NEED HELP with recording vocals into USB Interface!

[Samwise_55]

Hey guys, so here goes my (rather newbish i'm sure) question -

I am trying to record hip hop vocals into a Presonus Audiobox USB Interface, using a Rode NT1-A Condenser Mic and Adobe Audition 3.0. As the Interface is 2 channel and the mic only uses one, i have read that a mono vocal track is all you can possibly get because: 1 mic = 1 input = mono. My complicated question (which i cannot find the answer for anywhere) is - Surely this can't be the way that you are supposed to record your vocals over an instumental? I've been told that you can mix the track so that it becomes stereo later, but even so, HOW can you (if possible) record your vocal track so that when listening back straight away, you hear your voice you just recorded, through both headphones?? I am unable to judge how good anything sounds when hearing a quieter, half vocal track in one headphone ear (mono i assume), let alone figure out how to convert anything to stereo, so i am STUCK!! Is it meant to be this way?

If anyone out there understands what i am saying/asking, your help would be greatly appreciated. I can't find the answer or people talking about this on forums anywhere, and it's driving me crazy. If i could just learn if this is how vocal recording with my setup is meant to be, or any other explanation/slight solution that would help me move forward with this issue i would be saved!

Thanks for your time, please throw me some advice if you can! Feel free to ask any questions, i'll get back straight away

 

[bouldersoundguy]

Looking at the manual for the Audiobox it doesn't appear that it can send a mono input to both channels of the monitor mix, which is unbelievably stupid. Maybe someone here who knows more about that particular interface can tell you how to get around this. Something like a Behringer HA4700 headphone distribution amp would help you manage monitoring.

The volume problem may be solved by adjusting the headphone level and Mix knob. You may also have to lower the level of the backing tracks.

 

[presto5]

You are supposed to record your vocals in mono...Actually I`m pretty sure you are supposed to record everything in mono and pan the tracks in your mix to get a stereo sound on the completed project. Thats what I do. I have the Presonus Audiobox BTW and it works great. I also use AA3...Let me know if you figure out how to use the Loopology tracks or MIDI at all for that matter in that program. Im baffled. If you want to get a stereo effect on your vocals just duplicate the track move the new one down and over a little bit pan each one and there you go. Hope this helps..

 

[presto5]

Oh and mono comes through both headphones.

 

[GazEcc]

Mono means from one source, but the instrumental track will already be stereo, so when you have recorded the mono vocal track over the stereo instrument track it becomes part of the stereo session and will be exported as so, if your only hearing it in one output then try panning it center of the mix

 

[bouldersoundguy]

HOW can you (if possible) record your vocal track so that when listening back straight away, you hear your voice you just recorded, through both headphones?? I am unable to judge how good anything sounds when hearing a quieter, half vocal track in one headphone ear (mono i assume), let alone figure out how to convert anything to stereo, so i am STUCK!! Is it meant to be this way?

Okay, wait a second, I think I missed this. You're playing back the track and it's quiet and only on one side of the stereo mix? I thought it was a live monitoring problem.

You may be recording a mono source to one side of a stereo track. That would make it sort of stuck to one side of the stereo mix. You should be setting up the track you want to record to as a mono track from the beginning, before you actually record to it. Then it should start out in the center. If you need to use the tracks you already recorded there should be some facility in your DAW to convert it to mono by discarding the blank side.

What I said earlier about lowering your backing track in the DAW still applies.

 

[presto5]

Yeah that is probly what is happening...you can tell by looking at the wave form. It would only be showing up on 1 half...either top or bottom...In Adobe you need to click on your inputs and change them to mono before arming the track. it will say Audiobox USB with the little arrows and one will say master. You want the top one (the input) set to mono and the bottom one (Master..the output) set to stereo.