output levels when recording 2 tracks

[J Wah]

How do you control the output to headphones of two tracks that are being recorded at the same time?

Here's what I was doing. I recorded drum on track 1. I then wanted to record guitar and vocals at the same time to tracks 2 & 3. I am recording through a mixer with guitar & vocs panned hard left and right, record vu meter set to split stereo track. I set the record levels for guit and vocs in n-track but once levels where set could not control the output level I heard through the headphones for these tracks. The n-track mixer let me set output for track 1 only, adjusting fader for thrack 2 & 3 did nothing. So I had the drums at a good monitoring level and the guitar and voc whereever the recoring level was set. What am I missing?

 

[Gidge]

well first get the levels of the tracks you are recording (guitar n vocals) where you want them as you already did, and then use the master channel volume control the set the drum track either up or down to a level where it is ok......

 

[J Wah]

You want all recording levels to be high right? Then you can set there playback level through the mixer. So if you record guitar and vocals at the same time, the recording levels for each track have to be about the same. What if you want to monitor the vocals louder than the guitar while recording them?

 

[Gidge]

I cant think of any way it can be done mixing in software....if you were going thru a mixer into a multi-channel soundcard you can do it.....If you are going in with both signals at the same db-level, theyll come out the same.......

 

[J Wah]

Gidge, thanks for your patience with this.

....if you were going thru a mixer into a multi-channel soundcard you can do it.....If you are going in with both signals at the same db-level, theyll come out the same.......

I am going through a mixer. When I record two tracks at once I pan them hard left and right and split the left & right to seperate tracks, so I basicly have a two channel soundcard.

Here is what I am doing. I run all sound sources through a Mackie 1202. I have the ALT 3-4 bus going to the left & right input of my sound card and the mains going to my amp and monitors. I have the soundcard output going to an inpt on the mixer so I can run it through the amp and monitors. When I record I send the channel(s) I want to record to the Alt 3-4 and monitor the recording by setting the control room source on the mixer (headphone in my case) to main mix, with the main mix consisting of only the souncard output channel. So I hear the channel(s) I am recording through the soundcard output. I use the n-track mix to adjust output levels of previously recorded tracks. I thought it would also adjust output levels of tracks being recorded but I guess it does'nt. If I adjust the channel level on the Mackie for recording channels (guitar and vocals at the same time) to the monitoring levels I want to hear while recording, it effects the recording level in n-tracks.

Is there a different way I should have this setup?

Thanks alot.