Transferring stereo mixdown to computer in real time

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ricklh
  • Start date Start date
Ricklh

Ricklh

New member
I just realized that instead of transferring my two-channel MR-8 mix to my computer via .wav files, I could just do it via the stereo out jack from the MR-8 and routed to my sound card, then make the transfer in real time to Easy CD Creator's Sound Editor. Cool! Do you MR-8 user's ever do this instead of the USB .wav method? I have transferred my mixdown via my CF card reader but the input level was quite low, so I gotta try this. One thing about the Easy CD Creator Sound Editor I like is the green graphic audio display, I can edit and add effects, etc. Plus, I can go through my Hughes SRS 3D enhancement box - this stuff is all coming together!
 
Sounds like to me you are ready for N-track. One thing with going the N-track USB route is that you do not do a mixdown on the MR-8. Just transfer the tracks separately and then do the mixdown in N-track. It has all kinds of effects and you can download more for free. I'd say buy N-track for $49 and leave the Easy CD Creator for what it is made for. Burning CDs. If the sound editor was that good in Easy CD everyone would be using it, but ask most of the people in this forum what they use. N-track.
 
The problem with that approach is you are doing more A/D conversions to get the sound on the CD. If you use USB, the original WAV sound is what goes on the CD.

As a general rule, one loses some details and quality with each A/D conversion.

Ed
 
Thanks to both kdgospel & Ed. I'll keep those suggestions in mind. But, I'll let you know my results from my method. kdgospel, you familiar with Tracktion Software?
 
Ricklh said:
Thanks to both kdgospel & Ed. I'll keep those suggestions in mind. But, I'll let you know my results from my method. kdgospel, you familiar with Tracktion Software?
Click to expand...
I'm not familiar with that software. When I started I researched several multi-track programs and settled on N-track because of price and ease of use.
 
MIx transfer

I tried Rick's method, but my pc soundcard inputs just weren't up to the job - poor quality. So I got an M Audio Transit SPDIF/USB interface, which works great (24 bit). Now I use my PC like a digital recorder.

BTW, kdgospel is right about N Track, great for mixing, but it doesn't provide any audio editing, you'd need to get something else to do that, but there's some great shareware wav editors out there.

'Orc
 
mixdown to pc

I used Ricks method with my 4 track cassette and worked well but not through cd creator. Power Tracks from Pro Audio is half the price on Ntrack and works as well. Manual mixing has it's advantages but only if your limited to tracks
 
well, guys, thanks for the tips - it doesn't really matter now. Here was my situation: on my old Gateway I was running Windows 98 which I could not transfer .wav files via USB with the Fostex MR-8. We got a new computer this year with Windows XP which is compatible with the Fostex, so now I'll just do the .wav transfer and keep it all digital. I did, however, transfer some stuff last night I had recorded a couple months ago, coming out of the headphone jack of the Fostex going to my sound card into Easy CD Creator, burned it to cd. Sounds great on playback, but the next time I'll just do it digitally.
 
pjh6467 said:
I used Ricks method with my 4 track cassette and worked well but not through cd creator. Power Tracks from Pro Audio is half the price on Ntrack and works as well. Manual mixing has it's advantages but only if your limited to tracks
Click to expand...

I looked up Power Tracks, it looks pretty cool. For 29 bucks, I just may have to get that. How good is the cd-rom tutorial that comes with it?
 
I use Power Tracks and love it. It supports up to 48 tracks and has lots of effects and options.

One really handle feature is the ability to store slider moves for a song. That way when you go back 6 months later, all your slider changes, used during the song, as still saved with the mix data.

Ed
 
n track

i checked out power tracks, seems a bit limited

n does record fader and balance and effects paramaters, but there are better ways of doing it, by recording slider movements its too cpu intensive. using volume envelopes and the other envelpes offered, uses much less ram, freeing up for the 88 tracks available in n track

couldnt find if power tracks uses vstplug effects or not

quote(Manual mixing has it's advantages but only if your limited to tracks)????
arent all systems limited to tracks???? is there another way to mix a song other then manually????

as usuall, ed is right on with the a/d conversion, if you are going to run into your sound card, you dont need the mr8 at all, just set n track to record....

does power tracks record also? i dont know
 
Last edited:
Power Tracks can use VST plugins I use them here.

Once the slider movements are recorded, they are stored in an event list that can be edited. This results in very low CPU needs for this part. You can also handle stored fader and balance changes as well. I usually just edit the list as that is quicker than recording the slider movements.

Ed
 
Last edited:
i see

That opens lots of doors for effects(vst's). Hey like i said, your usually right on with this stuff ed, you are a valuable resource to this board, i thank you for everyone involved....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top