Mixing help

[Blindfire]

this is a problem, that permits me from recording. Lots of amaeture artists were perplexed by my problem. I use Sonar 4 producer edition, i have a soundblaster audigy 2 sound card (not real good). I plug in a like a wire(some purple radio shack wire) to my line-in port on my soundcard then to my input on my pod 2.0. Lets say i have a track thats distortion and its a riff. Then lets say i add another track and its distortion, except its like a solo. When i play both of these tracks they are horrible, distorted etc. Lets say i have a full arrangement of drums bass and 2 guitars, its distorted, even after i pan guitars left and right. Maybe its the way iam recording? I usually record while the other tracks are playing is that a problem? my other system specs are amd atholon2100xp 1.7ghz+ 512mbram.

[scrubs]

I'm not really clear on your question. It sounds like you may be overloading your soundcard, which is causing clipping. First, try turning down the output volume on your POD. Also look at the volume preferences for your soundcard in the control panel. Make sure the line in is set at a reasonable level. You may have to turn it down, so you don't get the clipping.

Not sure about the drums and stuff.

[aaroncomp]

Yes, please descibe in better detail what's happening - are you clipping out, etc?

And to save Bruce the trouble:
Mixing 101

[gordone]

Why are you plugging an input into an input????

Originally Posted by Blindfire

I plug in a like a wire(some purple radio shack wire) to my line-in port on my soundcard then to my input on my pod 2.0.

[scrubs]

Originally Posted by gordone

Why are you plugging an input into an input????

Good catch.

[Blindfire]

where else should i plug it into? maybe a trash can will work Ok umm when i play the whole song together i its just a bunch of mess and its loud and it has an uneasy feel, tough to explain sounds like a really bad distortion guitar, even when all the tracks are on clean.

[chessrock]

Gain staging. Gain staging. Gain staging.

[chessrock]

Originally Posted by Blindfire

where else should i plug it into?

Damn, I missed that one. Outputs should be connected to inputs ... and vice-versa. Out > in > Out > in.

[scrubs]

Originally Posted by Blindfire

...some purple radio shack wire...

everyone knows that purple adds distortion. some people call it "warmth" but they are idiots...

Seriously, though, did you try what I suggested the first time? Go to your control panel for sound devices (advanced options) and TURN DOWN the fader for the line-in. Turn it down to halfway, record something, and see if it is still distorted.

Also, the output from your pod (line out) should be connected to the line-in of the soundcard, as has already been pointed out. If you can control the output gain on your pod, try turning that down as well.

I am still unclear what the exact problem is, but it seems that you are getting clipping somewhere, and your soundcard is a likely culprit. Follow the above suggestions and, if that doesn't fix it, let us know.

[Sennheisersucks]

I had the same exact problem with Guitar Tracks 1(ah, those were the days, when whatever I did was just so cool). Back to reality, set up your sound card right. There's a tab up top under audio. Remember when u first loaded the prog and it said "We're gonna take 5 years to profile your audio card"? Well you're lookin for the same thing. I havent bought Sonar 4 yet, but I have installations 1-3 and you click on "profile hardware". If that doesn't work, I've found setting your latency rate way below safe worked too. It's amazing. I just keep buying cakewalk cuz I'm familiar with it and I've encountered this on more than one occasion. I'm not a pro so don't send me any viruses if I'm digging your hole deeper.

[Sennheisersucks]

Until you've sorted all this out, its a good idea to keep the volume control right up top so you can see how your soundcard feels about the whole mess. Good luck and let me know what you did to fix it.