Audio and Playback - Question

I'll get right down to the point.

When I'm recording an audio track, it records anything that is being heard on the computer, whether that be an mp3 that I'm playing, or sounds that my keyboard makes (which is connected to the 'line in' of my sound card).

The problem I'm having is when I want to record a second, third, fourth, audio track and so on after I have recorded my first. I need to hear my first track in order to play the next part of the song. However, whenever I try to record my next track, I get both the sounds that I'm recording and the sounds playing from the previous track.

For example, after I record some piano in track one, I would like to record some synth in two. However, when I try to do the synth part, the piano from track one also plays and it records a double sound in track two; hence creating a 'thicker' sounding piano since its playing both. I know that I can mute a track when I'm recording, but then I won't be able to hear my previous recordings and it will be close to impossible to make a song.

One fix that I thought might work would be that when I'm ready to record a second audio track that I would playback the first track through my keyboard and not my computer so that it only catches the new stuff which I want it to record. However, I've forgotten how to do that.

Any ideas? Thanks?

Hey Beagle,

I tried disabling WHAT YOU HEAR, and yes I do have a Sound Blaster card, but then nothing at all would record. Hmmm...

Okay something wierd has happened and it started after I tried disabling WHAT YOU HEAR. After I enabled it again, the problem still persists. On any of my tracks now when I try to record, on the far right section near the two buttons which let you minimize or expand the box, there is a -58.3. Nothing I record shows up.

All of my volume controls are to max and nothing important is on mute.

Hello, I've had a similiar problem with tracks "bleeding" when using MC and I'm still having them....especially when trying to record vocals!

After I have my drum tracks laid down, I pan the drums hard right and record my guitar track hard left. Same for the bass and second guitar.
I've been able to minimize the bleeding effects except when it comes to vocals.

I keep the "What U Hear" level very low, minimal, sometimes at "0"! What happens is that the track level of the vocals is not high enough. In order to compensate I tend to sing harder and I'm not happy with the final tone of the vocals. Too many peaks and valleys. I keep the vocal track volume high as well as the "trim" levels just to get a decent balance between the music and my ability to sing.

I am using headphones to sing, no sounds coming out from the computer to bleed through the mike. I'm running my V-Tech mike through a Euro power mixer. If I raise the levels on the mixer it gets louder in the cans, but also makes it somewhat distorted, but I notice it does nothing to raise the levels in the actual vocal track. The somewhat distorted signal in the cans is distracting for singing. You tend to lay off just a bit because you think that you will distort the track. This also compromises the quality of the vocals.

What I end up doing is in order to raise the level of the vocal track and even out the peaks and valleys is to use the compressor effects on the entire vocals. It is sufficient, but I think there's got to be a better way to get good vocals at good levels without getting all the "bleeding". I thought that using digital recording programs would rid the "bleeding" problems encountered using my old TASCAM 8-track!

Any ideas are much appreciated.

Beagle thanks! I'm going to disable "What U Hear" tonight and see what happens.

How do you get sufficient level in the track without the "What U Hear"?

Actually, what is "What U Hear" for if it seems to cause so many bleeding problems?

Robo and Beagle, thank you. I will take your advice and I'll post on the results.

I'm using a Eurorack UB502 mixer. So I should plug my headphones into the mixer instead of the headphone jack on the sound
card?

make sure that the line in volume the mixer

I'm not sure what you're saying here. When I disable "What U Hear", I still must have the "line" volume all the way up on the sound card, right? There is a main mix level on my Eurorack. I should be able to hear through my headphones when I plug into the mixer, right. Sorry for all these questions, but I appreciate your feedback. I think Music Creator is alot of fun. Once you dive into it and start learning, you really begin to appreciate all it can do.

Beagle, let me just tell you what's happening.

I have my project open. I have the line input from my soundcard directly into my mixer's main outputs. I have my microphone plugged into line 1 on the mixer. I have my headphones plugged into the mixer. I can hear my voice perfectly, beautiful. I disabled, or actually, have set at zero, "What U Hear", line volume all the way up. However, I'm not getting any of the music in my cans, only my voice! What am I missing?

Thanks again, man!

ORIGINAL: Beagle

you don't have anything coming FROM your sound card INTO the mixer. you need a patch cable to run from the output of the sound card to the LINE 2/3 of the mixer.

Oh, it appears that I need another 1/8" to 1/4" adapter, which I don't have. I guess no recording tonight! At least, no recording the right way tonight.

Let me ask about "Input monitoring" under Options>Audio. This should be deselected, right? What happens if you select it.

What is the purpose of "What You Hear"? I have an Audigy 4 Sound Card. It has "Microphone" "Midi Synth" "Analog Mix" "Wave" which you can select. Which one should be selected? Does is matter since this button is off during recording anyway?

I know I ask alot of questions, but I know that it's just a matter of utilizing the MC and sound card functions to get really good sounding recordings. I understand alot of the learning process is through trial and error. Reading the manual is definitely necessary, but until you start working on the recordings themselves.....

Thanks again for all your help.

You need to disable WHAT U HEAR completely. Depending on which version of SB 'mixer' software you have you can either MUTE it, or switch it to MIC INPUT instead.

Beagle, if I switch my "what you hear" to mic input, and plug my microphone into the mic input on my sound card, would this alleviate the problem of bleeding?? My SB sound card enables me to select "what you hear" mic, analog mix, wave, etc.

Last night I tried to lay down a vocal track but yet again turned into a disaster. My sound card enables "Playback" mode and "recording" mode, so I selected "recording" mode, kept the "what you hear" off, turned up the "analog mix" level on the sound card, and went at it. I monitored everything through my Eurorack mixer. I think I was getting somewhere, but then I noticed that my whole project is a lost cause because I have guitar tracks and my bass tracks that when I recorded them they suffered from "bleeding" as well. This makes the project un-mixable.
But, trial and error, I'm learning something I guess.

Thanks again.

Robomusic, thanks again. The setup I'm using right now is from the sound card input I have plugged into the main outs on the Euro mixer, from one of the outputs on my soundcard I have plugged into line in 2/3 on the Euro mixer. The "tape to mix" button is pressed in.

I muted all tracks in my project and armed a track designated to be vocals. I was able to get a level, no problem. However, when I un-mute the other tracks and start playing the project, these tracks start bleeding into the armed track. I was playing around with all the levels on the mixers. I turned off "input monitoring". I deactivated the "what u hear", which only causes me to complete lose any levels in the armed vocal track. Nothing seemed to work.

I'm probably doing something wrong somewhere. Should I be going from soundcard output to the "tape in" on the mixer? In that case I'd have to get 1/4" to RCA adapters. Does it matter which output you use on the sound card? On my SB, there's 3 or 4 outputs. The output jack that I'm using is the green one, typically the output I plug my speakers into.

Anyway, thanks for your help, I appreciate it. I've been trying to get in touch with a DJ/producer friend of a friend who's been working with digital recording for a long time to come over and help me out, but he's ridiculously busy, but hopefully I'll be able to get a grip on this soon one way or another.

Thanks again. Cheers.

Does it matter which output you use on the sound card? On my SB, there's 3 or 4 outputs. The output jack that I'm using is the green one, typically the output I plug my speakers into.

Yes it matters - but you can choose which outputs to use in MC (or you should be able to). If you have ALL outputs selected in the OPTIONS>AUDIO>DRIVERS>OUTPUT DRIVERS selected, then you simply choose which ones you want to output to in the MASTER BUS (or if you're not using a master bus, in the output of the tracks). Whichever ones you choose as output will need to be the ones you wire from your soundcard to the mixer.