What Interface for real time monitoring on a laptop?

[ido1957]

So continuing on with my problem - I cannot monitor my USB signal from my board using the headphone jack

Maybe there is an alternate solution that involves buying something new... lol!

My current connection is:
Guitar->Mixer->Main RCA Outs->USB Converter->USB Port on my laptop.

I cannot hear my guitar through the laptop headphones while recording to Cakewalk. I can hear any previously recorded tracks but just can't hear my guitar as I play along. I need to hear both my original track and my new track at the same time.

What interfaces willl allow me to monitor both new and existing source through headphones while recording? (PCMCIA card or USB).

 

[Bulls Hit]

That's a pretty fundamental requirement. What's your usb interface & which cakewalk app are you running?

 

[ido1957]

That's a pretty fundamental requirement.

True - and very frustrating because it doesn't work.

What's your usb interface & which cakewalk app are you running?

Cakewalk 9.0 and the USB port on my laptop, no interface per se, just the port.

 

[Bulls Hit]

What's the "usb convertor" you're using? Does it come with a s/w routing Control Panel?

 

[ido1957]

I ordered a UCA202 from eBay and got it in less than a week This cool little interface was recommended by RayC who has one. I was pleasantly surprised that it worked just as I had hoped/needed. I can hear the .wav file I loaded into Cakewalk and I can hear my guitar while it is being recorded.

Guitar->amp->mic->mixer->UCA202->USB port-Cakewalk.

You have to watch the level coming from the mixer into the UCA202 interface otherwise you get crackling. I'm assuming that is digital overload. The resulting recorded signal seems a bit low - maybe -18 to -8 in range but that's lots of headroom and I can increase that in Sound Forge.

The .wav file originally in Cakewalk needs to be fairly loud to hear it on the headphones, so -4 or so seems to blend okay with the guitar level.

So for $25 it suits my needs ok - I didn't want to spend too much in case the thing didn't work....I may upgrade later but for now it does the trick....

 

[XLR]

I hope it works out well for you. As far as USB interfaces, I use a Tascam US122 some of the time and really like its direct monitoring of incoming signals, and its flexibility re monitoring in general. It has good controls for headphone level, input source level, and other practical stuff. Monitoring is such a balancing act. The US122's pre's and converters are OK too.

 

[Nick98338]

Any interface that has "direct monitoring", or an "internal mixer" will allow you to hear what has already been recorded, plus what is coming into one, or more, of the input ports. I do this all the time for practicing. For me, the thing that really makes it happen is the headphone amplifier. Usually, the volume of the recorded stuff is rather high, and the volume of the input of my guitar is rather low. To get the mix even, I have to bring the volume of the recorded stuff way down. Then, to get the whole mix up to a decent level, I send the mix through the headphone amp. Or, I can send the mix to speakers through a stereo amp. Either way works great.