using the CDR on my PC with my 8trk digital recorder

[booboohendrix]

Dear Techs,
I've got a PC with CDR that I use all the time to burn (using MusicMatch jukebox). I've got a Roland 840-gx that I can use somewhat.?!
What I want to know is how I can take the tracks I lay down on my recorder and send them to the PC, then mix and master the tracks in order to burn, using the CDR.
I bounced all the tracks to 1 then sent it to the PC by coming from one of the outs on the recorder to the 'mic in' on the PC. I got it to the PC but the levels are all distorted. Any suggestions on a software program that would brakedown those tracks so that I could master them (if there is a program that could brake them down)?, or do I need to transfer one track at time to a program on the PC?
Hope you can help!

[Track Rat]

First of all, don't use the "mic" input. There should be a line in and that's what you'll want to use. Next is recording software. For two track stuff I like SoundForge but that'll cost you. There are some low bucks platforms out there (n-tracks and the like) that a lot of folks here use but I have no experience with those.Does that unit have a stereo out put?

[AlChuck]

I bounced all the tracks to 1 then sent it to the PC by coming from one of the outs on the recorder to the 'mic in' on the PC.

If you want to mix on the PC this approach is useless. You have to send the tracks one-by-one (or two-by-two into a stereo line input) and keep them as separate tracks. You need multitrack recording software for this; Sound Forge is a stereo editor, great for sound design, sample creation, mastering, conversion, etc. but it is not a multitrack program.

Once you have combined multiple tracks into a single one, there is no practical way to separate them back into the component tracks. (By the way "brake" is the part of a vehicle that stops it; you must mean "break.")

Track Rat is absolutely correct about your mic input, it is no doubt the reason your levels are all distorted. It's possible that your audio device on your PC has only a mic in; this is not uncommon on really cheap soundcards or motherboards with on-board audio hardware. But most have a stereo Line In too, where you will need one of those stereo miniplugs like the plug on Walkman headphones.

[booboohendrix]

Thanks guys for the tips. I have "master out" on my recorder which consists of L&R and A&B, which I think?? is the stereo out. I also have digital out (optical and coaxial). On my PC I only have one other 'in' besides the mic, that one is a single port which is black. I think cabling from the L&R to that black in will get me going in the right direction. Am I right?
One more Q? If I take one track at a time to the PC say into Sound Forge, then I can master and mix, what other tool(s) do I need to combine those tracks together on the PC in order to get a final product that I can burn?
Thanks for your patients guys, I'm really green at all of this.!?

[Fangar]

Hey guys,

booboo. If you go the one track at a time route, then Soundforge is not the App for you. It is a great one, but it is used for mixing a single track and adding fx, etc. If you want to dump one track at a time, then you need something like Vegas, cakewalk, etc like Alchuck mentioned. For what you are doing, use the line in on the PC card for the stereo outs on the back of the 8 track. Go to radio crack (shack) and get a stereo to 1/8" jack two neck to two RCA (or whatever it is) outs from the 8 track down. Also, you will need to monitor the line in levels for the sound card (under Adjust audio properties) to make sure that they are not too high. This will cause clipping and distortion (not the good kind). By dumping all at once, which is the only way that your machine will work as it does not have individual outs (or does it) you can get a simple .wav recording program that allows you to create .wavs from a line in source. In this case all of your mixing would have to be done before the signal went into the computer though. You should be able to get some decent sounds this way though. I used to do this every once in a while from my ADAT before I got a PCR card with optical ins. Most guys just get a nice Sound Card, and some other goodies and dump the track recorder all together.

Good luck

Fangar

[booboohendrix]

THANKS FANGAR,
SO I PROBABLY NEED A PROGRAM SIMILAR TO CAKEWALK, AND I THINK I SHOULD GET A BETTER SOUND CARD TOO. TWO QUESTIONS THOUGH, FOR DOING THE MIXING BEFORE I DUMP TO THE PC, DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ON A MIXER? AND THE OTHER QUESTION IS MONITORING THE LEVELS IN TO THE SOUNDCARD,SHOULD THE PROGRAM I GET FOR THE PC BE ABLE TO SHOW THOSE LEVELS?
THANKS A BUNCH,
BOO

[AlChuck]

Whoa, turn off the caps lock...

You don't need another mixer to transfer the track -- just transfer them at good levels and leave the mixing part to the recording software.

The soundcard manufacturer usually provides a control panel utility that lets you adjust the levels and routing; Windows also has a built-in one that some soundcards (the typical consumer stereo ones) can be controlled by.

[Fangar]

Boobooo,

Hey. I am not too familiar with the machine. Is it the one that I have attached below? If so, you would do your mixing on the machine itself without an external mizer before you dumped it to the PC. Another question. Does that machine have digital outs? I read something that it did, but might be mistaken. If so then you can get digital (Optical) in sound card and you would be in business. If there are no individual track outs, then the only way you are going to be able to use the machine is as a dump unit. You won't be able to use it as a computer interface unless you can record one track at a time, dump it down to PC and somehow sync the next one that you record. Something like an ADAT has 8 innputs and 8 individual outputs (one for each track). This allows you to send each track out of the machine istead of only all of the tracks to a stereo out. Also, they have an optical output that allows you to send all 8 outs through 1 light-pipe or fiber optic cable, and by using software in the PC, you can keep them all separate for mixing on the PC. Your machine seems much like a digital or hard disk 4 or 8 track that is all self contained. I think it was designed to record and mix, then dump to cassette or CD via an external device. Give me some more info on how it is used if I have missed something.

Fangar

[Fangar]

Forgot the image:

[booboohendrix]

THATS MY DOG (THE ATTACHMENT I MEAN). IT DOES HAVE DIGITAL OUTS-FIBER OPTIC & COAXIAL. SO IT SOUNDS LIKE IF I GRAB A PROGRAM (SOMETHIN LIKE CAKEWALK), A GOOD SOUNDCARD WITH FIBER 'IN' , AND A FIBER TO HOOK IT ALL TOGETHER, I'M IN BUSINESS. RECORDING, MIXING, AND BURNING!
THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP GUYS, AND IF I'M MISSING ANYTHING ELSE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
BOO!

[AlChuck]

Yeah, you're missing this:

ALL CAPS IS MUCH HARDER TO READ AND IT COMES OFF LIKE YOU ARE SHOUTING AT LEAST YOU USE SOME PUNCTUATION THOUGH AND SPELL PRETTY WELL WHICH IS HELPFUL TOO BUT YOU ARE GOING TO DRIVE PEOPLE NUTZ IF YOU KEEP DOING IT LIKE THIS PURPOSEFULLY EXTREME AND OVER-THE-TOP EXAMPLE

[Fangar]

Good luck Boo... And yeah like Chazz stated lay off the CAPS. Let us know how it goes.

Fangar

[booboohendrix]

Thanks to all you guys, especially you Chuck, for all the help in English and Typing class. Are you a teacher or just a critique freak?

[AlChuck]

Are you a teacher or just a critique freak?

Neither, I just get annoyed when people ignore the simplest, most-widely-known, most commonly-accepted norms for communication.

If you went up to someone you never met before and started shouting at the top of your lungs at him, would you expect him to become a fast friend? Probably not.

Reading and writing to a internet forum is a bit more detached than face-to-face communication, but the same basic elements apply.