Need help setting up multitrack recording on my PC!

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Beefbud
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Need help setting up multitrack recording on my PC!

Post by Beefbud » Tue Aug 30, 2011 2:41 pm

First of all, hello. This is my first post on the tape op message boards. I've been a subscriber for about 5 years now and have been doing my own home recordings for about 8 years or so. I love songwriting and recording and for the most part have only recorded myself. My gear is very simple/cheap/etc. and I'm at the point where I'm probably going to upgrade in the near future, but for now I'm sticking with what I have. I suppose I should list my set up first (don't laugh...):

- My PC is a Compaq Presario that I bought new in 2004. The only computer I've ever owned. It's maxed out at one GB of ram. I know, I know.
- I have an M-Audio Audiphile 2496 sound card. It fixed a big latency issue for me when I first started recording
- Now, plugged into the RCA ports of my sound card is a Behringer Xenyx 1622FX mixer that I bought off my friend a couple years ago.
- Software wise, I've been running Adobe Audition 1.5 for God knows how long. I've just gotten so used to it's interface that I've never really upgraded/moved on to anything else.

Now I have become very accustomed to recording one track at a time. Usually not a problem since I just overdub myself on different instruments...everything just records to one track at a time. When I first started recording I would just use one mic when I did drums. Now I do 2 or 3 since my mixer has 4 mic inputs, but when it gets recorded into Audition, it's all mixed down into one track! I basically try to get the best mix/EQ on the mixer BEFORE recording into Audition.

This leads to my question: is there any way I can get audition to recognize individual channels on my mixer? Or is there no possible way to do this since the mixer is just being plugged into dual RCA inputs?

Let me know if any additional info is needed, and also I'm sorry if this is not the correct board for this topic so feel free to move it, etc.

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Snarl 12/8
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Post by Snarl 12/8 » Tue Aug 30, 2011 3:58 pm

Looks like the Xenyx comes with USB. So, you should be able to get at least two tracks through that and then, if you can't do more than 2 via USB, you can do 2 tracks analog out of the Xenyx into the 2 ins on your M-Audio. The manual for Xenyx hopefully walks you through getting the USB working. I'm pretty sure it's a no brainer, plug it in and it works kindof thing. Unless it doesn't. (something's broken or not set up right.)
Carl Keil

Almost forgot: Please steal my drum tracks. and more.

Cyan421
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Post by Cyan421 » Tue Aug 30, 2011 11:09 pm

Your board has inserts on its first four channels. Those should be able to be used as outputs with a TS cable plugged in half way. Depending on how you monitor stuff, you could use the main outs, and the aux sends as outputs as well.

So that brings you to 6 outputs on your board total. I would guess the aux sends and main outs would be significantly noisier than using the inserts as "direct outs"

So you could get something like a m-audio delta 44. I think M-audio makes something that lets you sync their low end PCI cards together, so if you have an extra PCI slot in your computer you might be able to take advantage of 6 of your boards outputs with only another $150. Big IF i guess.
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Beefbud
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Post by Beefbud » Wed Aug 31, 2011 7:29 am

Thanks for the replies.

Snarl - I downloaded the drivers for the USB dongle and used it some, but I still think that will only work as two inputs. Point is, I can do the same on my soundcard that's already in my PC.

Cyan - I'm confused and intrigued by your first comment about using a TS cable plugged in half way to my inserts. I'll try messing around with these inserts when I get off of work, but if you could elaborate on this that would be great

So far though I've figured out how to record two separate mono tracks, but now I'd really like to shoot for four and I think I'll be set. I'm going through the main outs to the RCA ins on my soundcard. If I want to record two tracks at once, I pan one of the channels to the left and one to the right, otherwise each channel will show up on each recorded track.

Now what I'm hoping to do is set up the USB dongle for an additional two RCA ins, and I'm going to run from two sub outs on my board into those. See, each channel on my board has the option to send the signal to the main outs and/or the sub outs, so I think I could add two additional channels and just send them to the sub outs, pan each one like I did before, and send them to the USB ins. I'm hoping this will work.

Or maybe this is a stupid way to go about it. I'll just have to mess around some more.

mscottweber
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Post by mscottweber » Wed Aug 31, 2011 8:01 am

You MAY be able to use your rca outs and your usb out at the same time, but I kinda doubt it. You would have to get Audition to recognize 2 soundcards simultaneously, the Maudio as well as the Behringer. I would plug them both in and start searching through the settings and menus in Audition to see if you can do that.

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Nick Sevilla
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Post by Nick Sevilla » Wed Aug 31, 2011 8:10 am

mscottweber wrote:You MAY be able to use your rca outs and your usb out at the same time, but I kinda doubt it. You would have to get Audition to recognize 2 soundcards simultaneously, the Maudio as well as the Behringer. I would plug them both in and start searching through the settings and menus in Audition to see if you can do that.
Probably not possible on a PC. Unless they decided at Microsoft to copy the Macintosh "Aggregate Device" drivers and setup.

Cheers
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

Cyan421
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Post by Cyan421 » Wed Aug 31, 2011 12:57 pm

About using two pci cards:
So I looked it up more last night because I'm in the market for an audio interface. The old win XP drivers for the delta series cards had options to sync up to 4 cards in the software and tell your DAW that its basically one device with 8 or 12 or 16 inputs. Well the win 7 drivers cannot do this. So if you are using win 7 you have to get cards that have some physical sync plugins S/PIDF most likely at this level.

About your console's outs
http://www.mackie.com/pdf/archive/cr1604_om.pdf

Refer to page 13 and 16 for the way INSERTS act as DIRECT OUTS on this board. I'm not so sure beringer works the same way. The manual for your console I found online did not have much info on this. None at all in fact.
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Beefbud
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Post by Beefbud » Wed Aug 31, 2011 5:08 pm

So, I tried out using the Behringer USB interface in tandem with my audiophile sound card...and Audition actually recognized both! I had one channel running into the card and one into the USB interface and recorded two separate tracks somehow! I too was skeptical of this working since I basically tried to the same thing before but with an Mbox instead of the behringer USB interface, but to no avail (It could have just been because it wouldn't let me install the Mbox drivers because I didn't have ProTools on my computer) (It's my roommate's Mbox)

I am running XP and not Windows 7, so perhaps that is why it worked out.

I do have the physical manual for my Behringer, and like you Cyan found nothing helpful for my situation (there isn't really anything about the USB interface either, but maybe that has a separate manual that I didn't get from my friend)

So my next step is to order another dual 1/4" to RCA cable, and I think I'll be on my way to recording 4 tracks simultaneously.

Beefbud
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Post by Beefbud » Wed Aug 31, 2011 5:57 pm

Well, I finally got it worked out. The channel inserts work perfectly as outs, and just like you said Cyan, if they're plugged in halfway they don't interfere with the main mix. Now when this cable arrives I'll be able to multitrack up to four tracks at once! Thanks so much guys.

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Post by jhharvest » Thu Sep 01, 2011 10:55 pm

Good job, Beefbud! It's great when guys just work with what they have rather than start a mad shopping spree to fix a problem. Hit that record and make some music.

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