HELP, problems related to soundcard! i think1

R

rane

New member
hi, i have a new computer, and this has arisen many new problems in cooledit that i have not encountered with my last few computers.

teh first problem is: when i press record, teh INSTRUMENTAL is recorded along with my vocals??? why???

this also happened last night when i played a song in winamp by accident while recording, and it recorded the song playing!

(note: i do have headphones on, and i thought that maybe they were too loud. but i placed them far away and the instrumental still recorded. )



secondly: when i record, and just idle the mic, without saying anything, the wavelenghts seem to be at about -20 dB, which is horrible. they used to be at a decent -70 to -80 range.

why is this??



and lastly, again, when i record and idle my mic, the wavelenghts appear BELOW teh center line. this has never happened before. an individual suggested that perhaps my MIC BOOST option was on, but i checked it plenty of times and i can confidently say it is NOT on.

well.. thanks for the help in advance.

oh, and im working with an integrated soundcard from a dell computer, a cheap best buy XLR to 1/4" (or is it 1/8") cable, and, yeah.. i will be upgrading to an emu1820 and a mogami xlr cable, but despite my rahter cheap equipment, ive never had these problems before.

im actually debating whether the problem roots from my soundcard (even if the computer is new the soundcard may be cheaper than my former one, which my godfather built), and/or, my cheap mic cable. but i doubt its teh latter.


well thanks for the help, i tried posting this in other boards but no responses as of yet. i hope i get some form of help here :/
 
It is your sound card setup. You have to tell it not to record the output of the soundcard. The waveform that is below the line sounds like negative DC current. You need to get a different soundcard. One designed for what you are trying to do.
 
and lastly, again, when i record and idle my mic, the wavelenghts appear BELOW teh center line. this has never happened before. an individual suggested that perhaps my MIC BOOST option was on, but i checked it plenty of times and i can confidently say it is NOT on.
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You could be out of phase--however, there could be a negative bias as well, like the previous post said. Both are possible, especially with a crappy sound card. Try upping your sampling rate.
 
Being out of phase would not appear as an voltage offset, cornjchob2, it would affect the magnitude of the waveform amplitudes, not skew them. DC offsets occur because the signal is not grounded properly. Most recording software has a DC offset function that will correct for this.

And Farview, having a DC offset present does not mean he needs a different soundcard, one that is designed what he is trying to do. Signal-chain problems upstream of the soundcard are probably what's causing his offset. If it's the soundcard, he'll have one with everything, and it's also correctable with the DC offfset function inthe software.
 
Being out of phase would not appear as an voltage offset, cornjchob2, it would affect the magnitude of the waveform amplitudes, not skew them.
Click to expand...

Wow...in hindsight, I'm wondering what I was thinking. Thanks for the slap.
 
Well I'll just take a stab in the dark here .....
Lets say Windows .... OK
First problem .... yes it's the crappy integrated sound chip.
Second .... you are using the Mic input of said crappy sound chip ... no no + no no = double no no. No wonder you have such a horrible noise floor.

First fix .... get a cheap preamp and use the Line In .....
Second fix .... get a better soundcard and use it's Line In .....

Now the problem with bleed of other tracks ..... You don't have the soundcard set to record from the proper input .... :eek: Say What? You say.
Sounds that way to me .......
Provided this is a Windows system we are talking about ....
Double click the little speaker by the clock ..... click Options, then Properties ... Now select "Record" .... place a check mark at all of the option for controls to be shown ..... click OK ..... now make sure Line In (well Mic In for you ... for now ... till you get yourself a decent preamp) is selected as the input you want to record from. Do not have "Stereo Mix" or "What you hear" or whatever that internal sound chip calls it's summing of all channels. You must use "Mic In" or best yet "Line In".

-Ken
 
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