Help with my setup? Sonar 8, Edirol USB interface, Yamaha keyboard, MXL Condenser Mic

What I want to do: 
Record keyboard and mic simultaneously, and end up with a nice clean MP3 or WAV file.  

What I've tried: 
I have the keyboard hooked up to the USB interface via quarter inch cable, then USB to Netbook (running Windows 7 starter). Sonar picks up the Edirol Interface no problem, records, and plays it back on the Edirol (through headphones).  I have hooked up the MXL condenser mic via USB through the Mic Mate, but Sonar doesn't seem to know it so I can't use it. Also tried hooking it up via Phantom power on the USB interface, turned on Phantom power, and nothing. (Although the Phantom power light turns on..) Checked input options, and it is not there.  

The Mic WORKS when I hook it up through the adapter and use in Audacity.  I can't figure out any other way to make it work.  

Recap of what I have available, so maybe someone can put the pieces together:  
- Sonar 8 Producer 
- Yamaha Synthesizer  
- MXL condenser mic 
- MXL Mic Mate (USB adapter) 
- Roland Edirol USB interface UA-4FX 
- 2 USB cords 
- 1 quarter inch cable 

If you can help me with minimal technical language I would really appreciate it. Please assume I don't know what you're talking about! Forgive my noobishness 

I am not using MIDI because MIDI scares me.  I tried once before and just couldn't get any sound. Too frustrating! Don't think I even have that cord anymore, but let me know if there's a piece that will help put this puzzle together for me. 


Thanks a lot!

Well I guess they're separate, yes.  I plug the keyboard into the 1/4" jack on the front of the interface that says "guitar/mic" and the phantom power goes on the side. 


Options - Audio, the only thing that shows up is the interface itself. ""UA-4FX" under both input and output. 

Ace.trouble


I don't know that specific audio interface you have, but I looked it up on the web.
It has separate inputs for guitar/bass and mics, right?
Do you mean the mic is not listed on the input menu in SONAR's track view? How about when you check "Options -> Audio", can you select the mic input from the menu there?

Hi , Glad you made it over here as now there are more people who can help and we all use Sonar. Gear Slutz is good  too, but there's a lot of other DAWS so info gets spread thin.
First go to Audio Options/ drivers and check that the UA 4fx is the one checked.
While your there check that ASIO is the driver Mode.
Insert an Audio track and check that the UA 4fx is showing as an input source.
 Most interfaces will show as stereo pairs which confuses some. Input 1 is left but input 2 will show as input 1 right.
There seems to be no reason the phantom power would not work, Do you hear your mike in the headphones? Can you try a non Phantom powered mike?

As I said in the other forum Sonar will not work with USB devices that do not have good ASIO drivers. So forget the MXL convertor.
I think you just need to learn how Sonar is set up and once you get past the first bumps you'll be fine.
An MIDI would mean you can edit your playing, very few people would not go this route. You need to set up a soft synth etc. We can help you set that up too.

Like I say there's a few set up items we all go through at first but it becomes petty easy once you get the hang of it.
And don't be scared to ask questions.
The only pre requisite is that you do spend some time reading the help files and manual.
 

I have MXL 770, yes with XLR cable connected straight from mic to phantom power input on interface.  Not hearing anything in the headphones.  There is no indication of the mic working with the interface, except that the 48v phantom Light is turned on, on the interface. 

UA-4FX is selected as input and output.  I have switched the driver to ASIO. 

REC source is Analog and Sample rate is set according to selection in Sonar. 

I will look at getting MIDI working after I figure out what's going on with this mic.

If the mike is not in the headphones when you set the interface up properly for monitoring input, then you need to get that working first.
This is not a Sonar issue until that mike is working.
 Read the owners manual for the interface and make sure you have the monitoring set up properly. I sorry can't help you as I don't see a download for the manual and this is the most confusing unit I've ever looked at. I don't think it broken, it's just Rolands very typically confusing way of designing stuff.  You should be able to listen without even having it connected to to computer.
I see a button that switches modes.

One other issue I can see is your little netbooks USB power is taxed to the limit to power up the device and 48volts of phantom power, Another major design flaw is the lack of a power supply.

Note to all: never buy a USB interface that uses USB power only!  

@ Cactus Music:
Yeah, I've looked at the images of the device. It looks like a designer's nightmare The manuals can be found here: http://www.roland.com/support/article/?q=manuals&p=UA-4FX

Speaking of manuals, I could use a Cakewalk Forums manual...
Nothing happens when I click the "Quote message" button on the "Reply to message" tab and I have to insert breaks manually by using the HTML tag for it
My browser is Firefox.

Ok thanks for the link Ace. So I just read the manual ( well the good parts) and what do you know.

This little troublemaker can only record one (1) source at a time!
So your original question: Nope, you cannot record both a mike and the ANALOG out of your keyboard,, but you can record the mike and the MIDI output of the keyboard.

What I found out from the manual:

Make sure you go to the Roland web site and download the Windows 7  32? 64? bit drivers. The ones on the CD are not correct.
 
There is a switch on the bottom that should be "ON" to to listen/ monitor the input source.
 
 
There is also a input select switch to choose the XLR or the Guitar input. It is confusing as they call it the guitar/ mike input. This might be the reason your mike is not on. If your hearing the keyboard you will not hear the mike until this switch is flipped.
 
the recording source switch should be on "analog".

The Driver switch on the side should be on "advanced" or you won't get ASIO or MIDI supported. You will set the sample rate inside the software, For now stick with 44.1 ( netbook is whimpy) My guess is your not using ASIO drivers but the windows legacy drivers. Which will work for audacity but might not with Sonar.  

The meters should show action if you are getting a signal from the mike.
Make sure to turn up the Guitar/Mike volume control as you speak into the mike.

The Input volume is for the RCA jacks which you could use if you want a stereo analog recording of the keyboard. You still might not have the  mike however. This fact is not clear but my guess is both will be mixed together in a stereo track.   

I find it weird that it can record the input( digital or RCA)  in stereo, but only one channel is given for guitar or mike input.
 

I'm not sure why but I wasn't receiving email notifications even though I had subscribed to this thread, so I just saw all these posts!  Thanks so much for your help.  I now have the mic working and am trying to figure out MIDI. Got the cable last night.  I started a new thread but perhaps I should have just added it to this one.  


I create a new MIDI track, hit record, and play.  I have both input and output set to the Edirol UA-4FX USB interface, and have head phones hooked into the interface.   Can't hear anything during recording, or playback, though I can see the notes being picked up in the track.   I unplugged the analog input since that interferes with the phantom powered mic. I hope that isn't what's causing this problem.