.
The following guide is separated into the following main sections. If changing one specific setting does not resolve the difficulty, it is recommended that you change it back to the previous setting, or the default setting, before proceeding with a different configuration.

Good Luck

Ok...so i tried the sweep and install thing and that didnt work so i guess i am gonna have to try and switch the slot...it might take me some time to get my courage up to do it but i will post with my results.

1. turn off machine and unplug from outlet

2. take case off of machine

3. find sound card and unscrew it

4. pull it straight up

5. move to another socket

6. press into slot carefully but firmly

7. secure with the screw

8. plug in system and turn it on and see if it finds the card in the new slot.

9. if yes then power down and re-install the casing.

10. check to see if it works without static on right side.

11. if static still exists, the go shopping for a better card and repeat the above to install

Is that like mikey will eat it?

WEll Robo...It looks like i am going shopping...thanks for all your advice though...it wasnt as hard as i thought it was gonna be to move the slot....unless someone has any other ideas on how to fix this anybody got any advice on a good sound card i should get?...i dont want to spend more than 200 bucks...thats how much i spent on the one i have and it sucks to spend that much money on a sound card thats gonna **** out on me in less than 2 years.

you should be able to get a m-audio 24/96 ( 2in/2out) for around $100, or a delta 1010 (8 in/8 out) for around $200,

Hi, where or what is the stereo field in sonar for panning?? I have this same left channel problem.

Please take everybody's advice - RECORD USING ONLY THE LEFT CHANNEL - I don't mean to yell, but you need to adjust how you're recording. After you have recorded each part/instrument of your song, you can pan tracks left and right to where you want them in the stereo field. When you record in mono, using only the left channel, the sound will be recorded in the center. You can move it left or right using the pan control.

What is the stereo field? Well, listen to your favorite CD through a set of head phones. Do you hear certain instruments coming from the right phone, some from the left? Do you hear some instruments that seem to come from in front of you, some from behind. Do the vocals sound like they're coming from the middle? That's the stereo field. You can create the left/right adjustments using the pan control. You create the front/back using volume, reverb, and delay.

If you want a stereo signal of the same track, record the instrument in mono (left channel only), clone the track, then pan the original to the left and the clone to the right.

Hope that clears it up.

Sorry electro - my last post was directed at wak, but if it helps you, great.