help! vista, no sound on sound!!!

[thedansound]

hey there,

i just bought a new laptop with vista in it and i installed my old n-track (3.3). it seems to work, levels light up, it records. i just can't hear my instrument as i'm playing along to a track. can anyone offer me guidance on how i can get my computer to work properly? regarding it's "path", i'm not too sure which path the program is supposed to be on.

thanks,

dan

 

[buckkillr8]

Are you using a interface to get into the laptop?

 

[thedansound]

at this point, i'm just using the in/out (mic/phone) inputs. that's all i have. i'm trying to get things restarted from scratch on a low/no budget. right now, i'm just trying to figure out how to get things working. before i buy an interface (like a USB mixer) i need to know that my laptop will be able to run a multitrack program with sound on sound and playback of both the track and the instrument monitor. can you offer any advice?

thanks!

 

[TimOBrien]

Still using a built-in soundcard?? Unfortunately, those are made with less than $1 worth of chips for beeps, boops and light gaming (not to mention cheapness for the manufacturer) and NOT music production.

#1 Rule of Recording: You MUST replace the built-in soundcard.

Here's a good guide and suggestions: http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm


As for N-Tracks, go into the PREFERENCES and set up the audio ins and outs.

 

[d.bop]

Although a decent interface is ideal, you don't need one to accomplish what you are trying to do.

All you need to do is plugin to your line-in jack (which it appears you have already done) then make sure input monitoring is turned on for the track you are recording. I've never used n-track but just about every daw available has this option.

The external audio interface will get you better sound quality and low latency ASIO drivers. For now, you can use ASIO4ALL if the delay from your playing and the output is too long.

Hope that helps!
-Dustin