I'm So Frustrated!!

S

Siasia2

New member
I hope someone can give me some basic advice: HOW do I get the tracks I record on my computer software to route into my 4-track/mixer set-up?
I have a very old 4-track Yamaha cassette deck & mixer with a built-in Patch Bay, along with a regular cassette deck for mix-down hooked up to my PC. (I ran a cable from the monitor out in the back of the mixer into the only open line out in the back of my computer (is that correct?) I also have a CD player feeding thru the 4-track as well and I can record off the CD Player into the 4-Track. I can also feed tracks off the 4-track cassette deck INTO my recording software (Cubase & ACID) on the computer, BUT not the other way! I can't get any track input from my computer to route into the 4-track or thru the mixer. Why not? What am I doing wrong? I have a SoundBlaster 16 soundcard. Is that the best soundcard? I plan to upgrade to the Yamaha MD 8 eventually, but till then.........This is not fancy stuff I'm trying to do - I just want to make some basic cassette demos of the music I write on the computer. Please advise!
 
"I ran a cable from the monitor out in the back of the mixer into the only open line out in the back of my computer (is that correct?)"

You don't run outs to outs. You run outs to ins, in this case your soundcard out to the 4-track in. How many outs does the Soundblaster have? How many ins does the 4-track have?
 
I'm So Frustrated! (& Confused)

What I'm trying to do is record into my 4-track the music I compose on my Computer. For example: 1) Using Cubase I create a piece of music on the computer. 2) I want to record it into my 4-track and mix it down onto a 2-track cassette. But I can't figure out how to hook it up!

I have 3 soundcard plugs in the back of my computer: 1 for the computer speakers, the other for my mike and the only plug left I'm running a cable from the "monitor out" on my 4-track's mixer into it. There is also a 1/8" pin plug on the front panel of my CPU-I think it's for headphones for the CD-ROM Drive.I'm not using that. Is the Sound Blaster 16 soundcard able to work with multi-tracking?

Thanks for responding -- I really appreciate it! Sorry to be so dense!
 
You should have a line-out (stereo 1/8") on your soundcard from which you can rout the signal from the PC to the stereo cassette deck. I doubt that you have more than a 2 channel out from your PC so it doesn't make sense to rout your PC to the 4-track multitracker for mixdown. I don't compose or record initial tracks to PC so I'm not qualified to guide you to well here but I'd suggest doing the mixdown using your software to a stereo product and then using the PCs line-out to the cassette deck for recording the stereo product. Or maybe burn a CD in stereo and record it to the cassette deck just like recording a commercial CD. I hope I make sense.

Mark
 
Cubase has a built in mixer and a built in multitrack. There is no use for you to use the Yamaha to mix what you record in Cubase.
 
Siasia2 - the problem appears to be that you should plug the output of your computer into the input of your 4 track - then plug the monitor out of your 4 track into your monitor amp. You will then hear the computer through the 4 trk. When you record on the 4 trk you will also hear the playback thru your monitors. Try it

John :)
 
Siasia2 - I am at work right now and the computer I am using has a SB16 card - you are right there are only 3 sockets - one for the mike, the middle one for the speakers - but what is the other one? I think it might be the line in - which would mean that you are running the cable into the computer instead of out of it - as John says it has to be the other way round - I don't know much about this card but I think other SB cards have a separate line-out as well - i'm only a beginner myself and this may be a daft suggestion but perhaps you should try running the cable from the speaker plug to the input of your 4-trk, etc, etc.

Good luck. Malgo.
 
That's not daft at all. The speaker plug on soundcards is the closest you get to a line out. Most computer speakers have a "power" amp and you feed a line signal to them. I don't know anything about the SB16 card though but that's the common way. The line out plug usually has an icon like this:

((-))> (Arrow going out from the source)

The line in usually has an icon like this

((<))- (Arrow going into the source)

The mic in has a, well, microphone but stay clear of that input.

Why do you want to include the computer in your sound chain? Do you want to record to it and mix the tracks on it and send the final mix to the cassette deck or do you want to feed tracks on the computer to the four-track and mixdown on it?

/Ola
 
...then that's it - the speaker plug does have that line out icon - and the other has the line in - there are no other plugs on the card - I guess then you should run it from the middle (line out) plug to the input of the 4-trk and do what John suggested. Good luck. Malgo.
 
Everyone, thanks so much for the support(I sure need it!) To answer Ola's question, ideally I'd like to route the tracks from my computer into my 4-trk if at all possible and then mix them down into the cassette deck.

I will certainly try everyone's suggestions tonight and let all of you know what happens! Now, can I assist any of you? (I'm a outstanding jazz/pop singer w/years of formal training...)
I'm here if you need me!


siasia
 
Siasia2,

I'm also a jazz vocalist. Nice to meet another on the board. I think regebro has the right answer. You shouldn't need to use the 4-track for mixdown if Cubase can do it for you. I'm not that familiar with Cubase but I'm sure you can mixdown to stereo with it and then record a cassette with the line-out of your SB16 card. I have SBlive and can do it, so you should be able to with SB16.

Mark
 
Siasia2 - What you want to do is connect the speaker/line out on the soundcard to line inputs on the mixer. The line output on the computer is stereo so you can either plug it into a stereo input on the mixer or get a Y-cable that has a stero (TRS) 1/8" plug in one end and two mono ones in the other end and plug the two mono into two mono line inputs on the mixer. (Did that make sense?) Then, what John suggested.

/Ola
 
Siasia2 said:
Everyone, thanks so much for the support(I sure need it!) To answer Ola's question, ideally I'd like to route the tracks from my computer into my 4-trk if at all possible and then mix them down into the cassette deck.
Click to expand...

Skip the 4-track and go straight for the casette.
Or even better (if possible), mix to a WAV file on the computer, and just use the casette deck for making copies that you give away.
 
That'as it then: I'll mix and edit in Cubase and skip the 4-track and go straight for the cassette deck. Thanks everyone!
siasia
 
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