New N-Track user

  • Thread starter Thread starter smalltowner
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smalltowner

New member
Hi! I am on vacation so I get to play around and hopefully set up my computer as a basic home studio before 1/1/02! (Thus all the posts!)

Anyway, I am using a Midiman Audio Buddy to get my MIC and electric acoustic Guitar to my computer. THey are plugged in to my Turtle Beach Montego II sound card. I think this is OK, because I clearly here the guitar in my left computer speaker and the vocals from the MIC in the right speaker. However, when I use the free trial copy of N-Tracks to record ( I just downloaded yesterday) , on playback I hear the vocals fine, but I can barely hear the guitar. Again when I am playing they both sound fine. I am new to all this and would have posted in NEwbies, but since I am using N-tracks....Oh, and I am NOT a too technically inclined or computer saavy, but I am willing to try directions if you have any!

Thanks again, my wife wants to hear what I am doing locked away in here.....so help!

:?)
 
Oh one more thing

The levels appear to move OK (in the N-Tracks), when I strum the guitar or vocalize into the Mic......
Thanks again!
 
go into settings on the recording VU meter and under channels choose "stereo-2 mono tracks"...when recording, make sure your levels on both channels are good....then play it back panning both tracks center and see if the problem is still there.....
 
Thanks Gidge....still won't work

Well I can't figure this out. When I am not in the N-tracks everything sounds good as decribed in my earlier post. I did select "Stereo-two mono tracks". But as I look at the recording VU meters, i see that whatever I have plugged in to preamp two of my Audio Buddy has real low sound quality and barely moves the levels. And whatever is plugged into preamp one is fine.
Ugh!
I just wanna make some musik!
 
try taking the plug out of preamp 1's output and switch it with preamp 2's and see if the problem moves to the other side...that would indicate a bad cord....

to obvious but do you have the level turned up on preamp 2?.....
 
Damn cable!

Gidge you're a genius. I did switch the outputs and the problem reversed, so I am hoping it is the cable. i'll get another today and check it out.

Do you or anyone else know about sound cards? My sound card has three inputs:
One is Stereo line output, the other two are Mic line in and Stereo line in. COuld I use the latter two and plug my guitar into the stereo line in? (Thus using two cables instead of oe with a aplit end?)
I already know the Mic lin in would work, because that is what I am plugged into now....
Thanks again.
 
You should be using the stereo line in only....the mic is usually only used for those funky computer mics.....the line out is for hooking up to headphones,speakers,etc.....
 
Towner..
Both inputs on your card connect to the same Analog/Digital converter. So, even tho' there are 2 inputs, there's no way to seperate them. Use one or the other; preferably the LineIn. The MicIn preamp on most sound cards are junk.

Use the channel volume controls on your Buddy to adjust the individual instrument volumes (guitar & voice). Use Windows Volume Control to adjust the master volume into N-Track (slide LineIn up & down).

Since your sound card is dual channel (stereo), you can pan the guitar channel on your Buddy hard left and the voice channel on your Buddy hard right. That should totally isolate the vocal from the guitar (except for any live sound of your guitar picked up by your vocal mic, of course). Now, you've got 2 seperate n-Track tracks; one with purely guitar, one with purely vocal.

From here, the now, legendary directions on the backside of a frisbie come to mind.. "Flip.. Fly.. Experiment". :)

Hope this helps some.


tj
 
Thanks all!

One last question I am a little embarrassed to ask, yet I do so anyhow... Where are the controls to Pan the tracks? Within N-tracks? Cause I cannot find them! My mind is a bit frazzled, I am wathcing our 16 month old as I try to figure this all out, and our dog keep trying to crawl under the computer desk to lie at my feet....Not excatly a professional set up I know!

Thanks!
 
You have two options.

First, you could click on the track you want to work with on left side of the window, right by the track's name. This will bring up the channel strip for that track. There will be a pan knob there.

You could also click on the mixer icon on the top menu bar. When the mixer window opens, you'll see a channel strip for each track, plus all your master controls. Each track will have its own pan knob on its channel strip.

I could be slightly off, but I'm at work and am going by memory here. It should still be fairly easy to figure out, though.
 
There is an icon on the menu bar up top that opens the mixer.Each track will have a fader with the pan knob just below.
Tom
 
(sigh) If only I did have fast musical fingers. I wonder if it's too late to add them to my Christmas list?
 
Thanks and Thanks....

Been busy with Holiday stuff in our household and have not had a chance to play with N-tracks or get on the computer in a few days, but I wanted to thank you all for your advice. Enjoy the Holidays!
(I'll let you know if I get it working!)

Peace.
mike
 
One last try

Well, I cannot get this operating correctly. I finally figured out which input in my sound card was the stereo line in. So I am plugged into that from my two source Audio Buddy, (Guitar and Mic). When I open N-Tracks it doesn't register any levels for either instrument/source.

If I plug my Audio Buddy into the Mic In input on my sound card, I can at least register levels for one of the instruments, and very faint levels for the other instrument. But from what I have been told, I should be plugging my intruments through the pre-amp, (Audio Buddy) into the stereo line in on the sound card. I tried opening the track mixer , but cannot figure out how to increase levels so I am registering on the N-tracks VU meters.

I can hear both intstrukments fine through my Computer speakers, so it can't be the connecetion, can it?

One last thing , I tried to record on the One Minute Windows Digital recorder as described at homerecording.com and that did not work either......

Thanks...very...much.

Mike
 
WHOOPEEEEEEEE!

IT works it works it works!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I now realize there are so many places within the computer that you have to make sure all the levels are set OK (Recording AND playback), prior to even setting the N-Tracks. I am on my way to avanced Newbie hood!!!!!!!!!!

Watch out Sgt. Peppers....

Thanks you all! Peace!
 
smalltowner,

In the lower right corner of your screen (the "tray"), you'll should see the little speaker for adjusting the audio properties. (Mine is yellow.) If you double click it, the playback mixer for windows comes up. Click Options, Properties, and choose Recording instead of Playback. You might need to tweak those volumes or enable certain sources from the recording properties. HTH.
 
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