Where's the Window mixer?

Do you have a speaker icon in the bottom task bar?  Click it...or use  Control Panel to navigate to the sound and the mixer.

If I was in your shoes, I'd consider upgrading to the new box version on MC5, then do the website update to that. Cost is $40 bucks American greenbacks. 

The reason to upgrade is for the new synths and the sound center that uses samples. It will sound SO much better than the MIDI. When you convert to audio....Bounce to Track, it will sound good.

my 2 cents

I finally found it!   the instructions in MC Help are wrong.  the correct instructions are:  right click on the speaker, select open volume control.  the window that comes up has a menu with options and help.  click on options. select properties.  the mixer is there. 

Guitar hacker:  according to the instructions in the help section of MC3, under converting MIDI to audio -if you don't have a sound card- you should : "If you're using the Windows mixer, use its Options-Properties command to open the properties dialog box, click recording (in the Adjust Volume for field), and make sure that all boxes in the Show The Following Volume Controls field are checked."

It is a good idea that i upgrade to MC5, and i will in a few months but for now i want to continue working on my project with what i have.  i remember that when i was using MC2 and a different laptop i was able to figure out the instructions and was able to test converting.  but i've grown older and senile- a horrible thing for "sirenas" and i can't remember what i did.  HA!

The Windows mixer would only come into play if you are using the MS Wavetable Synth. Those instructions set you up to record the synth output to an audio track. That's the hard way to do it, but it is your only option if you use the MS Wavetable Synth.
Beagle's question is very relevant here.
MC3 should have the Edirol VSC softsynth. This is much easier to work with. You can simply bounce the track to audio, and the sound card is not even involved.
If you are not using the Edirol VSC, and need help setting it up, let us know. Once learned, the procedure is the same for any soft synth, and will give you huge flexibility for your sounds.

Oh, sorry couldn't come back for a couple of days. 

yes, i would appreciate if someone explains how to use the Edirol VSC softsynths, so i can finish this project that's driving bunkers.  (or isn't bananas?)
Thanks.

sirena del mar

If you have questions or problems while using or trying to get started using the soft synths, let us know.

Once you figure it out, it's really pretty easy..... and since all synths work pretty much the exact same way.... learn one...learn them all.

you have to change the channel, bank and patch from the MIDI track properties, not from the face of Edirol VSC.

i don't know if i'm supposed to start a new thread because i have a new problem crackle and pop.  (oh, no,  my music turned into a cereal.)

Thank you guitarhacker for the two ideas:  i have an old hp computer pavillion ze 5500, a hand me down from my sister, and i'm not sure it'll be able to handle MC5.  toward the fall i think i'll be able to have a new computer and then MC5 it is.

i tried the bounce idea and it worked great!  Except for the part that it recorded the popping sound of the MIDI track.  i read some old forum entries about crackels and pops and i went to options>audio.  i slid the slider to the right as far as it will go.  then i augmented the number in the buffer queue from originally 2 to 5, playing the track after each change.  it still pops very softly but six doesn't make any difference.  any ideas?  is there something else i could change.  all the forum messages and Internet articles i browsed through only talk about the slider and the buffer.

sirena del mar

i assumed that the onboard card is the soundcard that the computer brings built in: Conexant.  therefore i went to the ASIO web page and dowloaded as per your advice.  now i don't have any sound!  before i had the conexant sound driver, now i there's no driver listed in the driver window.
 
sirena del mar
 

beagle, when i downloaded the ASIO i ended up with something called Driver Performer from Performer Soft.  when i cliked on its icon in my computer desktop a window asking to scan my PC for drivers problems and updates popped up.  it says that i have up to 4 out of date drivers.  i didn't click OK.  did i download the right program?

when i was downloading a buggy web site page popped up.  i was able to close it with no harm to my computer, but i was concern about the program.  i recently had the computer wiped out because of that buggy web site, surfingtown, a free wifi website offered here in New York City by a coffee emporium called Au Bon Pain.  although i have Norton Antivirus installed now i'm suspect of everything that doesn't run the way i think it should go.  (as if i know so much about computers!)

if this is not the right program, please see if you can send me the link to where i need to go.

by the way, i was able to reverse the effect of the ASIO download and i have sound again in my file, but its defective.  it plays only some notes.  i have no clue what does that mean.

sirena del mar

This appears to be the right web site:
http://asio4all.com/
 
I downloaded it, and it seems legitimate.

dear 57 Gregy, this time i was able to access the correct program and it dowloaded correctly.  it sounds very good.  i don't have my own Internet access at this time and i went to a public place where i had had a good experience before.  however, this place is close to the place with the buggy web site and somehow it interfere with the download of the program.  now i came to a Starbucks, that also has a reliable wi-fi, and everything went well.

thanks.

i hope that my next message is to tell you where to find my songs.

sirena del mar

If you need Asio4all, you would want to run it every time you open the program so it will handle your audio correctly

Okay, somewhere the fact that you use the Lexicon Alpha got lost. Please, the next time you log in, go to your forum profile and add that info to your signature so we will know to not tell you to download ASIO4All. The Alpha should have it's own ASIO driver that should work much better than ASIO4All. I just looked at their web site and it appears they do have an ASIO driver for the Alpha.
Hopefully, you haven't installed ASIO4All on your recording computer yet. If you did, delete it from your computer and don't use it.
Then go to the Lexicon site and download the latest ASIO driver for your operating system if you haven't aleady done that.
We want you to have an enjoyable recording experience and getting the Alpha working right will help a lot.

Guys:  i unistalled the ASIO4ALL driver as per your direction.  however, i cannot figure out where is the Lexicon ASIO driver.  i know that when recently i had the computer wiped out, i reinstalled the Lexicon Alpha software to the computer from the Internet (the disk that came in the package drives me crazy, it's probably damaged or i cannot make it work) but i don't see it in their website.  (http://www.lexiconpro.com/product.php?id=7#downloads)
i don't know if the disk has the ASIO because i don't have it with me now.  
 
could someone point me in the right direction to find it?
 
am i to understand that once i install this miracle ASIO driver i should change MC to it and never change it back to WDM driver for any reason?

Thank you,
sirena del mar

Yes, that kinda confused me, too. All it says is 'USB Driver' or something like that, no specific mention of ASIO.
But in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) of the site, there are numerous mentions of ASIO, so I assumed that the 'USB Driver' download is the ASIO driver.
Once you have downloaded, unzipped and installed their ASIO driver, you change the Driver Mode in MC to ASIO. You may have to close and re-open MC for the change to take effect.
Depending on your OS, there may be some more setting-up to do.
 
For everyone reading this post, there are a numbers of things we would like to know in order to better help you.
Please go to your forum profiles and add to your signatures: what operating system you're using; what your sound card or audio interface is; whether your OS is 32-bit or 64-bit; what Cakewalk software you're using.
This info will speed up the help process; there won't be repeated posts asking these questions of you.