Introducing a new newbie

[PBerg]

Hi this is just the site I've been looking for.
I've just set up my little studio in the spare room, spent buckets of money on the computer and monitors and now i have to learn how to use it all.
I have:
PC Computer with a 1gig chip, 256MB Ram, 40gig HD CD ROM and CDR
I bought a Steinburg package including a ST 24/96 sound card with Cubase VST 5 and Wavewlab 2

I use a Beringer MX602A 4 channel mixer

My monitors are Tannoy Reveal Active.

For midi I use a Roland JV50 Keyboard

Now for my first question.

Having already recorded a midi track I now want to record an audio track. How do I not record the midi track onto the audio track and still be able to monitor through headphones both sounds ie here the midi and what I am playing(trumpet). My mixer has no mute fuctions on it other than the volume knob, but if I turn it down I can't monitor it.

Question 2

My sound card has optical in out and RCA plugs and Phono plugs ( I'm only using these for in and out)what are the optical and RCA plugs for.

Thanks Paul

 

[AlChuck]

Yeah, I have a cheap Behringer mixer too and it's annoying that the headphone output cannot be adjusted independently of the main mix. What I do is simply turn off my speakers (Alesis M1 Actives) and listen through the phones.
The optical port is a S/PDIF digital port -- stereo digital. This allows you to get already-digitized signals in and out of the card without leaving the digital domain. Example -- if you have a Johnson J-Station or a POD Pro guitar amp modeler, you would be better off using their S/PDIF outputs to get the signal to the computer-- it's already been digitized in the modeling device, so why bother turning it back to analog only to immediately digitize it again through the analog inputs into the soundcard? (I'm not sure if the particular devices I cited there have an optical or coaxial electrical connection, so you might need a coax-to-optical converter in the chain). The RCA cables -- I'm not sure. Could either be alternate analog inputs, or coaxial S/PDIF i/o. Check the soundcard manual, it should say.