Recording Help Please

[Jeff_H]

It's no secret that I am a bit of a tard when it comes to computer issues, so no laughing please.

I'm working on recording the rhythm track for a cover project and I'm having an issue recording the guitar part. Here is what I am using (and yes it's outdated but I've never had any issues with it before):

Acid Pro 4
Boss GT-6 Effects Processor

I used this same combination to record all of my sound clips several years ago, but on a different, older computer. The computer I'm using now should be superior in every way.

The issue is that when I hit record it will record my guitar track, but only on the left side of the track, not on the right. When I used to record before, I would use either the (R) mono out into the sound card (mic in) and later learned that using the headphone out into the mic in yielded even better results. The problem with my old computer was that the sound card did not allow for playback AND recording at the same time. I had to burn the bass/drums to a CD, play it on a CD player while recording the rhythm or lead part into the program and then import the guitar part into the project.....time consuming but easy.

I am using a Gateway laptop, Core 2 Duo, T6600 2.2 GH Processors
500GB HD
4GB Ram
Realtek HD Audio Sound card (I think that's the name)

This soundcard allows me to playback tracks in my recording program AND record at the same time....except for the whole only recording one left side mono track, instead of left and right. Can anyone think of a reason I wouldn't be able to record properly?

Hardware issue?
Software issue?

Thanks in advance.

 

[innerdreamrecords.co]

Re: Recording Help Please

If I follow correctly you want a stereo signal from a mono source? I think you should just record the guitar to mono in Acid if it will let you and then record another pass for the other side.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Recording Help Please

Please describe the cable going from the GT to the soundcar's line in.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Recording Help Please

If I follow correctly you want a stereo signal from a mono source? I think you should just record the guitar to mono in Acid if it will let you and then record another pass for the other side.

No, mono is fine. Acid assigns a stereo bus for every track you record to, which shows input signal from the left and right side of the source, and whatever the source (mono out L or R, or headphone out from GT-6) it has always recorded on both sides. This is a totally new problem

Please describe the cable going from the GT to the soundcar's line in.

1/4" guitar cable out of the GT-6 (from either L out or R out) into a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter so it will plug into my soundcard (mic in). This is the same setup I used to use with no issues.

I've checked the cords, swapped positions and even changed cords. I've looked in the Acid manual and the GT-6 manual and they don't even address the issue in any way.

I'm thinking it must be either a Windows 7 setting or a setting within the microphone software. IDK. I can always hook up my old computer but its such a pain to have to burn the drum/bass track to a CD, play it in an external player, record the guitar part and then fix the inherent latency issues.

I need some newer, better software I'm sure (and maybe some hardware too), but that's not an option right now. Should the stock soundcard in my laptop be sufficient for home recording?

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Recording Help Please

The GT-6 does have a digital out plug, but I've never used it before and have no idea what kind of cable I'd need to go from the GT-6 to the soundcard in.

 

[innerdreamrecords.co]

Re: Recording Help Please

Hunt around in Windows for the "Sounds and Devices" (I'm on XP) and see if the input is set to the right device and is a stereo in. It sounds like that's where the problem is.

 

[innerdreamrecords.co]

Re: Recording Help Please

The GT-6 does have a digital out plug, but I've never used it before and have no idea what kind of cable I'd need to go from the GT-6 to the soundcard in.

The sound card needs a digital input too then you need a digital coaxial cable as I recall. I've been using the same system for years with a digital in to my M-Audio soundcard.

 

[Petrovsk Mizinski]

Re: Recording Help Please

Buy an audio interface.
You're just putting yourself through way more hassle than it's worth with your current setup.
The Realtek card is garbage for recording, as is practically any sound card that isn't a true audio interface.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Recording Help Please

The reason for the one channel only thing likely is that your new computer has a stereo in plug for the mic. Normally they are mono and hence they go to the middle. You should be able to remap that one input to just copy to output.

The best thing to do here is to use the opportunity to go stereo in the first place. Get a 2x 3.5mm mono to 1x 3.5mm stereo adapter and use the line in.

The Realtek might be fine if it has decent analog parts. No way to tell except trying.

The digital out of the GT-6 is S/PDIF. It's unlikely but not impossible that your laptop has S/PDIF in. What would be best sound quality wise is get a USB soundcard with S/PDIF in. But they can be dicey driver-wise and then you can't easily put anything (such as -say- a better reverb) between the GT-6 and the computer.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Recording Help Please

The reason for the one channel only thing likely is that your new computer has a stereo in plug for the mic. Normally they are mono and hence they go to the middle. You should be able to remap that one input to just copy to output.

+1

If remapping doesn't work why not just use a recording program to copy the Left side of your clip to the right side? Bam. Both channels will now play the recording back for you . . . and if you want to apply stereo effects in your computer, you can.

 

[DankStar]

Re: Recording Help Please

I'd change the track to mono, even though it used to work as the track set up in stereo. If it's mono, it'll have to comply with your demands like a little beyotch.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Recording Help Please

The reason for the one channel only thing likely is that your new computer has a stereo in plug for the mic. Normally they are mono and hence they go to the middle. You should be able to remap that one input to just copy to output.

The best thing to do here is to use the opportunity to go stereo in the first place. Get a 2x 3.5mm mono to 1x 3.5mm stereo adapter and use the line in.

The Realtek might be fine if it has decent analog parts. No way to tell except trying.

.

Thanks everyone for the tips and advice. This is what I will try first. I plugged back into my old computer and it accepts the input and the recording levels are just what they should be.

