problems with recording

[stillhere]

A few days ago I was trying to record some drum tracks for my friends band. We had a basic micing set up (snare, hi-hat, kick, and two overheads). The problem I ran into was when we would record along with previously recorded tracks, the tracks would get more and more out of time as the recording progressed. The equipment I am using is an echo layla 24, mackie mixer, my new computer with adobe audition on it, and miscellaneous microphones. The one problem I can think of would be that since we were using my computer's sound card for playback and the echo interface for recording the signals were not processed at the same rate. I don't know what else could be the case. When we recorded the drum tracks or even a keyboard track with vocals and guitar, everything that was recorded at the same time was in time with each other. It was when we tried to record drums while listening to the keys, vocals, and guitar and even a metronome track on some occasions that the recordings were out of time with each other.
Please help, I really want to help these guys out and eventually have something for my portfolio. Right now, I am at a loss.
Thanks.

 

[Kevin Deschwazi]

Try a search here on 'latency'. It's a common issue with computer recording and so a lot of useful stuff can be found on the site already.

 

[EVT]

I always record drums first. I find it difficult to add drums in later unless it's just simple percussion style drums.

Drums hold everything together... with bass is usually the first thing to record.

Can you just play along with the other tracks and just shut off the metronome?

evt

 

[stillhere]

What we did was make a computer drum beat, which i was referring to as a metronome but was an actual kick/snare beat, that was the same tempo as the song and then recorded the guitar, keys, and vocals along with that. the guitar keys and vocals were all in time with each other. then we muted the computer drums and recorded the real drums along to the guit/keys/vox parts of the song. when we played them back together the drums were all in time with each other and the guitar/keys/vocals were in time with each other, but the two groups (drums & keys/vox/guit) were not in time with each other.

 

[giraffe]

i'm afaraid it's user error

get LOUD headphones and learn to listen better
CRANK the click track if tare is one
this is not easy, good luck

my kits always go on last, so i'm used to playing to a click, but it takes a while.

 

[DonF]

...we were using my computer's sound card for playback and the echo interface for recording ....

This is the most likely cause of the problem. Unless you find some way to synchronize the sound card with the Echo (which is difficult at best and impossible at worst), they will drift over time. Can you monitor through the Echo while recording?

 

[tubesrawsom]

Drums first or your music is cursed.

 

[tangerine]

Check that the sample rate during play back is the same as the sample rate you are recording at if one is out with the other this can cause timing problems you usually get static sounding clicks aswell. As previously mentioned try checking the latency, if you are recording at a sample rate of 44,100 you want to be looking at a DMA buffer size of about 7 miliseconds. There are two other alternatives as you are using audition try editing them in time, this is not ideal but with a bit of perseverence and patience a top result can be achieved, or two take note of all the helpful advice and record the tracks again. This time when recording them record the click first and play to that remembering to give yourself a count of four or even eight, oh and when you,ve recorded them lock the tracks in place so no trcks get shifted out of place.

Good luck

 

[stillhere]

thanks guys, i ran an experiment and found out the problem. i usually hook up one of the outs on the layla to a headphone amp and i just forgot to do that, it records in time when it is set up this way and it jumps out of time when done through the sound card. thanks for the helpful tips tho.