Zen and the art of finding it while....

[playas]

trying to record something simple in Cubase.

...My God, Iīm on the verge of sympathizing with rampaging serial killers.

Two nights ago I spent about an hour just registering it so I could use it and this evening Iīve spent over 4 hours with a mic plugged into my lexicon alpha, and havenīt succeeded in recording a single sound.

The grace period had run out so Iīd been procrastinating for months and I eventually got around to registering my Cubase LE5, that came with my Lexicon Alpha, this week.

Tonight I remember why I was so slow about getting around to it again. (Ok I admit I also have quite a tendency to put things off anyway...but holy crap this is frustrating stuff.) Iīll be going to bed no better off than when I started trying to figure out what I need to do over a period of four and a half hours.

The funny thing is that I bought the Alpha as I was looking for something quick and easy to get ideas down. Maybe I should look at some more straightforward software to start with before getting deeper into Cubase.


Thatīs my rant over - for now at least - please feel free to carry on about your business. Time to get stuck into the wine I think.

[uOpt]

Re: Zen and the art of finding it while....

At least we Linux people aren't the only ones screwed by messy audio software.

[CTN]

Re: Zen and the art of finding it while....

Get Reaper.

[playas]

Re: Zen and the art of finding it while....

I have a Debian distro installed too but after all the trouble I had with Audacity - and that was just with a headphone speaker - I gave up on trying to get anything working with it.

And Iīm an IT professional, but I guess working with computers all week leaves me very little patience for messing around with them more than absolutely necessary in my free time.

[playas]

Re: Zen and the art of finding it while....

Thanks Convoys, I think I will try it.

[uOpt]

Re: Zen and the art of finding it while....

I have a Debian distro installed too but after all the trouble I had with Audacity - and that was just with a headphone speaker - I gave up on trying to get anything working with it.

Linux and soundcards is a bit of a lottery, in particular as far as USB is concerned. I assume you are talking about a USB headset here.

I employ an army of these guys which work well with everything. Didn't try S/PDIF in under FreeBSD yet but everything else seems to do, including S/PDIF in Linux:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/130748007385?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

[Chickenwings]

Re: Zen and the art of finding it while....

i Use cubase. its fine. Its just that all good audio software takes a while to get used to using.

[playas]

Re: Zen and the art of finding it while....

Linux and soundcards is a bit of a lottery, in particular as far as USB is concerned. I assume you are talking about a USB headset here.

I employ an army of these guys which work well with everything. Didn't try S/PDIF in under FreeBSD yet but everything else seems to do, including S/PDIF in Linux:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/130748007385...84.m1423.l2649

Sorry I meant headphone mic, I was just recording voice through the headset using the standard 1/8" input with Audacity but could never get a decent sound level. It was always either just about audible or on the few occasions I managed to get the sound level at a decent level there was lots of noise (not caused by the quality of the mic).

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Zen and the art of finding it while....

Configuring Cubase to automatically sync to your interface can be very challenging!

One thing to make sure of is that your interface's firmware is up to date, and you are using the version of the driver appropriate for your OS. When Cubase is open, you select Devices > Device Setup. In that window, make sure your interface is selected as the ASIO driver.

To test, what I like to do is:

1. Plug headphones, amp, or powered speakers into your interface
2. Make sure the stereo output in Cubase is set to 0dB (Devices > Mixer)
3. Add an AUDIO track in Track View of Cubase
4. Select your interface as the ASIO driver
5. Select EDIT for the audio track you added
6. For the track insert (left side) add Tools > Noise Generator
7. Set the noise generator to output Pink Noise
8. You should be hearing pink noise coming out from your speakers/headphones

Setting the INPUT and MONITORING for Cubase is a bit different, but if you need help, post here and I will see if I can help you.

What version of Cubase are you running? I've been a Cubase user for years and am running 6.5.

[uOpt]

Re: Zen and the art of finding it while....

Sorry I meant headphone mic, I was just recording voice through the headset using the standard 1/8" input with Audacity but could never get a decent sound level. It was always either just about audible or on the few occasions I managed to get the sound level at a decent level there was lots of noise (not caused by the quality of the mic).

Oh, OK.

In general a line-in can't be used with a "real" microphone. There must be a separate input for mic level.

It could be a switch that switched a line in to be microphone sensitive, and such a switch might be in software and hard to get to in a Linux driver.

In any case, mic input of soundcards generally sucks. Regardless of OS, I would get some form of real music gear with balanced XLR in for the microphone, which might go out to USB or to line level.

[playas]

Re: Zen and the art of finding it while....

i Use cubase. its fine. Its just that all good audio software takes a while to get used to using.

I donīt doubt it, itīs just very frustrating right now.

Configuring Cubase to automatically sync to your interface can be very challenging!

One thing to make sure of is that your interface's firmware is up to date, and you are using the version of the driver appropriate for your OS. When Cubase is open, you select Devices > Device Setup. In that window, make sure your interface is selected as the ASIO driver.

To test, what I like to do is:

1. Plug headphones, amp, or powered speakers into your interface
2. Make sure the stereo output in Cubase is set to 0dB (Devices > Mixer)
3. Add an AUDIO track in Track View of Cubase
4. Select your interface as the ASIO driver
5. Select EDIT for the audio track you added
6. For the track insert (left side) add Tools > Noise Generator
7. Set the noise generator to output Pink Noise
8. You should be hearing pink noise coming out from your speakers/headphones

Setting the INPUT and MONITORING for Cubase is a bit different, but if you need help, post here and I will see if I can help you.

What version of Cubase are you running? I've been a Cubase user for years and am running 6.5.

Thanks very much, thatīs really useful.

Oh, OK.

In general a line-in can't be used with a "real" microphone. There must be a separate input for mic level.

It could be a switch that switched a line in to be microphone sensitive, and such a switch might be in software and hard to get to in a Linux driver.

In any case, mic input of soundcards generally sucks. Regardless of OS, I would get some form of real music gear with balanced XLR in for the microphone, which might go out to USB or to line level.

Yes it was a good headset and I was just recording speech, so nothing too demanding. When I decided to record guitar I bought a Lexicon Alpha and a decent instrument mic. The Alpha came with Cubase LE5, hence the change over.



Thanks very much for all the replies, I wasnīt expecting so much help as it was more a vent for my frustration than anything.

Iīm sure itīs the usual "something simple" that Iīm missing and will be kicking myself later. I think I need to allocate more time and on sequential days so that Iīm not forgetting steps from one use to the next and follow a more structured fault finding pattern instead of following tutorials that seem to be skipping the area where my problem is arising.

[playas]

Re: Zen and the art of finding it while....

Iīm going to add to this in case it is helpful for anyone else in the future. The main problem was not getting any sound on replaying what I recorded / tried to record.



I was hearing my recording loud and clear (via the Alpha) but the recording level in Cubase was either really low or there was nothing audible on replaying it.

It turned out that I just needed to set up the input and output as Stereo in Cubase, specifically in the VST connections and Device Setup.

Set-up in Mono I wasnīt getting any sound or any sound at a useable level.




Once I set it up as Stereo I was able to create the individual tracks in mono and only use the right side (using the left side there was also no / very little sound with the mic.) or use the left side with the instrument input.

Eg. Using the mic, when creating the individual track I had to create it as stereo (and live with no sound on the left channel) or create a mono track with the input as the right side and output as right side /left side / stereo. That worked fine.

Using the instrument input, just the reverse, i.e. input set to the left side.

I hope this makes sense, itīs not really that complicated when you do it.



...now to try and record something worthwhile....