I may be explaining the recording problem wrong. What Acid does is takes any media I input or record and renders it to a "track". Regardless of the source it takes the track and there is a left side and a right side. I guess it's not really stereo. Anyhow, this way I can pan a sound all the way to the left or the right or keep it in the center. When I record a guitar track or a vocal track I cannot select which "side" to record it on.....Acid does it on both sides automatically. To check input levels there is a meter showing input DB's for the left and right side. On my old computer when I plug into the "Mic In" from my GT-6, it registers both sides of the input level exactly the same, as it should. This is a very old Dell Pentium 4 with the basic sound card.....but it works just fine for what I need. It's not studio quality but it's transparent enough to let the sound of my GT-6 come through. I just plug and play and it works the way it should with the most simple sound card out there. On my new computer, it will only recognize the left side of the input on the meter, with no way to select "the other side."

My new computers sound card must have this stereo input thing. I will try getting some new cables and then try messing with the settings in "sounds and devices". I've looked at this already but I'm somewhat dense when it comes to anything but standard settings.

If this thing is just plug and play with my 10 year old computer and soundcard, what I have now would have to be superior in every way, even if it is still "stock", it's better than what was stock 10 years ago.

Thanks for all the suggestions and help guys. I'll report back after I try the new cables and settings and let you know if I still have issues. It's not supposed to be this hard!!!!!!

 

[uOpt]

Re: Recording Help Please

As I said, take this as a hint to make the step to stereo recording and stop just doing one output from the GT-6.

I am surprised your laptop has separate line and mic inputs. Many only have one input.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Recording Help Please

The best thing to do here is to use the opportunity to go stereo in the first place. Get a 2x 3.5mm mono to 1x 3.5mm stereo adapter and use the line in.

Just to make sure I understand what to get (and I am going to take my laptop with all the cables to Radio Shack to make sure I get the proper ones). I am using a standard 1/4" cable OUT of my GT-6, into a 1/4 to 1/8" adapter so it will plug into my sound card. So I would take the 2x's mono (out of the L/R outputs of my GT-6) into the 1x3.5mm stereo adapter INTO my MIC IN spot on the laptop?

This stuff is easier for me if someone is showing me. I am very much a visual and auditory learner. Long story short, I need pictures! :lmao:

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Recording Help Please

As I said, take this as a hint to make the step to stereo recording and stop just doing one output from the GT-6.

I am surprised your laptop has separate line and mic inputs. Many only have one input.

I'm not sure my laptop has separate line and mic inputs. It just has 1/8" jack for Microphone in and another jack for Headphones it. Other than that, it's just 4 USB ports and a monitor out jack, HDMI out and Firewire.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Recording Help Please

Yeah, that explains it. You don't have separate line in and microphone in. You only have one input and of course it's stereo. If you had a separate mic in that would (most of the time) be mono, and that probably is how you did it on the old box.

You want to use something like this, but I would buy an adapter that has a cable, not this boxy thing. The boxy thing will easily break off your plug from the laptop:
http://cgi.ebay.com/100x-1-8-Stereo...aultDomain_0&hash=item45ef29a333#ht_935wt_907

 

[devastone]

Re: Recording Help Please

A real (usb) interface would be make life much better, not to mention sound much better. I understand the cost vs current employment situation though. So, to get through, use the headphone out and use a cable stereo cable with whatever adapters you need to keep the signal stereo.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Recording Help Please

There is no guarantee whatsoever that a random USB soundcard is any better than the onboard chip here. The sound quality is determined to a large part by the analog parts in front of the A/D converter, and we know absolutely nothing about that part, for either card.

The only thing that can safely assumed to be better is a card with S/PDIF in.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Recording Help Please

Yeah, that explains it. You don't have separate line in and microphone in. You only have one input and of course it's stereo. If you had a separate mic in that would (most of the time) be mono, and that probably is how you did it on the old box.

You want to use something like this, but I would buy an adapter that has a cable, not this boxy thing. The boxy thing will easily break off your plug from the laptop:
http://cgi.ebay.com/100x-1-8-Stereo...aultDomain_0&hash=item45ef29a333#ht_935wt_907

I saw something just like that when I bought my 1/4" to 1/8" adapter the other day. I'm going to take all of my components with me to Radio Shack just in case they want to see exactly what I am doing, so I get the right thing.

Thank you for your help!

A real (usb) interface would be make life much better, not to mention sound much better. I understand the cost vs current employment situation though. So, to get through, use the headphone out and use a cable stereo cable with whatever adapters you need to keep the signal stereo.

Yes, USB would be much easier. I do plan to upgrade as soon as circumstances allow. I would like to have a better recording program as well, although I've finally figured out how to make this one work. When I bought Acid at Guitar Center in 01' or 02', this is what the guy there recommended. I had a budget of $200 then and in hindsight could have ended up with something geared more towards recording songs. Acid is really isn't geared towards recording bass, guitar, drums or vocals, although it will do that.

Acid must have been something they needed to push out the door, and I was too uneducated to know any better. Back then I actually thought GC would sell you the product that would work best for you.....:lmao:

I'll let you all know if my new cable quest doesn't fix the issue.

 

[tone4days]

Re: Recording Help Please

a coupla things that i havent been able to determine from reading this thread quickly ... is the GT-6 a stereo output? or mono only?

also, given that the input to the soundcard is stereo, it might be interesting to see what happens if you pull the input plug ''part way' out of the laptop instead of all the way ... it might 'jump' the signal to both ring AND tip and give you what you want .. if it is plugged all the way in, it is just giving ring OR tip the signal but not the other ... if your GT6 is mono out, you might need to solder up a special cable to send the mono source to both ring and tip on the laptop's input

good luck
t4d